! C. Goodwin ']/ MONTHLY LETTER OF THE BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY UNaTED states department of AGRICULTURE Number 196 £ iBRARY August, 1930 = STATE PL BOARD TAXONOMY Harold Morrison, in Charge The Barnes collection of Lepidoptera, purchased for the Depart- ment of Agriculture, arrived in Washington on the afternoon of August 8, after having been packed and shipped from Decatur, 111., under the supervision of Messrs. Heinrich and Busck, of the Bureau staff. The collection and accessories made a load of about 45,000 pounds, practi- cally filling a large express car and presenting serious difficulties in the matter of proper handling. The collection arrived in excellent condition and is already placed in the National Museum, and so is avail- able for reference and study. Prof. G. C. Crampton, of the department of entomology, Massachu- setts Agricultural College, at Amherst, visited the National Museum Au- gust 5 to examine certain Diptera. in connection with some morphological studies which he has in progress. Prof. P. W. Fattig, of the Museum, Emory University, Ga. , spent parts of the time from August 18 to August 23 in the taxonomic unit in consultation with the Bureau's specialists. While here he obtained identifications of many insects which he had brought to Washington with him. Nathan Banks, P. J. Darlington, and F. M. Carpenter, from the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, stopped in Washing- ton and visited the Division of Insects August 19, en route to the Smoky Mountains, in North Carolina, where an extensive collecting trip has been planned. H. K. Plank, of the technical staff of the Tropical Plant Research Foundation, called at the National Museum on August 21 to leave for iden- tification a number of specimens of insects which had been collected in Cuba in connection with economic investigations on sugarcane insects in that island. Dr. H. E. Ewing, of the taxonomic unit, reports that as a result of his work in the field during the summer he has discovered two inter- esting new hosts for the chigger — the mud turtle and the leopard frog. The chigger has been previously found on the box turtle. - 2 - DECIDUOUS-FRUIT INSECTS A. L. Quaintance, in Charge On August 26 Dr. Herbert Osborn, of Ohio State University, and Dr. F. W. Poos, in charge of investigations of forage-crop insects at Arlington, V a., made a brief visit to the field laboratory at Vincennes, Ind., and later to that at Bentonville, Ark. John Gray has been appointed Entomologist, pending certification, and assigned to the study of the ecology of the oriental fruit moth, with headquarters at Moorestown, N. J. Dr. Gray was formerly Professor of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Florida, and has recently received a doctor's degree from Cornell University. Dr. H. W. Allen and Dr. John Gray recently visited the Dominion Parasite Laboratory at Belleville, Ontario. B. E. Montgomery, J. T. Creighton, R. C. Newton, Earl Lott, A. J. Warren, and Stanley Slater have been appointed temporary Field Assistants and assigned to the work on the oriental fruit moth. Approximately 35,000 adults of the parasite Macrocentrus ancyli- vora have been reared and distributed from the oriental fruit moth field laboratory at Moorestown, N. J., in this season. They were liberated in 70 colonies in important peach-growing centers east of the Missis- sippi River in which this parasite had not previously been found. In this program, and in supplementary projects undertaken by the Canadian government and by several States, this laboratory has worked in close cooperation with a number of others. The entomological services of those States have cooperated actively in the work of distribution and recovery. Several States have undertaken mass rearing of this valuable parasite from parasitized material collected in New Jersey. To meet the demand, an additional 400,000 parasitized larvae have been collected and shipped from this center under the supervision of this laboratory. Numerous recoveries have been made and the results to date seem very promising. G. J. Haeussler, who is investigating parasites of the oriental fruit moth, with headquarters at Antibes, France, reports that several parasites of this insect are present in southern Europe, but are rela- tively lacking in abundance. He has begun mass rearing of a species of Pristomerus for shipment to the United States. Contributions from the Japanese-Beetle Laboratory On August 5 E. J. Hoddy, Agricultural Agent for the Louisville & Nashville R. R. , visited the Japanese-Beetle Laboratory to confer with Dr. W. E. Fleming and J. W. Lipp concerning carbon-disulphide emulsions used in the control of larvae of the Japanese beetle and their possible use in the control of root aphids. 1 - 3 - J. V. Schaffner, jr., and C. M. Symonds, of the Gipsy-Moth Labora- tory, Melrose Highlands, Mass., visited the laboratory on August 14 to inspect the equipment for work on parasites. On August 14 Lieut. A. R. Morrison, of Mitchell Field, Long Is- land, who is engaged in experiments on the control of the cotton-boll weevil, visited the laboratory to confer with E. R. Van Leeuwen concern- ing arsenicals which had been used in experimental work on the Japanese beetle . FOREST INSECTS F. C. Craighead, in Charge Dr. Craighead returned about the middle of August from a trip to the western field laboratories of this division. On August 25 R. A. St. George returned to Asheville, N. C., from Wisdom, Mont., where for a few weeks he has been conducting studies on a proposed method of killing the mountain pine beetle in lcdgepole pine by injecting poison into the infested trees. The object sought is a less expensive method of controlling bark beetles. Dr. Ernest Bateman, Chemist at the Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wis., spent August 25 to 29, inclusive, at the field laboratory at Bent Creek, near Asheville, N. C., conferring with R. A. St. George and R. W. Caird regarding the chemicals used in a study of control of the southern pine beetle in shortleaf pine by injecting poison into the in- fested trees. Contributions from the Gipsy-Moth Laboratory Recent visitors at the Gipsy-Moth Laboratory included Dr. T. L. Patterson, Detroit, Mich., August 2, G. A. Smith, Massachusetts Department of Conservation, Boston, August 18, Dr. Alden D. Speare, Nashua, N. H., August 21, W. A. Baker, European Corn Borer Laboratory, Monroe, Mich., and Dr. H. M. Tietz, State College, Pa., August 26, L. S. McLaine, Entomolo- gical Branch, Canadian Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, and H. N. Worth- ley, State College, Pa., August 28, and E. H. Wheeler, Hobart College, Geneva, N. Y., August 30. J. V. Schaffner, jr., and C. M. Symonds, of the Gipsy-Moth Labora- tory, spent August 12 to 23 on a collecting trip through parts of New Jer- sey, Pennsylvania, and central and western New York, the object being to secure information concerning the southern and western spread of the tach- inid parasite Compsilura concinnata Meig. Collections of larvae of species of Lepidoptera which the tachinid is known to attack were made and sent to the laboratory. Mr. Schaffner has made such trips each summer for several years, going each year into territory outside the area where the parasite has been recovered from collections made in previous years. - 4 - TROPICAL, SUBTROPICAL AND ORNAMENTAL PLANT INSECTS A. C. Baker, in Charge .Dr. Baker, after making a brief stop at the field laboratory at Whittier, Calif., for a conference with the members of the staff there, sailed from Los Angeles August 9 for Honolulu, to reorganize the field laboratory- there, as was stated in the News Letter for July. Dr. Wm. H. Mitchell, jr., accompanied Dr. Baker to Honolulu, where he will be engaged in research work on the Mediterranean fruit fly. 0. C. McBride was transferred from the Bureau of Entomology to the Plant Quarantine and Control Administration, effective August 15, and left Orlando, Fla., on August 25 en route for Honolulu, where he will be in charge of the work being organized there on the Mediterranean fruit fly. This work is to be carried on under the direction of the Bureau of Entomology, but paid for by funds provided by the Plant Quaran- tine and Control Administration. M. McPhail and C. B. Keck were also transferred to the Plant Quar- antine and Control Administration, as of August 1, and left Orlando, Fla., for Honolulu, to join the research workers on the Mediterranean fruit fly. En route they stopped at Whittier, Calif., to look over the equip- ment at the laboratory there. Ralph Marlowe, formerly connected with the research work at Or- lando, will also join the staff at Honolulu, and expects to sail with Messrs. McBride, McPhail, and Keck early in September. F. J. Spruijt, of the field laboratory at Babylon, L. I., N. Y., was in Washington August 7, to confer with Bureau officials in regard to work of the project under his direction. Dr. C. A. Weigel spent August 26 to 29 in Babylon, L. I., taking part in the inauguration of the heat and vapor treatments of narcissus and other bulbous stocks being conducted there. In response to requests from the citrus interests in southern California, E. A. McGregor was absent from his headquarters at Lindsay, Calif.,' from August 3 to August 25, inclusive. His chief purpose in visiting southern California was to study the aftereffect on scale con- trol of the dusting of citrus groves with finely divided sulphurs. Cer- tain positive conclusions were reached. In addition, scorings were made in 43 orange groves in 5 counties of Southern California with reference to occurrence of thrips and the red spider. - 5 - Six days were spent by Mr. McGregor in a study of the problems relating to citrus pests in Arizona. This work was done in response to a special request from the field department of the California Fruit Growers Exchange. Contacts were made with several leaders in the citrus industry in Arizona, and a modest start was made toward control of the citrus pests. COTTON INSECTS B. R. Coad, in Charge Professor Filippo Silvestri, head of the Agricultural Institute of Portici, Italy, spent August 28 at Tallulah, where he was shown through the various departments of the field laboratory. He was especially in- terested in the dusting of cotton by airplanes, and was enthusiastic in his praise of the laboratory's scientific equipment and the extent of its operations. His visit to the South was intended particularly to study at first hand the cane borer and the boll weevil. Before sailing for Italy, at the end of September, Professor Silvestri will visit Columbus, Ohio, the Experiment Stations of New Jersey and Massachusetts, and the Department of Agriculture, at Washington, D. C. C. H. Billett, photographer, left Tallulah in August for an ex- tended trip in the West, taking with him a complete photographic field equipment. He will visit the field laboratories at El Paso and Presidio, Tex., Tucson, Ariz., Calexico, Calif., and elsewhere, to make photographs of the various phases of the investigations of the pink bollworm, Thur- beria weevil, and cotton leaf perforator. A. J. Chapman left Tallulah in the latter part of August for a new assignment at Presidio, Tex., where he will devote his time to in- vestigations of the cultural methods of controlling the pink bollworm. Mr. Coad has gone on an extended western trip, to last probably two months, during which he will visit the field laboratories dealing with cotton insects occurring in western Texas, Mexico, Arizona, and California. H. C. Young has completed his season's work on the boll weevil in Oklahoma, and has gone to El Paso, Tex., to take up his winter project on the pink bollworm and the Thurberia weevil. In August F. J. Potter, Glen Willingham, John H. Russell, William C. O'Dowd, John M. Landrum, and Lester E. Turberville were appointed Field Assistants. In the month of August the resignations of Harlow B. Mills, James Watkins, Phil H. Berry and F. J. Potter, Field Assistants, became effec- tive . - $ - BEE CULTURE James I. Hambleton, in Charge E. L. Sechrist returned on August 4 after visiting the coopera" tors who are helping in the studies on apiary management and costs of honey production, in Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan. This work is being done in cooperation with the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, and with the beekeeping specialists in the various States. Some of the State specialists in economics are also taking an active part in these studies. Jas. I. Hambleton attended the meeting of the Massachusetts State Beekeepers’ Association, at Amherst, on August 1. At the conclusion of the meeting he left in company with Dr. E. F. Phillips, to visit the api- cultural laboratory at Cornell University. On August 4 Mr. Hambleton conferred with Prof. W. E. Dunham and S. E. Bailey, at Holgate, Ohio, and with ' the specialists at the Northwestern Experiment Farm, rela- tive to experiments now in progress dealing with the effect of honeybees upon the pollination of red clover. Excellent cooperation has been given by the beekeepers in the vicinity of Holgate in making these experiments a success. On August 6 to 8 Mr. Hambleton participated in a series of field meetings in Michigan, which extended through the new clover regions of northern Michigan as far as Sault Sainte Marie. These meetings were well attended and were participated in by a number of beekeepers from Ohio. Mr. Hambleton also spoke at the meeting of the Wisconsin State Beekeepers' Association, at Madison. While there he had an opportunity to inspect the H. J. 0. Walker collection of beekeeping literature which has just been acquired by the Miller Memorial Library. The Walker col- lection is one of the best collections of bee books in existence, many volumes being beautifully bound by hand. En route to Washington, Mr. Hambleton stopped at Columbus, Ohio, and conferred with Prof. W. B. Herms, of the University of California, who has been on the summer facul- ty of Ohio State University. Dr. Everett Oertel, of the Southern States Bee Culture Field Laboratory, Baton Rouge, La., gave two addresses before the Florida State Beekeepers' Association at Gainesville, on August 13 and 14. Doctor Oer- tel reports that there is considerable interest among the Florida pro- ducers in a proposed association for the purpose of bringing their honey to a central point, where it can be blended, packed, and distributed. Dr. Lloyd M. Bertholf, Field Assistant at the Bee Culture Labor- atory, resigned on August 20. Doctor Bertholf, in company with Mrs. Ber- tholf, sailed on August 23 for Scotland, on his way to Munich, where for the coming year he will study with Doctor von Frisch under a National Re- search fellowship. En route. Doctor Bertholf will attend the meeting of the Apis Club International Conference, at London, on September 8 to 12, where he will deliver a lecture on the results of his recent experiments on the response of honeybees to light of different wave lengths. - 7 - Prof. Bruce Lineburg, of Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, 111., visited the Bee Culture Laboratory on August 27. W. B. Bray, one of the largest honey packers in New Zealand, ex- ecutive of the National Beekeepers' Association of New Zealand, and owner and editor of the New Zealand Honey Producer, visited the Bee Culture Laboratory September 2 and 3. He is making an extended trip through Eu- rope, Canada, and the United States, in the interest of honey marketing. Mr. Bray reports that through Government assistance New Zealand has made great strides in honey marketing, and he was particularly interested in learning what is being done in this country along that line. In the course of his stay in Washington he visited officials of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics and the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils. Dr. Warren Whitcomb, jr., of the Southern States Bee Culture Field Laboratory, Baton Rouge, La., reports that at the meeting of the State Association of Queen Breeders and Package Shippers, which was held in conjunction with the meeting of the Texas State Beekeepers' Association, at College Station July 28 and 29, the package producers were well pleased with the progress being made by the Southern States Bee Culture Field Laboratory in recommending a satisfactory and uniform cage which could be used indiscriminately by all shippers of package bees. Doctor Whit- comb says that the use of a uniform package by the shippers will eliminate a great deal of confusion in the package-bee business, and that it will particularly enable the express companies to facilitate shipment. The cage that the laboratory has been working on is simple in construction, is therefore economical, and makes it possible to ship the bees with as little loss as the more expensive and complicated cages now being used by a number of shippers of package bees. INSECTS AFFECTING MAN AND ANIMALS F. C. Bishopp, in Charge F. C. Bishopp spent the entire month of August in field travel. He made stops at the field laboratories at Galesburg, 111., Fargo, N. Dak., and Portland, Oreg., and visited many intermediate points to make observations on insects injurious to livestock. R. W. Wells, of the field laboratory at Galesburg, 111., is tem- porarily located at the field laboratory at Beltsville, Md., where he is conducting tests of electrified screens for the control of house flies. He arrived at Beltsville August 15. W. E. Dove, who has been placed in charge of investigations of the sand fly, with headquarters at Charleston, S. C., arrived there August 19 to take up his duties under the new assignment. - 8 - TRUCK-CROP INSECTS J. E. Graf, in Charge L. B. Reed, who has been investigating the sweet-potato weevil at Picayune, Miss., was recently transferred to Chadbourn, N. C., to as- sist in investigations on the strawberry root aphid. Dr. E. M. Searls, Madison, Wis., visited Washington, D. C., Au- gust 25 to 26, to confer with officials there. Dr. Searls expects to leave the Bureau of Entomology on September 1, to accept a position with the University of Wisconsin. C. F. Stahl, recently assigned to investigations of celery in- sects at Sanford, Fla., visited Washington, D. C., August 25 to 29, to confer with officials regarding this work. Rodney Cecil, who has been in charge of the field laboratory at Geneva, N. Y. , for the study of the Mexican bean beetle, was transferred August 24 to Alhambra, Calif., where he will inaugurate work on the lima-bean pod borer. M. C. Lane, Walla Walla, Wash., visited Blairmore, Alberta, Canada, August 27 and 28, where he conferred with Canadian entomologists and others regarding investigations of the wireworm. Temporary appointments as Field Assistants have been given to R. S. Lehman, for service at Walla Walla, Wash., M. V. Lowe, at Chad- bourn, N. C., and C. E. Woodworth, at Madison, Wis. CEREAL AND FORAGE INSECTS W. H. Larrimer, in Charge As a result of the removal of the Bureau of Entomology from the old, red-brick building on the Mall to Temporary War Building "C", near 7th and B Streets, S. W. , this division is now located in Rooms 218- 228, on the second floor of the third wing of that building. The office is now fairly well readjusted and if, during the moving, attention has not been given any important matter, it is requested that we be further notified. Doctor Larrimer returned to the Washington Office on August 29, after an extended trip through northwestern Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, for field observation on infestations by the Mormon cricket, the range caterpillar, and the southwestern corn borer. W. P. Flint, Chief Entomologist of the State Natural History Sur- vey, Urbana, 111., visited the Washington office on July 29. - 9 - H. A. Jaynes, stationed in Peru, has sent to New Orleans during the summer almost 170,000 parasites of the sugarcane moth borer. Most of these were the dipterous species Paratheresia claripalpis , but there were 10,000 specimens of a species of Ipobracon. E. K. Bynum, formerly connected with the State experiment sta- tions of Florida and Mississippi, has been assisting the force of the field laboratory at New Orleans in receiving and releasing the parasites from Peru. ST0RED-PR0DUCT INSECTS E. A. Back, in Charge A. 0. Larson, who has been in charge of investigations of the bean weevil in California, has been transferred to the Pacific North- west, where he has been placed in charge of investigations of the pea weevil, with headquarters at the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, at Corvallis. The truck transporting Mr. Larson's household effects to Oregon was demolished in an accident, and all of Mr. Larson's goods were destroyed by fire. Fortunately, they were insured. C. K. Fisher returned to California in July, after a conference in Washington regarding investigations of the bean weevil, in charge of which he has been placed. The laboratory for the study of insects affecting cured tobacco in the bright-tobacco belt has been located at 515 Jefferson St., Dan- ville, Va. W. D. Reed, formerly of the dried-fruit insect investiga- tions, has been placed in charge. At the request of the county agents of Cook, Laurens and Lanier Counties, Ga., S. E. McClendon gave them assistance in August in their work of controlling the corn weevil. Weevils will have a hard time in the western parts of Georgia and South Carolina, where drought is reported to have ruined the corn crop. At the request of the tobacco interests, W. D. Reed attended the tobacco markets which opened at Valdosta, Ga., July 29, and at Lake City, S. C., August 5. In July and August Mr. Reed also visited to- bacco establishments in Washington, Greenfield, Wilson, Rocky Mount, Farmville, Wendell, Smithfield, Kinston, Durham, and New Bern, all in North Carolina. He also made a careful survey of the tobacco plants in Richmond and Norfolk. W. C. Wooding, jr., who was employed during July and August at the field laboratory at Danville, Va., has left the service to continue his studies at the University of Virginia. - 10 - In August George W. Ellington treated a number of ham-curing establishments in Virginia and Maryland. On August 20 Dr. Back visited Richmond, where, with W. D. Reed, he examined a serious infestation by Ephestia elutella in hogshead to- bacco . Dr. R. T. Cotton spent August 26 in Norx'olk, where he inspected a number of peanut warehouses. LIBRARY Mabel Colcord, Librarian NEW BOOKS Attems, Carl. . . . Myriapoda 2. Scolopendromorpha. 308 p., illus. Berlin u. Leipzig, Walter de Gruyter, June, 1930. (Das Tierreich . . . Lfg. 54.) Barlow, Peter. Barlow's tables of squares, cubes, square roots, cube roots, re- ciprocals, of all integer numbers up to 10,000. Stereotype edi- tion. 200 p. London, Spon, 1927. Chrystal, R. N. Studies of the Sirex parasites, the biology and post-embryonic de- velopment of Ibalia leucospoides Hochenw. (Hymenoptera-Cynipoi- dea) . . . 63 p., illus. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1930. (Oxford Forestry Memoirs No. 11.) (Bibliography, p. 60-61.) Eltringham, Harry. Histological and illustrative methods for entomologists. By H. Eltringham . . . with a chapter on mounting whole insects, by H. Britten. 139 p., illus. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1930. Goodey, T. ... On a remarkable new nematode, Tylenchinema oscinellae gen. et sp. n., parasitic in the frit fly, Oscinella frit L., attack- ing oats. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London, Series B, v. 218, p. 315-343, pi. 22-26, June 28, 1930. (References, p. 340.) Gross, Fabius. Odonata (Pseudoneuroptera) . Libellen. 33, 78 p. Berlin, Born- traeger, 1930. (Schulze, Paul. Biologie der Tiere Deutschlands, Lfg. 30, Teil 33.) Guercio, Giacomo del. Le ricerche e le esperienze di puglia dal 1910 al 1914 contro la mosca delle olive con accenno a rilievi in altre contrade d'ltalia (1915-1928). Redia, v. 18, p. 171-397, illus.. May 5, 1930. - 11 - Hamlyn-Harris, Ronald. The relative value of larval destructors and the part they play in mosquito control in Queensland. Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland, v. 41, p. 23-38, pi. I-VIII, Feb., 1930. (Literature referred to, p. 37-38 . ) Hardy, G. Revisional notes on the tribe Brachyrrhopalini (Robber flies) with remarks on habits and mimicry. Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland, v. 41, p. 59-72, Feb., 1930. (References, p. 72.) Legg, John, and Foran, J. L. Some experiments on the treatment of tick-infested cattle with ar- senical dipping fluids. Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland, v. 41, p. 83-120, Feb., 1930. (References, p. 120.) Lindner, Erwin. Die Fliegen der palaearktischen Region. Lfg. 42, 43, 44. Stutt- gart, E. Schweizerbart 'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1930. Contents: 42, Asilidae, p. 385-448; 43, Lycoriidae, p. 33-71, pi. II-IV; 44, Asilidae, p. 449-491. Mader, Leopold. Evidenz der palaarktischen Coccinelliden und ihrer Aberrationen ... 144 p., 35 col. pi. [Wien, 1926-1927.] New South Wales Department of Agriculture. The cattle tick question, a catechism on tick control and eradi- cation, prepared by a committee representative of the different interests dealing with cattle tick dips. 24 p. , illus. Sydney, A. J. Kent, Government Printer, 1930. Oregon State Board of Horticulture. Portland Insectaries. Report of work done season of 1927 . . . with the parasites of the European earwig Digonochaeta setipennis and Rhacodineura an- tiqua ... 41 p. Portland, Oreg., Nov. 1, 1927. Mimeographed. Pellett, F. C. American honey plants; together with those which are of special value to the beekeeper as sources of pollen . . . Ed. 3, rev. and enl. 419 p., illus. Hamilton, 111., American Bee Journal, 1930. Pierce, F. N. , and Metcalfe, J. W. The genitalia of the group Tortricidae of the Lepidoptera of the British Islands. 101 p., XXXIV pi. Oundle, Northants, F. N. Pierce, 1922. Porta, Antonio. . . . Fauna Coleopterorum Italica, v. 1-3. Piacenza, Stabilimento tipografico Piacentino, 1923-1929. Contents: v. 1, Adephaga, 285 p., 1922; v. 2, Staphylinoidea, 405 p., 1926; v. 3, Diversicornia, 465 p. , 1929. Ross, Sir Ronald. The amount of malaria depends on the number of the carriers. 14 p. London, John Murray, 1929. - 12 - Scheerpeltz, 0., and Winkler, A. 15. Ordnung: Kafer, Coleoptera. 272 p., 51 pi. Leipzig, Quelle u. Meyer, [1930?] (Die Tierwelt Mitteleuropas, hrsg. von p. Broh- mer, P. Ehrmann, G. Ulmer, Ed. 5, Lfg. 2. ) Schmiedeknecht , Otto. Opuscula ichneumonologica Supplement B and . . . fasc. VIII. Genus Ambly teles Wesm. Genus Platylabeus Wesm. p. 65-140 and I-LI. Blankenburg i Thiir., 1930. S'chneirla, T. C. . . . Learning and orientation in ants . . . 143 p. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press, July, 1929. (Comparative Psychology Mono- graphs, v. 6, No. 4 (Serial No. 30.).) Winkler, A. Catalogus coleopterorum regionis palaearcticae, pt. 11. Column 1266-1392. Wien, Winkler, 1930. - 13 - BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION The following abstracts of recent decisions of the Comptroller General of the United States, are of general interest: Vol. 9, A— 31014, page 430: Subsistence - Meals Taken after Arrival at Post of Duty^_ "An employee whose official duty station is New York City who, in returning from a trip on official business, arrived at the Grand Central Terminal at 6:35 p. m. , is not entitled to reim- bursement for the cost of a meal taken after arrival, under the Standardized Government Travel Regulations. A-31036, page 432: Contracts - Mistake - Cancellation - Read- vertisement . "Where, in requesting bids for the furnishing of steel to the Government, the v/rong blue prints were sent to some of the bid- ders- and the contract was awarded to one of the bidders to whom wrong blue prints had been sent, it should be canceled and the . matter readvertised in order that bidding may be on common ground. A-31074, page 434: Transportation of Household Effects - Un- crating . "Where an officer of the Army, on duty as a military attache in a foreign country, has had his household effects transported at Government expense from his old station to his new station, including packing, crating, freight, and drayag© to his new station, there is no authority under the act of March 23, 1928, 45 Stat. 333, to reimburse him for the cost of unpacking or un- crating the household effects at the new station. A -30991 , page 446: Contracts - Mistake in Bid. - "Where bids were requested for the furnishing of hardware for barrack chairs (seat bolts) and at the time of opening and con- sideration of the bids there was such a difference in the amount of the bids as to indicate a possible mistake in the low bid, and upon being asked to verify its bid, the bidder alleged mis- take but furnished no evidence to establish the mistake and the bid was accepted and delivery made, payment therefor being made at the bid price, there is no authority for payment of any amount in excess thereof. "The fact that the contractor elected to act on the department's instructions to make delivery of the supplies bid upon and to present a claim for any amount to which it believed itself en- titled in addition to the contract price does not require, or authorize allowance of the claim. In electing to follow ^uch procedure the contractor removed from consideration the question as to whether under the facts and circumstances it could have been permitted to withdraw its bid. library STATE PLANT BOAR© UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 3 1262 09236 6250 A-31163, page 449: Compensation - Dismissal. "The falsification of expense accounts by a postal employee con- stitutes such a violation of the oath of office and breach of contract of employment as to cause the forfeiture of compensa- tion due for periods prior to date of suspension and dismissal. A-31901, page 519: Advertising; - Bids - Automobile Specifica- tions - Ncnessential Features. "For ordinary uses all makes and grades of automobiles are for consideration in determining which will best meet the needs of the service and bids should be requested on specifications drawn, not by designation of a particular make, but should show only such details as to construction in performance require- ments as can satisfactorily be shown to be necessary to meet the requirements of the service. "Nonessential features, such as shock absorbers, instead of some other similar devices, and nonshatterable glass in the wind- shield, instead of some other glass, should not be made control- ling if the work reasonably can be performed with automobiles not having such features or equipment; that is, the procedure should not be adopted of specifying as controlling a particular nones- sential feature of an automobile, such as shatter-proof glass, shock absorbers, style of wheels, etc., thereby excluding bid- ders that do not offer the particular feature or causing such bidders to change their models so as to embrace such features, thereby increasing the cost and preventing real competition. Vol. 10, A-3213S: Subsistence Expenses - Hat Cl aning. "The provisions of paragraph 58 of the Standardized Government Travel Regulations which provide for the cleaning and pressing of clothes of employees while in a travel status, do not auth- orize reimbursement of the expense of cleaning the traveler's hat . "