bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Oviposition behaviour, egg-masses and hatching response of the eggs of five Nearctic species of Simulium (Diptera: Simuliidae)
Authors: Imhof Jane E , Smith Stephenm M
Published: July 2009

The oviposition behaviour of Simulium decorum Wlk., S. vittatum Zett., S. verecundum Stone & Jamnback and S. vernum Macq. is described, with emphasis on the approach by the females to the egglaying sites, the substrates selected and the behaviour of the flies while laying. The eggs and egg-masses of these four species and S. longistylatum Shewell are described; the eggs can be distinguished on the basis of size, and a key is provided to aid their identification. Eggs of S. vittatum completed embryonic development and hatched more quickly than those of S. verecundum of the same age at both 15 and 24°C. The hatch rate of the eggs of both species exceeded 90% when the eggs were present in single-layered masses. The position of an egg Within a multi-layered mass had an important effect on its ability to complete development; significantly lower proportions of eggs of both S. verecundum and S. vittatum in the lowermost layers of large egg-masses hatched, compared with the hatch of those in the top layer. The location of an egg within an egg-mass must be considered a major factor of mortality in the egg stage. The eggs of neither S. verecundum nor S. vittatum were resistant to drying; mortality due to desiccation was related to both the duration of the drying period and the stage of embryonic development when they were subjected to drying.
A survey of resistance to acaricides in economically important Ixodidae (Acari) of the major cattle-raising areas of Kenya
Authors: Crampton P. L. , Gichanga M. M.
Published: July 2009

The results are presented of a survey of the resistance to acaricides of strains of economically important ticks from the cattle-raising areas of Kenya in 1970–75. Larval progeny of ticks collected in the field were subjected to an immersion test to determine their resistance status to toxaphene and dioxathion. The proportions of samples of the three major species shown to be resistant to or tolerant of toxaphene wereBoophilusdecoloratus (Koch) 99·3%, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi Neum. 77·3% andR. appendiculatusNeum. 62·5 %. A large proportion of the relatively few samples ofR. pulchellus(Gerst.) were also resistant to toxaphene, but few resistant samples ofAmblyomma variegatum(F.) andHaemaphysalis leachii leachii(Aud.) were collected, and only one sample ofHyalomma(H. marginatum rufipesKoch) was tolerant of toxaphene. None of these species was resistant to dioxathion. Organophosphorus resistance was noted in one species only,R. sanguineus(Latr.), collected from the suburbs of Nairobi.
Host preferences and feeding patterns of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) at Kowanyama, Cape York Peninsula, northern Queensland
Authors: Kay B. H. , Boreham P. F. L. , Williams G. M.
Published: July 2009

Closely spaced stable traps were used to determine the preferences of mosquitoes for 6 vertebrates at Kowanyama, northern Queensland, on 4 occasions during the wet and dry seasons of 1974–75. A total of 44 626 mosquitoes from 35 taxa was collected and compared with 26 215 specimens of 15 taxa trapped at Charleville, south-west Queensland, in February 1976. Host preference was analysed in detail for 11 species;Anopheles bancroftiiGiles,An. amictusEdw.,An. annulipesWlk.,An. farauti Lav.,An. meraukensisVenhuis,Aedes bancroftianusEdw.,Ae. normanensis(Tayl.),Ae. vittiger(Skuse),Culex annidirostrisSkuse,Cx. quinquefasciatusSay (=fatigansWied.) andMansonia uniformis(Theo.). All species in these experiments, including the important vector of arboviruses,Cx. annulirostris, preferred mammalian baits, especially calf, althoughAn. bancroftiiandCx. quinquefasciatuspreferred man. Blood-meals of 5802 engorged mosquitoes of 21 taxa collected from natural resting sites at Kowanyama village were analysed by the precipitin test. Mammals, particularly dogs, were the most important hosts.Cx. squamosus(Tayl.) andCx. quinquefasciatuswere the only species to feed extensively on birds (75–6 and 28–7%, respectively).Uranotaenia albescensTayl. fed almost entirely on amphibia. No seasonal shifts in feeding ofAn. bancroftii, An. annulipes, Cx. annulirostrisorCx. quinquefasciatuswere evident from either host-preference or host-feeding patterns, the latter being evaluated using a ‘ Feeding Index ’. These results are discussed in relation to the transmission of arboviruses, particularly Murray Valley encephalitis virus and pulmonary dirofilariasis of man and dogs in Australia.
Studies on the large-scale rearing of the stable fly, Stomoxys nigra Macquart (Diptera: Muscidae)
Authors: Ramsamy M.
Published: July 2009

A laboratory colony of Stomoxys nigra Macq. was established in February 1976. Techniques were developed to produce 100 000 to 125 000 pupae daily in a larval room of 12 m2. The adults were fed on stored titrated blood and reared at a density of 500 pairs dn nylon cages with sides of 30 cm. The adult room was maintained at 29±1·5°C, 75–80 % RH and LD 14:10. To ensure a continuous supply of ovipositing individuals, 24 new cages with mature pupae were daily put in the adult room (capacity 280 cages) and an equal number of cages containing senile flies were removed. Eggs were harvested on moist khaki cloth below the adult cages, then concentrated in a trough of water and seeded at the rate of 1 ml (10 500 eggs) per kg of larval medium. The larval medium consisted of a mixture of 4 parts by weight of shredded sugar-cane (or elephant grass) leaves, 1 part soft Wheat bran and water at 2 ml/g dry matter. Larvae were reared in trays (45×35×7.5 cm) covered with cloth sacks to prevent invasion by pests. Eleven days after seeding, pupae were separated from the medium by flotation over water. From 2 September 1977 to 8 December 1977 forty trays, each yielding from 2000 to 3500 pupae, were harvested daily.
Immigration, population growth and mortality of insects and mites on cassava in Brazil
Authors: Samways M. J.
Published: July 2009

A small isolated cassava field in Minas Gerais, Brazil, was readily invaded by species of insects and mites already known as cassava pests. Most immigrants were small (< mm) piercing-rasping feeding types. Three of these (the lace-bug Vatiga illudens (Drake), the thrip Scirtothrips manihoti (Bondar) and the mite Mononychellus tanajoa (Bondar)) showed an exponential population increase in the absence of their natural enemies. The onset of the wet microclimate from dew and rain was a key mortality factor for these three species. Storms resulted in a catastrophic decline of the populations, especially that of M. tanajoa. Predators and interspecific competition from S. manihoti were secondary suppressive factors on the M. tanajoa population. Three other species (the caterpillar of Erinnyis ello (L.) and the mites Tetranychus urticae Koch and T. cinnabarinus (Boisd.)) were completely eliminated in the experimental area by parasites or predators. Other feeders, such as the shoot-inhabiting larva of the flies Neosilba spp. and the fungivorous beetle Psyllobora spp., as well as more minor species, were also studied.
Notes on the Genus Oxya, Serv. (Orth., Acrid.)
Authors: Uvarov B. P.
Published: July 2009

Grasshoppers of the genus Oxya, Serv., are well known to economic entomologists in India and Malaya as pests of rice and other crops cultivated under irrigation. An enormous confusion in systematics of the genus was responsible, however, for gross inaccuracies in records of these pests with regard to the actual species involved in each case. Indeed, no other species except O. velox has been ever recorded as a pest, so far as I know, simply because this was popularly supposed to be a most widely spread and common species, while the descriptions of it by different authors were sufficiently vague to enable one to apply the name to almost any species of the genus.
Two New Species of Curculionidae (Col.) from Haiti
Authors: Marshall Guy A. K.
Published: July 2009

Two of the weevils referred to by Mr. Wolcott in the foregoing paper as feeding on Coccoloba uvifera are new to science, and descriptions of them are therefore appended.
On some New Genera and Species of Coccidae
Authors: Green E. Ernest
Published: July 2009

Insects inducing galls. Adult female apparently without limbs or antennae. Mouth-parts obscure. Spiracles large and conspicuous ; two pairs, occupying a position close to the posterior extremity. Anal orifice minute, setiferous. Genital orifice sharply defined. Spiracles, anal and genital orifices all included in a densely chitinous area. This dense deposition of chitin renders the interpretation of the characters difficult and prevents any accurate definition of the genus.
Second Note on the Coccidae of Palestine
Authors: Bodenheimer F. S.
Published: July 2009

The following lines may be regarded as a first additional note to a former paper of the author's (Zion. Organ. Agr. Expt. Sta., Bull. 1, July 1924). It contains 14 species not recorded in the first list, two of which are new to science. The numeration follows that of the former paper. I wish to tender my acknowledgements to Mr. W. J. Hall, Cairo, for determining some species of Diaspinae and to Mr. H. Aron for preparing the illustrations.
The Habits ofAlysia manducator(Hym., Braconidae)
Authors: Myers J. G.
Published: July 2009

The observations here recorded were made during the rearing ofAlysia manducator, Panz., as a parasite for Australasian sheep-maggots by the Imperial Bureau of Entomology, and are published by permission of the Director, Dr. G. A. K. Marshall. They form merely a supplement to the accounts of this species included in two excellent papers by G. S. Graham-Smith (1916, 1919), and one equally thorough by G. M. Altson (1920).

The present studies were carried out in North Essex during August-November, 1926. I am very much indebted to Mr. B. Golding and Miss Golding, for giving me all possible facilities for working at Street Farm, Ashen ; and to my wife for keeping the time during the heart-beat observations.

Alysia manducatoris a blackish, rather stoutly-built Braconid about a quarter of an inch in length. The female lays usually one egg in a Muscid maggot of considerable size. Very little further development appears to take place until the maggot pupates, when theAlysialarva rapidly consumes it and accomplishes its own metamorphosis within a silken cocoon with which it lines the puparium. The adult Braconid emerges a few weeks later at the anterior end of the puparium ; but eggs deposited in autumn do not complete their cycle until the following year, when about a third of the imagines appear in spring and two-thirds in the following autumn (Graham-Smith). No hyperparasites are known, but Graham-Smith has recorded destructive superparasitism byMelittobia acasta, Walk. (1916, pp. 533–535), and byMormoniella(Nasonia)brevicornis, Ashm. (1919, p. 378). Altson (1920) has shown that buried puparia are normally beyond the reach ofMormoniella, which is not adapted for burrowing.
Some Calliphoridae (Dipt.) from the South Pacific Islands and Australia
Authors: Bezzi Mario
Published: July 2009

Having recently studied a large collection of Myiodaria from the Fiji Islands, and having received, through the courtesy of Dr. P. A. Buxton, a number of species from Samoa and other South Pacific Islands, I am able to make a revision of the Calliphoridae now before me, and to describe some new forms. I have also taken into consideration the specimens from New Zealand and from Eastern Australia in my collection, as well as the forms recently described by Aldrich, Hardy, Malloch, Patton and Surcouf, together with the taxonomic changes proposed by Senior-White, Shannon and Townsend.

It seems that some species, probably those more closely associated with man, are widely spread through the Pacific Islands ; while several others seem to be very localised.
An Important Parasite of the Greenhouse White-fly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Westwood)
Authors: Speyer Edward R.
Published: July 2009

1.—Encarsia formosa, Gahan, is a Chalcid wasp that parasitises the white-fly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Westw., a single female ovipositing in 50 or more young pupae of the host. The larvae of the parasite, on hatching from the egg, destroys the white-fly pupa, the skin of which becomes black in colour, thus distinguishing the parasitised pupa from the normal white scales and pupa of the white-fly.

2.—The parasite is parthenogenetic, males, probably impotent, only appearing when temperatures are low.

3.—The life-history of the parasite occupies at least 28 days, and adults may remain in the scales for some time before cutting their way out by a circular hole in the roof of the scale. The adult is capable of travelling over large areas in glasshouses.

4.—Low temperatures militate seriously against the increase of the parasite, which is probably a tropical insect and has possibly been imported into this country from India.

5.—Fumigation with hydrocyanic acid gas, as practised commercially for the control of white-fly, does not affect the parasites.

6.—The parasite is best distributed by detaching the black pupae of white-fly from the foliage, though 20 per cent, may be injured in this way. An almost complete emergence is obtained by cutting branches from plants and pinning them to the plants in houses where distribution is desired, but this involves risk of infecting the houses with various pests and diseases.
Some Notes on Syringopais temperatella, Led., in Cyprus
Authors: Wilkinson D. S.
Published: July 2009

It has just lately been reported to the writer that Syringopais (Nochelodes) temperatella, Led., a Microlepidopteron of the family Oecophoridae, has again in Cyprus begun to assume the rôle of a major pest. Little work seems to have been done on this insect anywhere, so that it may be worth while to give a few notes on one or two interesting points that have lately been brought to light with regard to it.

On first appointment to the island, in 1923, the writer was given to understand that Nochelodes temperatella was the greatest insect pest with which the impoverished and struggling farmer had to deal ; but that this is indeed the whole truth was not entirely borne out by enquiries during the years 1924, 1925, and early 1926, for it was found that no serious endeavour to deal with the insect on the lines previously advocated by the Agricultural Department had ever been made, despite the fact that cultural methods only had been advocated, and in addition such as could easily have been carried out with the exercise of no great energy.

Broadly, the life-history of the insect is as follows :—The adults are on the wing in the late spring or early summer, some little time before the wheat is cut. It is supposed that the eggs are laid in the soil—certainly they are to be found in the soil—and that they there persist through the hot weather, hatching some time during the winter, and the larvae immediately proceeding to attack the young wheat. The pest becomes really noticeable only towards the spring, when sometimes whole areas of wheat are virtually destroyed. Pupation takes place in the soil.
Tabanidae of the Samoan Islands
Authors: Ferguson Eustace W.
Published: July 2009

So far no species of this family of Diptera have been described or recorded from the Samoan Islands. The acquisition of a species of Tabanus by Dr. P. A. Buxton and Mr. G. H. E. Hopkins is therefore of great interest.

The Tabanidae of the Pacific Islands undoubtedly form an eastward extension of the family from Papua through Melanesia to Fiji ; various species are known from the Solomons, New Hebrides, New Caledonia, the Loyalties and Fiji, but the family is unrecorded from Tonga or islands to the eastward of Samoa. The Tabanidae thus represent a Papuo-Melanesian element in the Polynesian fauna. It might be mentioned here that two species of Tabanus, T. sidneyensis and T. nigriventris, were described by Macquart from “ Sidney Island,” which has been supposed to be Sidney Island in the Phoenix group. This locality is certainly erroneous ; most of the Diptera described as coming from there are known now to be common Australian forms and these two species are in all probability also Australian. The only other species recorded from Polynesia proper is T. insularis, Walker, described from the Sandwich Islands ; this record is also certainly wrong, since the group is not known to occur in these islands, of which the fauna has been extensively collected.
Studies in African Tachinidae (Diptera)
Authors: Curran C. H.
Published: July 2009

During the study of the Nearctic Tachinidae it became obvious that, in order to secure an adequate idea of the relationships of the various genera, it would be advisable to study representatives of the family from all parts of the world, and requests for African material met with hearty response from several sources. The extensive collection made by the American Museum of Natural History Congo Expedition has already been dealt with, and the report will appear elsewhere. Mr. H. K. Munro, of Pretoria, South Africa, has forwarded his entire collection with the request that it be worked over, since very few of the species were determined. Dr. Guy A. K.Marshall, Director of the Imperial Bureau of Entomology, has also been kind enough to forward a large amount of material, and a great deal more has been promised from other sources. It was originally intended to prepare a synopsis of the South African Tachinidae preparatory to a more detailed study. However, the large number of species and genera represented in the thousands of specimens at hand makes such an undertaking so extensive that it is deemed advisable to report upon certain genera or larger groups in order that most of the material may be returned to the owners, retaining such specimens as may be necessary for further study.
Notes on the Breeding-habits of Two Mosquitos
Authors: Cleare L. D.
Published: July 2009

The observations herein recorded were carried out on a portion of the foreshore and of the low-lying front-lands in the vicinity of Georgetown, British Guiana, during the months of January, 1925, and July and August, 1926. The results obtained appear to be of sufficient interest to warrant their being placed on record as throwing further light on the breeding-habits of two important mosquitos of this Colony, namely, Anopheles tarsimaculatus, Goeldi, and Aëdes taeniorhynchus, Wied.

The principal area in which the investigations were carried out is situated to the north of Kitty Village outside of the Sea Wall and is bounded on the south by that wall, on the west by the Kitty Groyne, and on the east by another groyne (Case Groyne) erected a few years ago as part of the sea-defences. The area measures roughly from east to west about 700 yards and from north to south about 200 yards at its greatest width, and about 60 yards at its narrowest part, these being situated at the western and eastern boundaries respectively. The accompanying sketch-map gives a general plan of the area. The places from which mosquito larvae were collected are indicated on the plan, Anopheles by black spots, Aëdes by concentric rings.
Notes on the Breeding-places of two Mosquitos in Queensland
Authors: Hamlyn-Harris R.
Published: July 2009

Our present day lack of knowledge of the physical factors involved in the selection of breeding-places by certain types of mosquitos is to be deplored. Just why certain species choose particular types of water for their oviposition is a matter about which there is much conjecture, but it is hoped that in the near future some light may be thrown upon this subject by taking into consideration various aspects of the question hitherto uninvestigated.
On the Variations occurring in Aëdes argenteus, Poiret, in Lagos, Nigeria
Authors: Connal Sophia L. M. Summers
Published: July 2009

Aëdes argenteus, Poiret, is a very variable mosquito, and it was thought that it would be interesting to examine a number of freshly-hatched and therefore undamaged specimens and to note how many conformed to the original description. No difficulty was experienced in obtaining the necessary material, as collections of larvae are received daily from the Medical Officer of Health. One thousand of each sex of the species were mounted in the order of their emergence from the pupal case and were examined under the binocular microscope. The one constant feature was found to be the lyre-shaped marking on the thorax, although even here the outline and the centre lines varied in breadth and in colour, and the centre lines varied in length. But as the abdomen and the hind tarsus showed the greatest variations, the present paper is restricted to a description of these.
On the Effect of Methods of Mechanical Control on the Progress of Introduced Parasites of Insect Pests
Authors: Thompson W. R.
Published: July 2009

The importation of parasites from the native home of introduced insect pests now constitutes a recognised part of entomological practice in most countries under civilised control. However, since the method is still in the experimental stage, and since long periods of time often elapse before the parasites colonised become sufficiently abundant to exert any appreciable influence on the host, the entomologist often finds it necessary, in order to avert disaster, to utilise remedies which, though temporary, are more immediately effective. To this end he employs some one or other of the various methods of mechanical control, by which the population of the insect pest can be at once greatly reduced.

But in many cases, these methods of attack affect the parasites as well as the hosts. It is therefore important to consider what influence they will have upon the progress of the natural enemies and whether, in order to obtain the temporary relief afforded by mechanical methods, we are not sacrificing the hope of permanent control.

We have at present no data permitting us to attack this problem from the experimental angle ; but it can be studied in a broad general way when reduced to mathematical terms.
Pests of Economic Plants in Samoa and other Island Groups
Authors: Hopkins G. H. E.
Published: July 2009

During two years (1924 and 1925) spent in Samoa by Dr. P. A. Buxton and myself, while employed in research on filariasis for the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, we made notes of such agricultural pests as came our way, though (our main interests being medical) we were not able to investigate them at all thoroughly. For this reason the fact of an insect being recorded only on one occasion is no indication that it did not occur in other months, or even that it was uncommon, since we frequently did not continue to make notes of the occurrence of a species we had once recorded. Though our observations make no claim to completeness, they are perhaps worthy of publication in view of the scarcity of records from this group of islands. Our observations on medical and veterinary entomology have been published as a Memoir of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In that Memoir we have published maps, and short accounts of the structure, flora and climate, of Samoa.
The Parasitic Hymenoptera of Economic Importance noted from South India
Authors: Ramakrishna Ayyar T. V.
Published: July 2009

Two previous lists of Parasitic Hymenoptera of economic importance have been prepared and published by the writer—one in 1919 and another in 1921 ; these included some of the more important of the economic forms then noted. During the last two or three years further work in this line was continued and additional data have been collected. In this paper an attempt is made to bring together in one incorporated list all the forms hitherto recorded from South India, at the same time revising the previous lists wherever necessary and adding recently collected data or data omitted from the two previous lists. It is believed that this revised list, with the available bionomical and synonymical notes, may be of some use for purposes of reference to those interested in this line of work. The writer takes this opportunity of expressing his thanks to the authorities of the Imperial Bureau of Entomology, London, and of the United States National Museum, Washington, for the help received from them in identifying some of the forms submitted to them, and confirming or correcting some of the identifications made at Coimbatore.
Haitian Cotton and the Pink Bollworm
Authors: Wolcott George N.
Published: July 2009

The pink bollworm of cotton in recent years has become so extensively distributed and is of such general, world-wide importance that its exceptional status in Haiti may prove to be of more than local interest.

Haiti is the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which is the second largest of the West Indies, lying between Cuba and Jamaica on the west and Porto Rico on the east. The Dominican Republic occupies the remainder of the island, and is sharply contrasted with its smaller but more populous neighbour in the language, racial origins, habits and customs of its people. Cotton is not extensively grown in the Dominican Republic ; in Haiti, however, it is second only in importance to coffee. The extensive plains of the Cul-de-Sac and the Artibonite seem to be especially well adapted in soil, elevation, and climate to its growth, and here it forms the main money crop of the region.
On the Effects of Exposure to raised Temperatures upon the Larvae of certain British Mosquitos
Authors: Wright W. Rees
Published: July 2009

While our knowledge of the effects of variation of the physical conditions of the environment upon mosquitos is, in some directions, fairly satisfactory, in the case of the effects of variation of temperature there is lamentably little known. So far as a fairly complete survey of the literature dealing with mosquitos has revealed, there is only one paper specifically dealing with this matter, by Macfie (1920), although incidental observations have been recorded by other workers. This present paper is an outcome of an attempt to fill, to a slight degree, this lacuna in our knowledge. The investigations were carried out while the writer was attached to the Department of Zoology at the University College of North Wales, Bangor, and he has to express his thanks to Dr. C. L. Walton, Adviser in Agricultural Zoology, Department of Agriculture, Bangor, for allowing him to carry out the experiments in the Agricultural Zoology Laboratory.
Notes on the Food-plants and Habits of some Southern Nigerian Insects
Authors: Golding F. D.
Published: July 2009

The object of the present paper is to place on record a number of observations made by the writer in the Ibadan district of Southern Nigeria in the years 1922 to 1925, in the hope that they may be of some interest to other workers in Africa.

The writer wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to Dr. G. A. K. Marshall and the specialists of the Department of Entomology in the British Museum for identifying the insects mentioned, and to Dr. A. W. Hill, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, for determining the majority of the plants.
Natural Enemies of the Pear Leaf-curling Midge,Perrisia pyri, Bouché (Dipt., Cecidom.)
Authors: Myers J. G.
Published: July 2009

There are three main parasitoids and one very efficient predator associated withPerrisia pyriin France. Of these, at least during July and August, the predacious Capsid,Pilophorus perplexus, achieves the greatest destruction of midge larvae.

The two species of Platygasterids differ in several points of ethology from the species of the same or adjacent genera attackingContarinia pyrivora. They are both egg-parasites, developing very slowly in the midge larvae during the growth of the host. Their action appears to be largely complementary, corresponding to morphological differences in the organs of oviposition. Their life-history is very imperfectly known.

Torymus abbreviatusis extremely efficient. Its eggs are laid within the curled leaf among well-grown midge maggots on which the larva lives as an ectoparasitoid. The duration and location of the pupa stadium is unfortunately not yet known.

Some half a dozen other enemies were found to play a less important part than the preceding.
Tree-holes and Mosquito Breeding in West Africa
Authors: Dunn Lawrence H.
Published: July 2009

(1) During studies on the mosquito breeding occurring in tree-holes in the vicinity of Lagos, Nigeria, water was collected from holes in 260 trees. This number included 36 species, consisting largely of fruit trees and those used for shade and ornamental purposes.

(2) Mosquito larvae were present in samples of water taken from 227, or 87·3 per cent., of the trees.

(3) The number of adult mosquitos bred out from all larvae collected totalled 12,285, with 14 species represented.

(4) Among the several species, Aëdes aegypti stood second in the number of trees in which it was found and fourth in the number of adults bred out.

(5) Aëdes aegypti larvae were taken from holes in trees at a distance of 350 yards from the nearest habitation.

(6) The amount of breeding of Aëdes aegypti found occurring in tree-holes was sufficient to demonstrate their importance as a source of mosquitos of this species and the necessity for their elimination as a measure in yellow fever control.
On the Indo-Malayan Species of the Genus Microgaster (Hymenoptera, Braconidae)
Authors: Wilkinson D. S.
Published: July 2009

♂. Black ; flagellum brownish red, hind legs from the femora to the claws blackish red ; scape, fore and middle legs, hind trochanters and hind trochantines, light testaceous red ; palpi almost white ; basal ventrites whitish ; stigma and wing veins brown.

♂. Head rugose throughout, except that the occiput is rugoso-reticulate and that the vertex between the ocelli and the toruli is rugoso-striate ; face with indications of a median keel ; antennae moderately thick and strong ; basal joint of flagellum a little longer than twice its breadth, about 0·24 mm. long ; clypeus apparently emarginate, just about half as long as distance between facial depressions, which latter are nearer to the eyes than to the apex of the clypeus ; posterior ocelli nearer to the eyes than to each other. Thorax : mesonotum closely and strongly punctate, anteriorly almost rugose, as are also the mesopleurae except for a posterior median smooth and shining area ; mesopleural sulcus apparently smooth ; scutellum apparently rugose ; metanotum apparently not crenulate ; propodeon with an extremely short median longitudinal carina which, bifurcating at its apex, emits two strong carinae which, on each side, run transversely across the basal half of the propodeon and join a strong carina which in conjunction with a strong lateral longitudinal carina encircles the spiracles, as in M. kuchingensis ; remainder of the propodeon apparently rugose between broad reticulations, except outside the lateral keels, where it is only rugose.
On the Hedycryptine GenusOneilella, Cam. (Hym., Ichneumonidae)
Authors: Waterston James
Published: July 2009

[In 1919 work on the genusOneilellawas begun by the author and Mr. R. E. Turner. General agreement was reached as to the species represented in the material studied, and a table constructed before Mr. Turner's return to S. Africa. Subsequently all the additional material now dealt with was seen by Mr. Turner, and determined in collaboration.]

The genusOneilella, Cam. 1904, created for the reception ofCryptus formosus, Brullé 1846, has up to the present remained monotypic. That it contained many more species was evident after an examination of the examples of this genus available in the British Museum collection and in various collections forwarded for identification to the Museum or received through the Imperial Bureau of Entomology. The material so gathered together (over 450 specimens) is, with one doubtful exception, African in source and dates from 1848 onwards. Its analysis has been a matter of some difficulty and has been undertaken chiefly because of the economic importance of some of the species. In the following pages an attempt has been made to summarise our present knowledge of the genus and its parasitism, and to describe such forms as appeared to be new.
The Structure of the Head and Mouth Parts in Culicoides pulicaris, L. (Diptera Nematocera)
Authors: Jobling B.
Published: July 2009

In view of the fact that many blood-sucking Diptera are carriers of pathogenic micro-organisms of animals and human beings, the study of the structure of their mouth-parts has attracted the attention not only of zoologists but of medical men as well.
Studies in African Tachinidae (Diptera). III
Authors: Curran C. H.
Published: July 2009

The present paper deals with a small collection of Tachinidae received from Mr. H. Hargreaves from Uganda, together with other material of the various species forwarded by the Imperial Bureau of Entomology. The types of the new species, unless otherwise stated, will be deposited in the British Museum of Natural History.
New Injurious Curculionidae (Col.)
Authors: Marshall Guy A. K.
Published: July 2009

Blosyrus aequalis, Har. 1879.

This species, originally described from Angola, has recently been bred from larvae found in tubers of sweet potatoes at Haut-Lepori, Belgian Congo, by Lieut. J. Ghesquière.
Methods employed in Breeding Opius humilis, Silv., a Parasite of the Mediterranean Fruit-fly (Ceratitis capitata, Wied.)
Authors: Ogilvie Lawrence
Published: July 2009

The Mediterranean fruit-fly (Ceratitis capitata, Wied.) first reached Bermuda about 1865, and since that time has been a pest of the first importance on all kinds of thin-skinned fruits. Peaches, which formerly grew in great abundance in the island, were rendered unproductive, and loquats, sapodillas, Surinam cherries, peppers, and to a lesser extent citrus, papaws, sugar-apples and guavas, were severely infested.
Mating behaviour of males ofGlossina pallidipesAusten (Diptera: Glonidae)
Authors: Jaenson T. G. T.
Published: July 2009

The sexual bahaviour of males ofGlossina pallidipesAust. from the kibwezi Forest Lambwe Valley in Kenya was investigated in the laboratory. Most observatations were on the Kibwezi strain. Three copulatory phases were recorginsed, marked by male courtship, female buzzing, and male jerking with ejaculation. Maturation of copulatory brhaviour occured in advance of ability to inseminate. All males copulated by day 10 and all copulating males inseminated by day 12. Insemination took place only if the jerking phase was present, but neither the occurence of this phase nor the ejection of a spermatophore proved that insemination had taken place. The degree of insemination showed no general relation to age in previously unmated males. The jerking phase was generally shorter in non-inseminating than in inseminating copulations, although duration of copulation showed no obvious relation to the frequency and degree of insemination. The duration of copulation decreased with increasing age of previously unmated males between 10 and 30 days old. Copulation duration was strain-specific while the jerking phase duration was not, suggesting that the length of the pretransmission period (courtship phase plus female buzzing phase) is strain-dependent. In Kibwezi Forest, sexually appetitive (head-down) behaviour among males caught off a moving vehicle was, in geenral, not present among teneral and old males. Head-up and head-down males had small and large amouns of abdominal fat-body, respectively, and both had little gut content. Head-down males had comparatively low activity at dawn and dusk and relatively high middaly activity. The findigs are discussed in relation to the laboratory rearing ofG. pallidipes.
The biology of the tree-hole breeding mosquito Aedes geniculatus (Olivier) (Diptera: Culicidae) in southern England
Authors: Yates M. G.
Published: July 2009

The biology of Aedes geniculatus (O1.) was studied in 1967–73 in Monks Wood National Nature Reserve, an oak-ash woodland, in southern England. Adult emergence from tree-holes occurred from May to September, and the sex ratio was approximately 1:1. Catches on man indicated that the maximum biting densities occurred in July and August and that females spend about two minutes obtaining a blood-meal. Significant positive correlations were found between their unfed weight and the weight of the blood-meal and also between female wing length and fecundity. The mean number of eggs per batch was 70. Studies with bamboo pots used as artificial oviposition sites in the field showed that the seasonal peak in oviposition spanned July and August, daily ovipositional activity was greatest in mid-afternoon and evening and ovipositing females preferred oviposition sites positioned within 4 m of the ground. A small proportion of eggs hatched during the summer in which they were laid, but most hatched in the following spring. Continuous or intermittent soaking failed to induce hatching until this time. In 'the laboratory, partially em'bryonated eggs required a minimum relative humidity of 88% to develop fully, but some embryonated eggs survived at 58%. Some eggs survived for 18–24 months in the field. The sampling of preadult stages dn tree-holes showed that larvae in the first two instars occurred almost throughout the year while third- and fourth-instar larvae were present in spring and summer. Pupae occurred only in the summer. It was concluded that A. geniculatus is univoltine in Monks Wood.
On the life-history and fecundity of the cochineal insect, Dactylopius austrinus De Lotto (Homoptera: Dactylopiidae), a biological control agent for the cactus Opuntia awantiaca
Authors: Moran V. C. , Cabby B. S.
Published: July 2009

The life-history of Dactylopius austrinus De Lotto on the weed Opuntia aurantiaca, is described. The male moults four times and the female twice. The instars are illustrated. Fecundity is shown to be a function of female density on the plant and of host-plant condition. The sexes were produced in a ratio of about two males to one female.
Field trials with the synthetic pyrethroids permethrin, cypermethrin and decamethrin against Glossina (Diptera: Glossinidae) in Nigeria
Authors: Spielberger U. , Na'isa B. K. , Koch K. , Manno A. , Skidmore P. R. , Coutts H. H.
Published: July 2009

Two years of field trials in Nigeria with the synthetic pyrethroids permethrin, cypermethrin and decamethrin against Glossina palpalis (R.-D.) and G. tachinoides Westw. are described. Laboratory tests were also made against G. morsitans submorsitans Newst. The three pyrethroids were applied successfully from the ground at 0·5%, 0·3% and 0·075%, respectively, to fly resting sites on vegetation using pressurised knapsack sprayers, populations of both species being eradicated after a single application of one insecticide. Following residual spraying from a helicopter, only decamethrin at 30 g/ha achieved complete eradication. It was thought that, with permethrin wettable powder at 200 g/ha, by modifying the spraying equipment and, with cypermethrin, by increasing the dosage to over 150 g/ha, both could be successful in the future. A new ‘sideways’ spraying technique tested using the helicopter gave promising results. Comparatively little harm was done to non-target organisms in the environment after spraying with any of the three pyrethroids, and it is expected that they may gradually replace the chlorinated hydrocarbons in future routine anti-tsetse operations.
Mosquito (Dipteral Culicidae) flight behaviour near conspicuous objects
Authors: Bidlingmayer W. L. , Hem D. G.
Published: July 2009

Field studies were conducted in Florida to investigate the behaviour of night-flying mosquitoes includingAedes sollicitans(Wlk.),Ae. taeniorhynchus(Wied.),Anopheles atroposD. & K.,An. cruciansWied.,Culex nigripalpusTheo.,Culiseta melanura(Coq.),Deinocerites cancerTheo.,Psorophora columbiae(D. & K.) and (Uranotaenia lowiiTheo.) in relation to visually conspicuous objects. Adults of all species exceptAe. sollicitanswere taken in greater numbers in a large weathered plywood suction trap covered with black panels than in one without panels. However, both traps were attractive, as a transparent plastic suction trap covered with weathered plywood panels took larger numbers of all species exceptU. lowiithan a transparent trap without panels. Buried suction traps furnished with visible risers (extensions) that made captures at 1·2 m elevations always captured proportionately larger numbers than buried traps with visible baffles that captured mosquitoes at ground level. A woodland species,C. nigripalpus, was captured in larger numbers toy traps furnisihed with visible risers and baffles than in traps furnished with transparent risers and baffles; however, collections of field species, e.g.Ae. taeniorhynchus, were smaller. The distribution of blood-fed and gravid females in collections from these traps provided some evidence that blood-seeking females are more responsive to visible objects than engorged or gravid females. These results are compatible with the hypotheses that (1) mosquitoes are attracted from a distance to visible objects, (2) in close proximity an avoidance action occurs and mosquitoes then pass over or around the visible object and (3) woodland species approach visible objects closely (<30 cm), whereas field species pass by at greater mean distances. Consequently, a larger percentage of visually attracted woodland mosquitoes than of visually attracted field species will be captured by suction traps. Depending upon trap design and specific behaviour, increasing the visibility of a suction trap can either increase or decrease trap collections
The Introduction of Braconid Parasites of Diatraea saccharalis, Fabr., into certain of the West Indian Islands
Authors: Box Harold E.
Published: July 2009

While engaged as entomologist to the Central Aguirre Sugar Company, owners of some 12,000 acres of sugar-cane lands situated on the south coast of Porto Rico, the writer continually recommended the importation into that island of certain larval parasites of Diatraea saccharalis, Fabricius (sugar-cane moth borer), as the one species indigenous to Porto Rico—Lixophaga (Euzenilliopsis) diatraeae, Townsend (Tachinidae)—alone, does not effect a sufficiently high percentage of control of the island's major sugar-cane pest.
Three new South African Xenopsylla (Siphonapt.)
Authors: Ingram A.
Published: July 2009

The examination of a collection of fleas, obtained during the last two years in the course of the investigation of plague amongst the rodents of the South African veld, has resulted in the finding of three new species of Xenopsylla, which are described below.

My thanks are again due to Dr. K. Jordan and to Dr. G. A. K. Marshall for advice and help kindly given to me.
The Relation of certain Algae to Breeding Places of Mosquitos in Queensland
Authors: Hamlyn-Harris Ronald
Published: July 2009

(1) An effort has been made to find an explanation for certain problems involved in the selection of breeding-places of mosquitos in Queensland.

(2) Many of these problems must remain unsolved until it is possible by patient study of local conditions to bring all the factors involved into play.

(3) In order to explain the reason for the avoidance of natural water, where it exists, it is suggested that the soils that underlie them should first be taken into consideration, and that the waters should be examined with reference to their physical and chemical conditions.

(4) Observations and experiments, spread over a period of eighteen months, confirm the findings of previous authors that Characeae do not in themselves possess larvicidal properties.

(5) That food is the main determining factor in the choice of preferential breeding-places seems to be borne out by actual results obtained, and that when such are not available, mosquitos will resort to breeding-places of compulsion, such places being usually observed to be entirely or partly devoid of food supplies.

(6) It is suggested that the salts of alumina and iron in the ferrous state tend to destroy food organisms, and that where these conditions exist, the water is not selected preferentially.

(7) The presence of algae leads to the appearance of Anopheles annulipes.

(8) That Cladophora holsatica inhibits larval growth seems to be experimentally established.

(9) Bacterial scums are mainly due to B. subtilis and have a tendency to produce a slight alkalinity.
On three Braconid Parasites of the Gelechiid Moth, Platyedra erebodoxa, Meyr.
Authors: Wilkinson D. S.
Published: July 2009

Microbracon hancocki, sp. n.

♂♀. Black; the front legs completely, the middle legs except the coxae, hind trochantines, hind femora, basal third of hind tibiae, mouth-parts largely, all ventrites, the lateral membranous margins of the 1st tergite, about each lateral quarter of the 2nd and succeeding tergites, bright red testaceous.
Observations on the Thermal Death Points of the Blow-fly at different relative Humidities
Authors: Beattie Mary V. F.
Published: July 2009

In summarising, the following points are to be noted:—

1. The thermal death point of the blow-fly was definitely influenced by the factor of humidity.

2. Saturated and dry air had the effect of lowering the thermal death point.

3. Relative humidities from 60 per cent. to 80 per cent. were more favourable, while relative humidity of 70 per cent. actually was found to be an optimum point.

4. From the weighings it may be concluded that death in saturated air was due to the inability of the flies to regulate their heat by evaporation.
Mosquito Breeding and Malaria in relation to the Nitrogen Cycle
Authors: Williamson K. B.
Published: July 2009

Many anti-malarial workers have recorded the larval habitats of Anopheline species, and while their records usually reveal a variety of types of breeding-places for the same species even in one and the same country, the characterisation of the breeding waters usually lacks precision. This is hardly surprising, since descriptions are based upon naked eye observations, and only physical aspects of the breeding-places, or in addition only the most striking characteristics of the associated forms of vegetation are recorded, more or less casual information being given concerning the depth, clear or muddy character, and stagnation or currency, of the water, together with even more incomplete statements relating to the plants growing in or near it. The statement, not unimportant in itself, is, for example, often volunteered that larvae of a particular species are found in streams or pools with grassy margins, while information is usually lacking relating to the species of even the more conspicuous plants which grow in the water itself, and which are characteristic of it or of the presence of particular Anopheline larvae. For example, it has been found that in Malaya in ricefields on the flat coastal plain, the presence of the floating plantUtricularia flexuosais widely associated with larval associations in whichAnopheles sinensispredominates overA. barbirostris, other Anophelines being generally absent (Williamson, 1925). It seldom if ever happens, however, that an aquatic plant has the same range of adaptability as the associated mosquitos. For example, in the case quoted,U. flexuosaabounds over many square miles in the Krian rice-fields, from which all Anopheline larvae are absent, despite the proximity of their breeding-grounds; and conversely,A. sinensisandA. barbirostrisare very commonly found unassociated withUtricularia.
Hieroxestis subcervinella, Wlk., an Enemy of the Banana in the Canary Islands
Authors: Oldham J. N.
Published: July 2009

The moth,Hieroxestis subcervinella, Wlk., has recently become a pest of economic importance to the banana cultivators in the Canary Islands.

Notes on the genusHieroxestisand on the synonymy and distribution of the moth are included, and descriptions of the various stages of the insect are given. Details regarding the external morphology and chaetotaxy of the full-grown larva are enumerated, and setal maps showing the distribution of the setae have been added.

The pupa is described in detail, and sex characters are noted.

The economic importance of the pest is considered in its relation to its host-plants, while its method of attack and resulting injuries caused are discussed.

The insect is considered as apodemic in the Canary Islands, and no parasitic natural enemies were encountered.