bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Responses of Pests to Fumigation. I. Toxicity of Mercury Vapour to the Eggs of Calandra granaria (L.).
Authors: Blackith R. E. , Gorringe B. S.
Published: July 2009

Wild populations of Calandra granaria were allowed to oviposit on clean wheat and the tolerances of the eggs to mercury vapour were estimated. For six such populations the median lethal doses ranged from 55 mg.hr./m.3 to less than 1.0 mg.hr./m.3. A laboratory strain of grain weevils has developed resistance to mercury vapour in the egg stage, probably from contamination of an incubator. Such evidence as is available suggests that this resistance is associated with reduced chorion permeability rather than enhanced metabolic ability. The increase in resistance is such that no attainable concentration × time product will kill more than half the resistant egg population which is thus virtually in equilibrium with air saturated with mercury vapour. Fumigation of gravid females, or of wheat prior to oviposition, does not reduce the viability of any eggs subsequently laid.
Observations on the Entry of Dusts into the Respiratory System of the Adult Worker Honey Bee, Apis mellifera L.
Authors: Connell Joan U. , Jones G. D. Glynne
Published: July 2009

A description is given of the hair structures associated with the spiracles of the adult worker honey bee, Apis mellifera L.

The surface hairs around the spiracular orifices vary in size, density and arrangement and with the exception of those of the third, fifth and sixth abdominal spiracles appear to be capable of holding back particles greater than 30 microns.

When living bees were exposed to dust clouds of charcoal and cuprous cyanide, no particles were found in any internal part of the respiratory system beyond the spiracles except in the case of the trachea of the first thoracic spiracle which contained charcoal particles less than 5 microns.

The mechanism of tracheal ventilation was considered and evidence accumulated to suggest that all spiracles could have an inspiratory function.
Formation of Green Pigment and Colour Changes in Orthoptera
Authors: Okay Salâhattin
Published: July 2009

The colour change and formation of green pigment inMantis, Acrida, Locusta, SchistocercaandDixippusare studied.

There is no background reaction to green and brown or yellow colour in these species.Usually the young nymphs ofMantisare green; some ofthe old nymphs and adults have a tendency to lose the green pigment. Phytophagous nymphsbecome green only when fed on fresh or growing grass. Green individuals may be obtained in darkness on this food (Locusta). The green pigmentdisappears on a diet of dry grass.

The colour change from non-green to green, orvice versa, is dependent on the formation or disappearance of the blue component (bile pigment-protein) of green pigment. The blue pigment generally appears first in the blood and is deposited in the integument at the following moult; it does not appear to be a breakdown product of chlorophyll or haematin. It is probably synthesised from a colourless precursor in the peripheral fat body.

Observations made on the pericardial cells ofLocustasuggest that the blue pigment may be converted into insectorubin.
On a Bostrychid Wood-borer in the Sudan
Authors: Peake F. G. G.
Published: July 2009

Sinoxylon senegalense is essentially the wood borer of felled Acacia seyal Del. in the Sudan, damage due to other beetles being contributory in a very small degree.

The life-history of the Bostrychid is recorded. The period from egg to adult is about eight weeks, but the complete life-cycle is considerably longer. The larval tunnels are superficial and only a few inches in length. The damage is almost entirely due to the adult, which remains boring within the logs for nearly 10 months. A predacious Clerid, Cylidrus fasciatus, and Braconid parasites, a species belonging to genus near Doryctes and Platyspathius pictipennis, were recorded.

Destruction of the timber is very rapid and control methods should be undertaken as soon after felling as possible. Insectaries were prepared containing the timber treated in various ways and the behaviour of the insect noted in each instance. The chemicals used in the experiments were sodium arsenite, boracic acid and pentachlorophenol. The latter, used as a spray on barked logs, was found to be the most effective.
A Grouping by Larval Characters of some Species of the Genus Apanteles (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)
Authors: Short J. R. T.
Published: July 2009

The larval characters of 33 species (largely Palaearctic) of the genus Apanteles have been examined and studied in relation to the division of the species of the genus into four major groups on the characters of the adults. Ingeneral, the larval characters indicate a grouping of the species which is very similar to the grouping of the adults. Groups S and U contrast sharply with groups A and F on the form of the mandible. The form of the mandible also allows group A to be distinguishedfrom group F. The relationships of four aberrant and some other species are discussed.

I wish to thank Mr. J. F. Perkins of the British Museum (Natural History) and Professor G. C. Varley of the Hope Department of Entomology, Oxford, for permission to study material. Mr. G. E. J. Nixon's advice on the relationships indicated by the characters of the adults of the species of the genus Apanteles has been invaluable.
Studies of Lygus vosseleri Popp. (Heteroptera, Miridae), a Pest of cultivated Cotton in East and Central Africa
Authors: Geering Q. A.
Published: July 2009

Methods have been developed for breeding continuous supplies of Lygus vosseleri in the laboratory. Adults readily oviposit in cotton seedlings, but tend to damage the tissues by feeding, so that the eggs fail to hatch. Portions of developing sorghum heads were found more satisfactory; grains in the milk stage stay fresh long enough for eggs laid in them to hatch, if the ratio of adults to grains is kept low.

The method used was to expose sorghum grains to adult Lygus for 3–4 days, afterwards removing the grains to hatching cages to await emergence of nymphs. On emergence, nymphs were transferred to rearing cages and fed immature sorghum grains, changed every two days. Hatching and rearing cages consisted of muslintopped, celluloid cylinders fitting on to shallow tins containing moist vermiculite covered by plaster of paris in which small holes received the sorghum stems.

At insectary temperatures the incubation period averaged 8·4 and the nymphal life 16·7 days; adult females survived up to 57 days and production of nymphs per female per day ranged up to 2·95. The mortalty in the egg stage is not yet known:the growth of fungi on the sorghum grains during incubation causes losses. Mortality in the nymphal stages averaged 44 per cent. and occurred chiefly in the first stage, probably due to handling. Improvements to reduce losses are described.

Difficulties in maintaining continuous supplies of sorghum grains, caused by attacks of Atherigona on sorghum seedlings and of Contarinia on sorghum heads, can be overcome, respectively by the use of insecticides and by bagging the emerging heads.
The Sorghum Midge, Contarinia sorghicola (Coq.), in East Africa
Authors: Geering Q. A.
Published: July 2009

Contarinia sorghicola was discovered in Uganda in 1951, the only previous African record being from the Sudan. The infestation started in September in early varieties of sorghum grown in observation plots and reached a peak onlate varieties and ratoons in early March, thereafter declining as parasitism, chiefly by Tetrastichus sp. and Aprostocetus sp., increased to reach 100 per cent. in April.

The life-cycle was normally 19–25 days, but between December and April diapause larvae were found; these all produced adults in early August, following a period of high humidity.

Midges morphologically indistinguishable from C. sorghicola have been bred from Eleusine coracana and from wild Sorghum verticilliflorum in Uganda, and the midge may well be endemic wherever wild sorghums grow. Enquiries show that midge damage to sorghum occurs in Kenya, Tanganyika and Nyasaland, and it is likely that all the mainsorghum growing areas of Africa will prove to be infested.

The possible occurrence of resistance is discussed.
A controlled Humidifier for Insect Breeding Rooms
Authors: Kitchen W. H. , Gall D.
Published: July 2009

An atomizer, with controlling hygrostat, has proved to be a very satisfactory humidifier for raising the humidity of a large breeding room without lowering its temperature.
The Potency and Persistence of some new Synthetic Insecticides
Authors: Busvine J. R. , Nash Ruth
Published: July 2009

Simple laboratory methods are described for assessing the potency and persistence of insecticides. Some of the newer synthetic insecticides have been tested by these methods against seven arthropod pests of medical importance.

Initial potency was judged by the mortality of insects exposed to standard films of oil solutions of the compounds, on filter papers. The approximate order of potency of the samples tested was:—

γBHC>dieldrin>aldrin=pyrethrins>chlordane=DDT= “Pyrolan” =allethrin> toxaphene.

Residual action was judged by the mortality of batches of bed bugs exposed to films of the insecticides, at intervals up to six months after preparation. The approximate order of persistence was:—

dieldrin=DDT=toxaphene>“Pyrolan”>γBHC=chlordane=aldrin>allethrin, pyrethrins.
Laboratory and Field Trials in the Control of Fleas and Lice
Authors: Shawarby A. A.
Published: July 2009

The median lethal concentrations of some persistent insecticides as obtained by a filter-paper-impregnation technique for X. cheopis and P. humanus corporis are given. Their relative toxicity runs in the following order:—

Flea (adults): Gamma BHC > dieldrin > aldrin > chlordane > DDT > pyrethrins > allethrin > toxaphene.

Lice: Dieldrin > gamma BHC > aldrin > chlordane > pyrethrins > allethrin > DDT=toxaphene.

On flea larvae gamma BHC is 36 times as toxic as p,p'DDT.

On flea pupae gamma BHC and DDT powders and wettable suspensions are effective; further tests are required to determine their comparative toxicity.

On mud blocks (London soil) gamma BHC wettable suspension is only 3 times as toxic as DDT compared with 20 times on filter papers impregnated with oil solutions. This is probably due to the more rapid sorption of gamma BHC as well as the difference of surface and formulation.

In the field, at dosages of 2 gr. per m2 of 70 per cent. p,p′ DDT and i43 mg. of gamma BHC from wettable powders, BHC was superior to DDT as it gave a much better control of fleas (P. irritans) over the period of the experiment (24 weeks).

Field trials on body lice by dusting the clothes, while worn, with 40 gr. (per person) of dusts containing, respectively, 10 per cent. (70 per cent. p,p′) DDT dust and 0·4 per cent, gamma BHC, showed that BHC gave more satisfactory results than DDT.

The resistance of lice to DDT shown by Busvine in the local strain of Pediculus and the possibility of its occurrence among fleas may be one of the factors contributing to a better control by BHC.

It was found possible to develop artificially, by selection in the laboratory, a slight degree of resistance in X. cheopis.
Selection of a BHC-resistant Strain of Drosophila melanogaster Mg
Authors: Oppenoorth F. J. , Dresden D.
Published: July 2009

Two wild strains of Drosophila and one laboratory strain were selected for resistance to γBHC by a contact method. From each of these three strains equally resistant strains developed in about the same time. They did not become more resistant after prolonged selection. The resistance obtained was further investigated in one of the strains.

There was no evidence of any specificity: the susceptibility of the resistant insects to DDT and “Thanite” also appeared to be less than that of the original strains.

Although the strains were selected by a contact method they also showed decreased susceptiblity when the poison was applied to the skin and when it was injected. From the reciprocal crosses F1's were obtained the susceptibilities of which were practically the same and differed little from that of the resistant parent strain. It follows that resistance does not depend on cytoplasmatic heredity and that it is incompletely dominant.
Notes on the Green Leafhopper, Empoasca lybica, Berg. (Hom. Jassid.) in Palestine
Authors: Klein H. Z.
Published: July 2009

In the coastal area of Palestine, Empoasca lybica has eight annual generations. The average number of offspring per female is 16, 81 being the maximum. The adults live in summer up to seven weeks whilst those of the autumn-generation overwinter and live up to five months. The pre-oviposition period, the development of the egg and larva and the total development last from 2 to 23, 5 to 49, 8 to 50 and 15 to 72 days, respectively, according to the season of the year. The threshold of development is between 10 and 12°C. in the various stages of development. The duration of development depends mainly on the temperature. Air humidity has no influence on the duration of development so long as the leaves are sufficiently succulent. Activity of the adults ceases below 14°C. and a temperature above 46°C. results in immediate death. During khamsin-days no oviposition takes place, and many larvae die, especially those of the first stage. The most important local hosts are Solanaceous plants. The characteristic damage is the appearance of yellowish stains on the leaves and leaf-curling; the plants are delayed in development, and shed their flowers and small fruits. Young plants wither when heavily attacked. Damage is most severe in young plants in mid-summer. So far no satisfactory control measures have been found in Palestine.
Preliminary Tests of DDT Emulsion Concentrates
Authors: Jones B. M.
Published: July 2009

A method for testing the physical stability of emulsions is described.

Since the persistent toxicity of residual films is so important in the control of mosquitos and flies, this biological activity of stable DDT emulsions was measured by the response and susceptibility of Armigeres obturbans and Culex gelidus over a protracted period of time.

These discriminating tests were carried out before emulsion concentrates were tried out in the field.
The Removal of insect Pests from stored Products by Means of behaviour Stimuli
Authors: Robertson Forbes W.
Published: July 2009

A continuous method is described of separating adult Silvanus surinamensis from infested tea by means of an apparatus involving three behaviour stimuli, namely, light, heat and mechanical activation.
Equipment and Method employed in breeding Aëdes aegypti, L., for the biological Assay of Insecticides
Authors: David W. A. L. , Bracey P. , Harvey A.
Published: July 2009

A method of rearing large numbers of Aëdes aegypti for the biological assay of insecticides is described. The larval food found to be most satisfactory was a breadcrumb infusion. Blood is necessary for oviposition (human blood is best), but the main batches of insects destined for spraying are fed on water, sugar and raisins.

This work is being carried out under a grant from the Medical Research Council. The authors are grateful to Prof. P. A. Buxton and Dr. V. B. Wigglesworth for advice and encouragement.
Control of head and pubic Lice
Authors: Roy D. N. , Ghosh S. M.
Published: July 2009

The lice that infect man may be one or more of the three species, Pediculus humanus capitis, P. h. corporis or Phthirus pubis, and this paper deals with treatments for the first and last of these.
Physiological and ecological Studies on the Species of Capnodis in Palestine (Col., Buprestidae)
Authors: Rivnay E.
Published: July 2009

The economic importance of Capnodis in Palestine is discussed; the various species and their hosts are enumerated.

The egg is described and its shell chemically analysed. It was found that potassium, calcium and magnesium are present as cations and chloride and carbonate as anions.

The effects of relative humidity upon the egg are discussed. It is pointed out that the egg is resistant to a low percentage, but succumbs to a high percentage of relative humidity. The rôle of the egg shell in this matter is important.

The effects of the temperature upon the eggs are discussed. Their development at various temperatures is calculated, and the Blunck formula applied. The mortality of the egg at high and low temperatures is shown in tables.
A Technique for biological Studies of Cheese Mites
Authors: Robertson Phyllis L.
Published: July 2009

Recent investigations on the control of cheese mites in New Zealand have necessitated detailed biological studies of the species concerned. Experiments have been carried out on the physical ecology of the species, Tyrophagus longior, Gerv., Tyrolichus casei, Oudm. [Tyroglyphus siro, auct.] and Tyroglyphus farinae, Degeer. A technique has been developed whereby, under controlled temperature and humidity conditions, individual developmental records may be readily obtained for all stages of the life-cycle. This technique is one that may be modified for similar studies on small insects, such as Thysanoptera, Collembola, etc.
The Influence of Rainfall, Tides and periodic Fluctuations on a Population of Anopheles melas, Theo.
Authors: Ribbands C. R.
Published: July 2009

Anopheles gambiae var. melas was first described by Theobald (1903), and at the same time Dutton (1903) recorded the breeding of A. gambiae in seawater. These two observations were not correlated, but most later workers have believed, with Evans (1931), that the melanic pigmentation of the variety was a direct and temporary response to brackish environmental conditions. They have therefore made no effort to distinguish between the two forms.
Studies in Siricidae, especially of Europe and southern Asia (Hymenoptera, Symphyta)
Authors: Benson Robert B.
Published: July 2009

1. These studies were originally intended to form the basis of a world monograph of the Siricidae ; such a work cannot be completed under present circumstances.

2. Two ratios are introduced as useful characters for separating species : the ovipositor/forewing ratio and the sawsheath/ovipositor ratio. These ratios were obtained from all specimens of all the species represented in the British Museum collections and the results are tabulated. They were found not to vary with the size of the insects.

The former ratio is specially useful in the genus Urocerus, which has a long ovipositor, and the latter ratio in the genus Sirex, which has a shorter ovipositor.

3. Keys are given to the genera of the world. Of Semenov's new genera, Xoanon is accepted but not Xanthosirex. A new genus Eriotremex is erected for certain Indo-Malayan species previously included in Tremex.

4. Keys are given to the European species, which are compared critically with related species from other parts of the world. A key to the species of Eriotremex, gen. nov., is also given.

5. Sirex noctilio, F., and S. juvencus, L., are recorded for the first time from North America and S. cyaneus, F., from the continent of Europe. The common Urocerus of the northern Palaearctic region is shown to be more closely related to the Nearctic U. gigas flavicornis, F., than to the central European U. gigas gigas, L., and is treated as a new subspecies—U. gigas taiganus, subsp. nov. U. gigas tibetanus, subsp. nov., is described from the Himalayas. U. sah, Mocsáry, is treated as a subspecies of U. augur, Klug, and U. cedrorum, Smith, as a synonym of U. augur augur, Klug.

6. The British Siricidae are discussed, and it is suggested that U. gigas taiganus, subsp. nov., and the form of S. juvencus, L., with entirely black antennae may be native in the Caledonian forest.

7. It is argued that modern Siricidae could not have been derived from the Jurassic Pseudosiricidae.

8. The known Oriental and Himalayan Siricidae are listed and discussed. Urocerus multifasciatus, Takeuchi, and Eriotremex formosanus, Matsumura, are mentioned as two species originally described from Formosa but shown also to occur on the mainland. Urocerus niger, sp. nov., is described from the Himalayan region, and the name Eriotremex malayanus, sp. nov., is given to a form described without a name by Forsius from Malaya.

9. Several errors in previous work on Siricidae are corrected.
A Survey of British Sheep Blowflies
Authors: MacLeod J.
Published: July 2009

i. A four-year survey, involving the investigation of over 1,000 cases of strike, has been made of the species concerned in sheep myiasis throughout the British Isles. In all regions, L. sericata is the principal maggot-fly. In Scotland, Northern England and North Wales, L. caesar is an important species. Phormia terraenovae has much the same distribution, as a striking species, as L. caesar, except that it apparently does not strike sheep in North Wales ; in the areas where it occurs it follows L. caesar in importance. These two species are apparently capable of acting as primary flies. Calliphora erythrocephala, and, more rarely, Calliphora vomitoria occur fairly generally over the country, but only in very low incidence. Larvae of Muscina spp. have been recovered from only three cases, one each in Scotland, England and Ireland. The two closely related species, L. caesar and L. illustris have only been separated in a few instances, and there is not sufficient evidence for the latter species, but it would seem to be more common in lowland areas than in the north and west.

ii. The incidence of “ alternative ” species, i.e. species other than L. sericata, decreases from north-west to south-east of Britain ; they occurred in 47 per cent. of strikes north and west of a line from Inverness to Glasgow, and in over 20 per cent. of the cases between this and a line from East Lothian to Morecambe Bay, south of the Lake District. In the fringe of hill country east and south of this, e.g., the Cheviots, Pennines and Wales, about 10 per cent. of cases contained “ alternative ” species. Farther to the south-east and south “ alternatives ” were rare.

iii. Within the above belts of territory, the “ alternative ” species appear to have certain common regions which are favourable for the striking habit, although the limits of strike-distribution for each species are apparently not quite coincident. These “ favourable regions ” are discussed in the text. With Phormia terraenovae the habit appears to be restricted to favourable regions, where it occurs in moderately high incidence ; with L. caesar strike occurs in relatively high incidence in favourable regions, but is also present, in low proportion, throughout the country, while the Calliphora species strike in low proportion in favourable regions, and sporadically elsewhere.

iv. Phormia and L. caesar have a higher relative incidence in the first half of the fly season than in the later half ; C. vomitoria may be restricted to the extremes of the season-May, June and September.
A Description of Aphis (Doralis) rumicis, L., and Comparison with Aphis (Doralis) fabae, Scop.
Authors: Margaret G. Jones
Published: July 2009

Linnaeus (1746) described a black aphis which he found on Rumex sp. and called it Aphis rumicis. Fabricius (1794) described a black aphis “ Aphis rumicis,” found “in Rumice acuto” and mentioned pale antennae and tibiae. Risso (1826) recorded a species, Doralis rumicis, Leach, found in the Mediterranean region, but did not describe it. Koch (1857) recorded Aphis rumicis, L., from Rumex crispus, feeding chiefly on the stems and flower-stalks. This aphis is also frequently found on thistles and beans. The apterous female has black antennae, white only at the base of the long “ fourth joint.” The wing-pads and thorax of the alate nymphs are olive-green. Kaltenbach (1874) described black Aphids developing from eggs on dock, and having a second winged generation which settles on beans, thistles, Chenopodium sp., and other plants. He observed that the Aphid colonies are on the leaves and flower-stalks. Buckton (1879) gave an illustrated account of a black aphis, Aphis rumicis, L., which has a large number of food-plants including Rumex crispus, Carduus lanceolalus, and broad bean, with furze as its winter host. He noticed the presence of large white flecks on the “pupae.”
Notes on the Larvae of the three common injurious Species of Ephestia (Lepidoptera, Phycitidae)
Authors: Hinton H.E
Published: July 2009

The larvae of the three common species of Ephestia, E. kühniella, Zell., E. elutella, Hb., and E. cautella, Wik. , are serious pests of stored food products, particularly cereals, dried fruits, nuts, and cacao. These species often occur together on stored foods, e.g., E. elutella and E. cautellaon dried fruit, or E. kühniella and E. elutellaon grain. Sometimes all three are found together on the same product. To know what species are present is of considerable importance, since they differ in the amount of damage they are likely to do, in their resistance to fumigants, in the frequency with which they are recorded as pests of Other products, etc. It has not hitherto been possible to identify the larvae with certainty except by breeding them out, which is unsatisfactory, both because of the time it takes and because it frequently happens that many of the larvae confined in breeding cages die of “wilt.”
Measurements of Temperature and Light in artificial Pools with Reference to the larval Habitat of Anopheles (Myzomyia) gambiae, Giles, and A. (M.) funestus, Giles
Authors: Haddow A. J.
Published: July 2009

1. Two series of hourly measurements of temperature and light intensity, each extending over 24 hours, were made in artificial pools. One pool contained clear water, one muddy water, one standing grass 1 ft. high and one was completely shaded by papyrus matting at a height of 1 ft. Shade temperature records were kept in a Stevenson screen.

2. The results showed that the grass had a pronounced insulating effect on temperature. The range in the grassy pool was less than that in the screen and less than half than that in the open pool. The grassy pool was warmer by night and cooler by day than the open pool. No essential difference was noted between the temperature cycle of the clear open pool and the muddy open pool nor between the grassy pool with broken shade and the pool receiving complete shade from matting. Maximum light intensity in the grassy pool was less than half that attained in the open pool.

3. It is concluded that not only do the breeding waters of A. gambiae reach much higher temperatures than those of such species as A. funestus, A. coustani and A. pharoensis, but that they also undergo much greater temperature fluctuations.
A Survey of British Sheep Blowflies. II. Relation of Strike to Host and edaphic Factors
Authors: MacLeod J.
Published: July 2009

The seasonal incidence curve of strike is bimodal, and divisible into four phases, the pre-shearing, the shearing trough, the lamb phase, and the late season adult and lamb phase. About two-thirds of the strikes reported by shepherds occurred in the hindquarters area (this term including the rump and hindlegs). In a lowland flock where all strikes were noted over a five-year period the incidence of hindquarters strikes was much lower (43 per cent.). The shoulders area, in relation to its size, is highly susceptible. It appears to be even more common a site in lowland than in mountain breeds. Rather more than half of the reported cases were in adult sheep, and of these more than half were in shorn sheep. Body strikes were relatively more common in shorn than in woolled sheep. Species other than L. sericata (referred to as alternative species) occurred mainly in mountain breeds or their lowland crosses, and more frequently in body than in breech strikes. Alternative species were more or less equally common in adults and in lambs, except Phormia terraenovae, which was practically confined to adults. The occurrence of alternative species was significantly associated with the type of grazing, and also with the vegetation type on the grazing ; the partial association with vegetation type, with pasture type constant, suggests that presence of bracken and/or heather is closely associated with the conditions resulting in alternative species striking sheep.
Phototropism in Insects—an Indictment of the Light-trap Method
Authors: Squire F. A.
Published: July 2009

The attraction of insects to light is proverbial, and allusions to it occur throughout the literature, showing that it has always excited the interest and curiosity of mankind. Yet it has not received the scientific treatment it deserves. Entomologists have, it is true, investigated it in recent years, but with no great success. The reason for their failure is not far to seek. The method adopted in the beginning was, unfortunately, that of the light-trap, which led immediately to a utilitarian and unscientific approach. The literature that ensued so far from elucidating, merely obscured, the true nature of the phenomenon.

This is clearly shown by the fact that in nearly every investigation the method is to expose one or more traps of various design and complexity in fields at night, the catch being counted and classified in the morning. This is quite a harmless hobby and may even be of some use in indicating whether one trap is better than another and, so long as it is used for this purpose, there is no fault to be found with this method. But this is not the case. The prevailing tendency has been to proceed from observations of the catch not merely to conclusions regarding the relative efficacy of light-traps, which would be legitimate, but to deductions concerning the laws and nature of phototropism which is fallacious. Thus, to take a common instance, a species A is caught in considerable numbers while another species B, though known to be present, is not trapped in any quantity, and the conclusion frequently drawn is that A is more strongly photo-positive than B. The objection is that the investigator knows nothing about the density and distribution of the species concerned in the vicinity of the traps ; he is, therefore, unable to go beyond the observed fact that his trap took more of A than of B, and is not entitled to draw conclusions regarding the relative photo-positiveness of the two species since one may have been more favourably situated or far more numerous than the other in the field.
New Species of Coccoidea (Homoptera) from Mauritius
Authors: Mamet R.
Published: July 2009

The types of the species described below will be deposited in the collection of the British Museum (Natural History), and the paratypes are in my collection.

I wish to acknowledge here the valuable assistance received from Dr. W. J. Hall on many occasions.
The Establishment of a new Species of Anagyrus in Kenya
Authors: Le Pelley Richard H.
Published: July 2009

Anagyrus beneficians, Compere, obtained in small numbers from shipments of other parasites from Uganda, proved to breed readily in the laboratory.

Numbers were reared, liberated and established on mealybug in coffee districts and native reserves in Kenya.

It is one of several parasites responsible for a marked reduction in the severity of the mealybug.
Resistance of Theobroma cacao to Sahlbergella spp. on the Gold Coast
Authors: Posnette A. F.
Published: July 2009

The damage done to cacao (Theobroma) in West Africa by certain species of Capsidae has been described by Dudgeon (1910), Cotterell (1926) and Voelcker and West (1940). At the start of a selection programme aimed at developing strains of cacao resistant or tolerant to such damage, it was considered necessary to develop a laboratory technique for testing the palatability of selections. It is noticeable in the field that certain trees appear consistently to escape attack ; this might be due to some form of unattractiveness to the Capsids. One of the most obvious forms of preference which seems to be shown by these bugs is that of Sahlbergella theobroma for seedlings and young trees up to about six years old and that of S. singularis for mature trees. Indeed until very recently there was no field record of S. singularis attacking seedlings in the Gold Coast. Conversely, attacks by S. theobroma on mature trees are confined almost entirely to pods, while the other species causes severe damage to shoots. Dudgeon (loc. cit.) reports old trees “ exhibiting damaged bark and dead branches ” in the presence of S. theobroma, but these may have been feeding on pods.
A brown Aphis, Aphis (Doralis) cognatella, sp. n., found on Spindle Tree
Authors: Jones Margaret G.
Published: July 2009

1. A new species of aphis, Aphis (Doralis) cognatella, found on Euonymus europaeus is described and compared with Aphis (Doralis) fabae, which it closely resembles. This new aphis is brown in colour and has long hairs.

2. Two individuals, intermediate in character between oviparae and sexuparae, are mentioned.

3. Transference experiments, carried out under somewhat artificial conditions, show that although the aphis is normally found on Euonymus sp., it can exist for some time on Rumex obtusifolius, R. crispus, Chenopodium album, Capsella bursapastoris, Arctium lappa, and Beta vulgaris (flower stalks), which are also host plants of A. fabae, but it does not colonise Vicia faba.

4. The sexuparae are apterous and produce males, oviparae and apterae, thus differing from A.fabae, in which there are two sexuparous forms, one an alate gynopara and the other an apterous form found on the summer hosts.

5. Olfactometer experiments give no indication of any olfactory response to the odour of E. europaeus leaves.
Ovicidal Properties of certain Insecticides of Plant Origin. (Nicotine, Pyrethrins, Deeris Products)
Authors: Potter C. , Tattersfield F.
Published: July 2009

The pyrethrins, nicotine, rotenone and a derris resin have been tested in the laboratory under standard conditions for their ovicidal effect. The test-subjects were : Pieris brassicae, Plutella maculipennis, Aphis rhamni, Ephestia kühniella and Sitotroga cerealella. Notes on the technique of egg production are given for these species. In the majority of the tests made a water medium containing acetone together with sulphonated lorol as a wetting agent was used.

It has been shown that all these products are toxic to the species on which they were tested. Lauryl thiocyanate, β-butoxyβ'thiocyanodiethyl ether and 3 : 5 dinitro-o-cresol were included as substances of recognised ovicidal value for purposes of comparison.

All the above insecticides derived from plants compared favourably in their toxic action with the synthetics. In two instances during tests on eggs of Ephestia kiihniella, data were obtained enabling a satisfactory statistical comparisdn of relative potency to be made. In the first of these, the pyrethrins were found to be 8·45±1·47 times as toxic as 3 : 5 dinitro-o-cresol, while in the second the pyrethrins were found to be 2·66±0·26 times as toxic as a Derris elliptica resin (rotenone content 37–40 per cent.). It therefore appears that both the pyrethrins and the derris resin were more toxic, weight for weight, than 3 : 5 dinitro-o-cresol which is recognised as one of the most potent ovicides.

The above vegetable poisons were found to be toxic not only to eggs developing in a few days without a diapause, but also to those of Aphis rhamni, a species of overwintering egg. The tests on A. rhamni were made at the time the eggs were just starting to hatch. The same result might not have been obtained with eggs at an earlier stage of development.

Observations were made on the effect of the different insecticides on the development of the egg. This effect appeared to differ with each substance, either qualitatively or quantitatively, but within the limits of the experiment it seemed to be independent of the species of the egg.
The Culicine Mosquitos of Syria and the Lebanon
Authors: Parr H. C. M.
Published: July 2009

It was decided in May 1942 to make a survey of the Culicine mosquitos of Syria and the Lebanon, but the more important work dealing with the Anophelines prevented a complete and detailed one of the whole of Syria, though that of the Lebanon is more or less complete. Where only one or two records exist for any particular species, it cannot be presumed that these mosquitos are not common, and a subsequent detailed survey would probably reveal not a wider distribution of some species but also the presence of others not recorded here.

Whenever possible, eggs and larvae were bred out and permanent mounts made of the larval and pupal skins, and consequently identification of most of the species was based on larval, pupal and adult characters.

The identification keys used were taken from Marshall's “ British Mosquitoes ” 1938, and Kirkpatrick's “ Mosquitoes of Egypt ” 1925. It was found necessary to alter and to make new additions to these as they did not contain all those species found to be present.

I wish to thank Lieutenant-Colonel MacDonald, R.A.M.C, Malariologist, for permitting me to complete this work, Major H. S. Leeson, R.A.M.C, Entomologist, and Major O. Theodor, R.A.M.C, Entomologist, for their invaluable help in the construction of the keys and the confirmation of the species.

Uranotaenia unguiculata, Edw.-A single female was found resting among the vegetation in the daytime at Ammiq swamp in November, and a single larva was taken there in October. The breeding place was a small clay pit, 6–8 inches deep and containing green algae and a certain amount of vertical vegetation. U. unguiculata has not been found in any other part of Syria or the Lebanon.
The Use of a Plaster Substratum for testing Pyrethrum-oil Films against Ornithodorus moubata, Murray (Acarina : Argasidae)
Authors: Robinson G. G.
Published: July 2009

Pyrethrum-oil films were tested in various forms on plaster substrata against the tick, Ornithodorus moubata. The insecticide was most effective if applied :—

1. Concentrated rather than dilute.

2. In a medium rather than a light petroleum oil.

3. As an emulsion in Lanette Wax Solution rather than in oil alone.

4. With an irritant (such as 4-chlor-2-methyl-phenol) present in the solution.
A new Species of Finlaya, Theo. (Diptera, Culicidae) from Ussuri Land
Authors: Stackelberg A. A.
Published: July 2009

Aëdes (Finlaya) alektorovi, sp. n.

A dark species of medium size ; praescutum with a large quadratic spot covered with golden-yellow scales. Abdominal segments with small white-scaled lateral spots. Hind tarsi with apical and basal bands on joints 1–3.

♂. Head. dark, covered with pale yellowish erect scales ; eye-margins with many long black bristly hairs (ocular chaete). Proboscis black and black-scaled. Palpi a little shorter than proboscis, black, covered with black scales, in apical part a little clubbed ; apical and preapical joint of palpi with some long dark hairs. Antennae dark brown, with paje bands and a tuft of long blackish hairs. Mesonotum black, covered with numerous golden-yellow scales ; lateral area of praescutum with a small spot of blackish-brown scales; lateral area of scutum with a similar spot. Scutum between the dorsocentral bristles covered with blackish-brown scales. Mesonotal bristles golden-yellow. Scutellum covered with pale yellow scales, with three groups golden-yellow bristles. Pleurae brown. Dorsal margin of proepimera covered with yellowish sickle-shaped scales ; caudal margin of proepimera with a small spot of broad silvery-white scales. Dorsal part of sternopleura with a large spot of broad silvery-white scales, in the middle of caudal margin a similar but much smaller spot. Dorsal part of mesepisterna with a distinct spot of broad silvery-white scales. Abdomen black, with dorsum of all segments densely covered with black scales with steel-blue reflexions ; bases of tergites with triangular lateral spots of broad silvery-white scales. Hypopygium : coxite cylindrical, four times as long as broad at base ; basal part of coxite with a small lobe-like prominence, armed with seven long and stout bristles.
Natural Enemies of the Cacao Thrips
Authors: Callan E. McC.
Published: July 2009

(1) Previous records of natural enemies of the cacao thrips, Selenothrips rubrocinctus, Giard, are reviewed.

(2) An account is given of the following natural enemies in Trinidad, B.W.I. :—Dasyscapus parvipennis, Franklinothrips tenuicornis, F. vespiformis, Chrysopids, Ninyas torvus, Termatophylidea maculata and Wasmannia auropunctata.

(3) The Eulophid parasite, Dasyscapus parvipennis, was introduced into the West Indies from the Gold Coast in 1935. It is now successfully established in Trinidad, Puerto Rico and Jamaica, but has so far given no indication of economic control of the cacao thrips.

(4) The importance of natural enemies is discussed. Observations are made on the feeding propensities of some of the predators in the laboratory. Chrysopids are regarded as the most important predators and probably exercise some measure of control.

(5) Population counts of the cacao thrips and Chrysopid and Franklinothrips larvae are given.
Notes on the Mosquitos of British Somaliland
Authors: van Someren G. R. Cunningham
Published: July 2009

In 1941 Edwards listed nine species from British Somaliland, comprising one Anopheline and eight Culicines. These were the specimens collected by R. E. Drake-Brockman in 1913 and by T.H. Twigg in 1930, but there appears to have been no datailed mosquito survey of the terrtory.

The present notes are based on a small collection made by the writer in January 1942, as a result of a brief survey in a limited area of the Protectorate, augmented by notes and material, mostly larvae, made by Dr. D. G. MacInnes from March to June 1942. Although only a few places were visited, the survey has added a further thirteen species to the list for the territory. Owing to circumstances, the restricted area investigated was confined to the region along the roads Boramo-Hargeisa to Berbera and Berbera to Burao, the altitude range being from sea-level to 5,000 feet.
The Mosquitoes of Bwamba County, Uganda. II.—Biting Activity with special Reference to the Influence of Microclimate
Authors: Haddow A. J.
Published: July 2009

1. The work was carried out in Bwamba County, Uganda, a district where human yellow fever has recently occurred. It consisted mainly of 24-hour catches in banana plantations and rain forest combined with climate observations.

2. It was found that forest was cooler and moister by day than a banana plantation while the plantation was cooler and moister than the open air. By night, however, the climate of all three environments was strikingly similar.

3. Methods used in making 24-hour catches and large scale routine catches are described. Trials with trap nets showed these to be less efficient than hand catching.

4. Experimental catches showed thatAëdes simpsoni, the only species known to be a vector of yellow fever in Bwamba, bites mainly in coffee gardens, maize fields and the thinner parts and edges of banana plantations. It is scarce in fully exposed situations. It occurs within the edges of primeval rain forest. It prefers human blood to that of goats, fowls, and monkeys, and attacks the head and shoulders selectively.
Notes on Helopeltis sanguineus, Popp., on Cotton in Nigeria
Authors: Golding F. D.
Published: July 2009

In 1925, the writer (2) described some experiments that demonstrated the rôle of Helopeltis as a pest of cotton at Ibadan, Nigeria. Evidence was obtained that attack was greater on the improved indigenous Ishan (Gossypium barbadense, formerly described as G. vitifolium) than on either American Allen (G. hirsutum) or the ordinary native cotton (G. peruvianum).
Lygus simonyi, Reut., as a Cotton Pest in Uganda
Authors: Taylor T. H. C.
Published: July 2009

This review of investigations ofLygus simonyi, Reut., was originally written early in 1944 as a handing-over report, and was not intended primarily for publication. As I was then about to leave Uganda, it seemed desirable to place on record, for the information of my successors, the work which I and others had done, even though the investigations were still in an early stage. Since then, the opinion that publication of the report would be useful as a basis for future work has been expressed by the Empire Cotton Growing Corporation and others, and I have therefore agreed to publish it in spite of my consciousness of many shortcomings in it.
New injurious Curculionidae (Col.) from Tropical Africa
Authors: Marshall A. K.
Published: July 2009

♂♀. Derm black, with uniform dense sandy-brown scaling above and opalescent scaling beneath.

Head short, not transversely impressed, the temples less than half as long as an eye; frons with the median stria partly obscured by scaling and with a few erect spatulate setae on each side; eyes strongly convex, highest behind the middle. Rostrum similar in the two sexes, a little longer than broad, about as wide at the genae as at the base, and with the sides slightly sinuate; dorsum with a high bare median carina that expands apically into a broad bare epistomal area, which is unevenly punctate and not marginate, the epistomal setae being rather sparse and narrow, the areas on each side of the carina densely squamose and obliquely impressed in the middle; mandibles less densely setose than usual and without scales; mentum with only a single row of setae along the apical margin. Antennae black, densely squamose throughout, scape straight, widening from base to apex; funicle with joints 1 and 2 equal, 3 as long as broad, 4–7 subequal and transverse; club with the basal joint pedunculate. Prothorax transverse (2:3), broadly rounded laterally in the basal half, widest at one-third from base, the basal angles rounded obtuse angles, not constricted apically, the base shallowly bisinuate with the median lobe short and broadly rounded; dorsum smooth, with dense overlapping striolate scales and short appressed spatulate setae, concealing the median stria, and with a large shallow impression in the basal angles.
Studies on the Breeding Places and Control ofAnopheles gambiaeandA. gambiaevar.melasin Coastal Districts of Sierra Leone
Authors: Thomson R. C. Muirhead
Published: July 2009

The eggs ofA. gambiaevar.melasare distinctly different from those of typicalgambiae, and it is now regarded as a distinct species,A. melas. Other workers have found that the larvae also differ, physiologically and structurally. All adults with an extra dark band on the palps—4-banded forms— are known to bemelas, but those adults with normal 3-banded palps can so far only be distinguished from typicalgambiaeby egg characters.

A. melasis now known to be an important vector of malaria in coastal districts in West Africa. In some estuarine and mangrove swamp areas it may be even more important than typicalgambiae. Inmelascaught in Freetown estuary (mostly from Wellington village), 42 out of 1,000 glands dissected were positive, giving a sporozoite rate of 4·2 per cent. for all months of the year. The oocyst rate was 4·7 per cent., and the total infection rate was 7·8 per cent.

In Freetown estuarymelasis rare in Freetown itself, and in the adjoining village of Kissy, but in all other parts of the estuary is at least as important as typicalgambiae. In many places it is the dominant vector. In Wellington to the east of Kissy, and on the Bullom shore which forms the north shore of the estuary,melasforms about 90 per cent. of Anophelines caught in houses.
The Influence of certain biological Factors on the Resistance of Bed-bugs (Cimex lectularius, L.) to DDT
Authors: Barnes Sarah
Published: July 2009

The work described below forms part of an investigation to determine the residual toxicity of DDT when applied to the surface of materials commonly used in the construction of buildings. the bed-bug (Cimex lectularius, L.), because of its wide distribution and habit of infesting surfaces, either exposed or hidden, is an eminently suitable subject for such an investigation. In order to compare the residual toxicity of different surfaces after treatment with DDT, it was considered an essential preliminary step to ascertain whether or not the biological condition of the insect influenced its resistance to the insecticide. The present investigation was, therefore, undertaken to establish any possible variations in resistance which could be correlated with one or more of the following biological factors:— 1. starvation for different periods; 2. sex; 3. stage in the life-history; 4. temperature.