tiBRARY

E-223 OTATE PLANT BOARD

MONTHLY LETTER OF THE BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY
UNJTED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Number 95

March, 1922

BEE CULTURE

E. F. Phillips, Apiculturist in Charge

At the annual meeting of the Association of Economic Entomolo-
gists at Toronto in December, 1921, the Apiculture Section appointed
a committee to consider what steps should be taken to prevent the in-
troduction of the Isle of Wight disease of adult bees into the United
States and Canada. The chairman of this committee, Dr. S. B. Fracker,
State entomologist of Wisconsin, called a conference on this subject
which was held March 9 at the Bee Culture Laboratory of the Department
of Agriculture and in addition to the committee several State officials
interested in bee-disease control were invited to participate. Those
in attendance were J. G. Sanders, President of the Association of
Economic Entomologists and Chief of the Bureau of Plant Industry, De-
partment of Agriculture, Harrisburg, Penn.; Geo. H. Rea, Pennsylvania
State College; E. G. Carr, Apiary Inspector of New Jersey; F. Eric
Millen, Ontario Agricultural College,; N. E. Phillips, Massachusetts
Agricultural College; E. R. Root, Editor of Gleanings in Bee Culture;
and the specialists of the United States Department of Agriculture
directly concerned in the problem.

It was the unanimous opinion of the conference that steps should
be taken immediately to prevent the importation of adult bees into the
United States and Canada from all other countries. To this end a letter
was approved requesting the Post Office Department to exclude queenbees
from the mails from all countries except the Dominion of Canada, and a
bill was drafted for presentation to Congress. The following Postal
Regulation was issued on March 21, 1922.

"Bees Prohibited Importation in the Regular and Parcel-Post
Mails from all Foreign Countries except Canada."

Second Asst. Postmaster General.

Washington, March 21, 1922.

"Owing to the prevalence of a serious disease known as Isle of
Wight disease among adult honeybees in certain foreign countries, the
importation of honeybees through the regular and parcel-post mails is
hereby prohibited.

"Owing to the precautions taken by the authorities in Canada
to guard against the spread of the disease among adult honeybees in

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that co-untry, this prohibition does not apply to bees imported from
Canada.

E. R. ■'%ite.

Acting Second Asst. Postmaster General.’^

Eor detailed information on th-is disease Department Circular
No. 21S, just issued, may be consulted.

Informal seminars on subjects pertaining to beekeeping investi-
gations are being held at the Bee Culture Laboratory, Somerset, Md, , on
the second and fourth Eridsys of each month at S p.m. Ary member of
the Bureau ’vill be welcome. The subjects for April are:

April l4. W. J. Nolan - The Development of Brood throughout
the Season.

April 28. E. L. Sechrist - Tropical Beekeeping.

E. E. Snodgrass is temporarily engaged on additional work on the
anatomy of the honeybee and it is hoped to issue an erJ.arged revision
of his work on this subject.

Dr. E. F. Phil].ips has recently been made Honorary Vice President
and Fellow of the Apis Club, an international organization with offices
in England. He has also been made an honorary member of the Beekeepers’
Association of South Africa.

SOUTHEPU FIELD-CROP INSECT INVESTIGATIONS
J. L. Webb, Entomologist Acting in Charge

Dr. W. D. Hunter spent March 9> 10 » and 11 at the Washington
office, returning immediately to Houston, Tex.

R. W, Wells and H. M. Brundrett have returned to New York to con-
tinue the investigations of the ox warble which were started last year.
They have changed their headquarters from Herkimer to Middletown.

T. E. Holloway and T. C. Barber recently made a trip into the
Mexican territory south of Brownsville, Tex. , for the purpose of investi-
gating sugar-cane insects and their parasites in this region.

J. N. Tenhet has been transferred from the Clarksville, Tenn. ,
laboratory to Quincy, Fla., where he will work under the direction of
F. S. Chamberlin.

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FRUIT INSECT I WESTI CATIONS
A. L. Quaintance, Entomologist in Charge

E. E, Selkregg, who has been in charge of life-history work at
Ft. Valley, Ga. , in connection 'vith peach insect investigations, has
resigned from the B-orean to enter the comirercial field.

H. J. Dodd has been appointed field assistaiit and a-ssigned to
duty at Ft. Valley, Ga. , where he is assisting in life-history studies
of the phom curculio and other peach insects.

E. E. Van Leeuvsn, who has been assisting in connection vdth
camphor scale control work, has been transf erred to Medford, Oreg. ,
where he will assist in connection with apple insect investigations at
that place.

A new laboratorjr has been established at Sligo, Md. , E. H.
Siegler being in charge. At this station especial ebtention will be
given to the subject of insecticides and biological studies of fruit
insects .

CEREAL MFD FORAGE INSECT IMESTIGATIONS

W. E. Walton, Entomologist in Charge

The manuscript for a new Farmiers ' Bulletin on the European corn
borer was submitted for publication on March 27- It is hoped to have
this publication ready for distribution some time during the month of
July,

The corn-borer laboratory located at Scotia, N. Y. , will be trans-
ferred to Sandusky, Ohio, some time during the month of April. The
address of the new laboratory will be 1120 Fifth St. J. H. Harman will
be in charge ,

The field laboratory maintained at Carlisle, Fa., •'^hll be moved
about May 1 from 227 Moreland Ave. to the Kronenberg Building on Hanover
St., Carlisle, Pa. P. E. Myers xvill remain in charge.

TEUCK-CEOP INSECT INVESTIGATIONS

E, H. Chittenden, Entomologist in Charge

N. E. Howard, specialist in charge, research, Mexican bean beetle
investigations, Birmingham, Ala. , reports that the Mexican bean beetle

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has not been observed as yot in the fields in Alabama, but observations
in the hibernation ca-ges indicate a very high, percentage of survival,
which accords with the large number of beetles that normally appear
from hibernation in na.ture. No beans are a.s yet up in the fields in
the Birmingham district, but during the latter ps.rt of March the weather
was sufficiently warm to stimulate the plariting of gardens, and it is
ej^ected that the beetles will appea,r as soon as the beans are up. In
1921 the beetles made their appearance early, the first eggs being
deposited March 22.

At the Thornasville, Ga. , station, which is near the Florida line,
some beans are up and the beetle has already been observed in the fields
in one instance. A high percentage of survived is also noted, here.

It is worthy of note that there ha,s been a great decrease in the
sale of beans by the seed stores in Birm-ingham, indicating a material
reduction, in the acreage to be planted. No espla.nation can be made for
this, except the great destriaction of beans by the bean beetle in the
past two seasons.

Cooperative relations with the Georgia State Board of Entomology
have been established whereby assigrjm.ent of necessary ground and office
and laboratory headquarters has been made to investigators of the Bureau
of Entomology for the study of the Mexican bean beetle. Approximately
10 acres of beans are being planted for experimeiitad work in the vicin-
ity of the isolated infestation at Ihomjasville.

C. E. Smith, scientific assistant, in charge of the Baton Rouge,
La., station, is conducting a series of experiments at Hammond, La., in
connection with the control of the red spider on strawberries. A serious
infestation in spite of contirrued heavy rains is reported from this
locality. Owdng to the fact that the fruit is a].most ready for picking,
the opportunities for very much experimental work are somewhat restricted,

J. E. Graf, entomologist in charge, field control, Mexican bean
beetle, is visiting Mo'untain Air and other points in New Mexico for the
purpose of securing important data with regard to the hibernation of the
Mexican bean beetle in the Rocky Mountain plateau regions. In the Es-
tancia Valley during the season of 1921, a loss amounting to approxim.ately
$100,000 was occasioned by this beetle. There should be no difficulty in
securing some interesting information as to hibernation, in view of the
abundance of the beetles. The limiting factor of satisfactory hiberna-
tion quarters is doubtless responsible for the failure of this beetle in
the West to extend its range far from the sparsely wooded foothills of
the Rocky Mountains prior to its introduction into the eastern range.

R. E. Campbell, scientific assistant in charge of the Alhambra,
Calif., station, is engaged in conducting large-scale tests for the con-
trol of the pea aphis on caruiery peas near San Jose, Calif.

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LIBPJ^RY

Mabel Col cord, Librarian
New Books

Annals of the Natal Musenm. v.3, pt. 1-2-3; v.4, pt . 1-2. London,

Adlard & Son & West Newman. . [ Contains considerable ento-

mology.]

American association of narserjnmen. 45th annual convention. 121 p.
Chicago, 111., June 23,24,25, I92O. [Gi.ves constitution, list of
members, etc.]

Brethes, Juan, El bicho de cesto (Oeceticus Kirby, var. platensis Berg.)
Campana. I92O-I92I. Dos nuevos paxa-sitos. 28 p. , map, col. pi.

Buenos Aires, Iropreiitat Preusche y Eggeling [I92I]. CAt head of
title: Institute biologica de la Sociedad rural argentina. )

Gebien, Hans. Philippjne Tenebrionidae, pt. 2. Philippine Journ. Sci . ,

V. 19, no. 4, p. 439-514, pi. 1-2. October, I92I. Literauuc-
verzeichnis, p. 509-510-

Harukawa, Chulvichi. Stiadies on lime- sulphur -mixture. 20 p. Kuraschiki,
Verlag der Ohara Schonakv/ai , I92I, (Berichte des Ohara institute
fur landwirtschaf tliche forschungen in Kuraschiki , Bd. II, hft. I.)

Kendall, A. I. Bacteriology general, pathological and intestinal. Ed. 2
thoroughly revised. 6S0 p., illus. Fnila. and N. Y. , Lea and
Eebiger, I92I .

Langstroth, L. L. Langstroth on the hive and honey bee revised by

Charles and C. P. Dadant. Ed. 21. 438 p., illus., col. pi. Hamilton

111., Pub. by the American Bee Journal, I922.

Heyne, A, De ca-caothrips (Heliothrips rubrocinctus Giard) . . .

(With a summary in English) 2l4 p. , illus-, 20 pi. Paramaribo, J. H.
Oliviera, 192I. (Departmient van den landbouw in Suriname, Bill. 44,
August). Litsratuur, p. 192-194.

Dis, F. The Odonata or dragonflies of South Africa. Annals of the

South African Museum, v. IS, pt. 3, P- 245-452, pi. 5-12, Sept. 16,

1921.

Sargent, C. S. Manual of the trees of North America (exclusive of Mexico).
Ed. 2. 910 p., illus. Boston & N. Y. , Houghton Mifflin Co., I922.

Stettiner entomologische zeitung. Jahrgong 75-^1, Stettin, 1914-1920.

Webster, E. W. Diaguostic methods chemical, bacteriological and micro-
scopical. Text-bock for students and practitioners. Ed. 6, rev. and
enl. S44 p., illus., pi. Pin la, , P. Blakiston's Son & Co., I92O.