The winter of 1933-34 was the coldest to which the oriental fruit moth has been exposed in Canada since its discovery in the Niagara peninsula in 1925, and we were naturally very interested to see how it survived. Unfortunately we have to report that it survived very well indeed, although we are glad to say its larval parasites, both native and imported, also survived.

Professor Morse's well-known “Manual” treats of the orthopterous fauna of Massachusetts in general, but of the eastern maritime area in particular. The region extending from the Worcester Plateau to the New York State Line includes a variety of environment which apparently have not been examined from the standpoint of Orthoptera nearly as thoroughly as the eastern half of the state. The present list of Acrididae is the result of collections made by the writer chiefly at Cummington and about Amherst, during the past three years. Like our native ferns,grasshoppers arc usual1y found amid surroundings suited to the ecological complex of the particular species concerned. Mention of some differences shown by the Life Zones of western Massachusetts may be helpful in understanding the distributional factors of local Acrididae.

On August 22, 1933, while the members of the Montreal staff were inspecting a nursery in Montreal, P. Q., a small number of sawfly larvae was observed feeding on the mugho pine trees. These were submitted to Ottawa and were identified as the larvae of Diprion simile Htg. This was the second record of the appearance of this species in Canada; the first being a record from Oakville, Ont., in 1931. This insect had previously been studied in the Northeastern United States by Britton and Zappe (1917) and Middleton (1923).

A trial of a number of substances as repellents against the Narcissus fly (Merodon equestris) was made at Victoria, B.C., in 1933. The place selected for these trials was one where the owner had suffered severe losses from Merodon in the past, and notwithstanding this had preserved all his badly infested bulbs instead of destroying them as we advised; and further, had even planted them in a separate plot to see if they would recover. The result of this procedure was, as we predicted, a11 enormous infestation of Merodon the following summer and anticipating this we made arrangements to try out various repellents, realizing that here was an unusual opportunity.

The following species of Mutillidae, parasitic wasps commonly known as “velvet ants” or “cow killers” were collected during the period September. 1928, to July, 1930, while the writer was stationed at the Pink Bollworm Laboratory at Presidio, Texas. Presidio County with Brewster County on the east and Jeff Davis County on the north, forms the little known area called the “Big Bend” region of Trans-Pecos Texas.

During 1932 a species of mealy bug came into prominence in a few orchards in the Annapolis valley, more particularly at Lakeville and the district north of Berwick. The insect was less conspicuous in 1933, but in 1934 some severe infestations occurred. This mealy bug is scattered over the entire fruit growing area in Nova Scotia, and has probably been present for several years.

A recent critical study of a number of species of Ludius Esch. has shown that considerable confusion exists in collections of the group, due largely to lack of adequate descriptions of the various species and to the artificial nature of the classification now in use. The genus Ludius, as now recognized in the American literature, is not a true genus in any natural sense, but is, rather, a heterogeneous group of species the natural affinities of which are not known. For purposes of classification, the species have been grouped primarily by characters of the antennae.

In connection with our studies on the Oriental fruit moth, large numbers of the insect are reared in the insectary on apples. The fruit moth eggs are placed on apples in closed containers such as No. 10 tins, and when the larvae are mature the majority of them come to the top of the containers and are placed on strips of corrugated paper in lantern globes for pupation and emergence.The remaining larvae are allowed to pupate and emerge in the rearing containers.

In the realization that all exact field experimentation and census work with insects is dependent upon accurate recognition of the species involved, a study of the comparative external morphology of the larvae was planned, from the first. as an integral part of the major project on wireworms, which was incepted in 1922, at the Dominion Entomological Laboratory, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The soundness of this viewpoint has been amply demonstrated, in that the morphological work has repeatedly proved to be vital to the whole economic study of this pest, which is being increasingly recognized (King, 1928; Seamans, 1933) as one of the major problems of wheat-growing in western Canada.

In June 1932 a very immature nymph of Ephoron leukon Will was found in the Credit R. near Erindale, Ontario. In 1934 full grown nymphs of this same species were found in great numbers in the same locality after their hiding place was once located. They are burrowing nymphs which inhabit a tubular burrow associated with stones in the rapids. Loose stones. when turned over revealed no nymphs and lackcd the marks of the tubes on them. Stones, however, which were partly imbedded in fine grey silt (originating from the breakdown of shales in the vicinity) when turned over- revealed nymphs clinging on the sides and bottom in the remnants of the tubes. Curiously enough the time of day at which col1ecting was done was important.

There is in Ontario a water area of approximately 80,000 square miles which is about one-fifth of the total area of the province. As this water area is so great in extent the life of whiich it cointains is significant economically as well as biologically.

In every body of water, stream, pond, or lake there is a community of living organisms the individuals of which are practically independent of life outside of the water but which are absolutely inter-dependent upon one another.

In the months of June and July field work was carried on by myself in western Nova Scotia at the following localities—Annapolis Royal in the Annaapolis Valley, South Milford in the interior and White Point Beach on the south shore near Liverpool. A number of life histories of various Microlepidoptera were worked out and data on the early stages secured. I offer the following notes on several of these species concerning which, as far as I know, our knowledge is very fragmentary. As in a previous work of this nature (1933, Can. Jour. Res. IX, 502-517) I have checked as far as possible both Fracker's larval classification (1915, Ill. Biol. Mon. II) and Mosher's work on the pupae (1916, Bull. Ill. Sta. Lab. Nat. Hist. XII, Art. 2).

During the summer of 1931 an outbreak of the two-striped grasshopper (Melanoplus bivittatus Say) occurred in localized areas in Nova Scotia on the dyked lands along the Avon River in Hants County and on the Grand Pré dyke lands in Kings County. Reports were also sent in of localized outbreaks in Cumberland and Antigonish Counties, but so far as the writer is aware these terminated in that year. The writer investigated the two first mentioned outbreaks and made careful observations during that season and the subsequent two years when the outbreak finally terminated and feels that certain data should be recorded.

The hemlock borer (Melanophila fulvoguttata Harr.) belongs to a buprestid genus, the larvae of which bore in the bark and cambial area of the stems of conifers. They generally breed in trees which have been weakened. injured, or recently felled. Several species, however, including fulvoguttata, are reported to be capable of attacking and killing healthy trees and doing a large amount of damage. In other words, they belong to that class of cambial feeders which normally finds conditions most favorable when the host is about to die, but occasionally appears to be capable, when numerous, of breeding in healthy trees which would otherwise live. They are faculative tree killers.

Length to tip of wings: ♂ 12 mm. ♀ 14 mm.; expanse ♂ 21 mm., ♀ 25 mm.

Head (exclusive of eyes ) somewhat wider than prothorax, yellow with obscure light brown markings; lateral tubercles small, pale; ocelli ringed with black, the black sometimes extending a short distance forward and/or toward the eyes. Antennae yellow at base, brown toward the tips, palpi brownish.

In the course of an investigation of the secondary sexual characters of Saprinus assimilis Payk, the writer found five specimens of an hitherto undescribed species of Saprinus. At the request of Mr. Henry Dybas, who submitted the material for determination and study, the description of the species is included with the following notes.

Length 5-6 mm. A slender elongate species, head and body piceous with testaceous prothorax, medianally black on the pronotum and ventrally testaceous to black, the elytra dark brown and faintly shining. The head is rather finely,sparsely punctured, the antennae slender, piceous to brown, with the third segment 2½ to 3 times the length of the second and longer than the fourth, extending to approximately the middle of the elytra.

Resembling caperatus in size and general appearance but without color markings, apparently more closely related to apicatus and alboneura but with short wings. Length 2-2.5 mm.

Vertex bluntly angled, a little longer on middle than basal width between eyes. Elytra short covering only first four or five basal segments of abdomen, apical cells very small.

Color straw yellow, frequently unmarked. Ocelli black. 111 dark specimens with faint markings on vertex. Four large brown spots on anterior margin of pronotum and veins of elytra heavily infuscated.

Walsingham described the species from 1 male, 2 females, from Shasta Co., Calif. Heinrich, in his revision, confines the distribution to the eastern section of the continent and in his key to the species (p. 132) characterizes it as having “basal patch heavily shaded with black, the blackish scaling extending diagonally to middle of costa.” Neither the original description nor the figure bears out this characterization; the figure, while somewhat crude, notable in the too great prominence given the outer patches as compared with the basal one, certainly shows no connecting band between the basal patch and the midcostal one; further the description distinctly calls for a dark spot at end of cell, in fact the name is based on this feature.