During November 1926, a few days were spent in making a rapid investigation of the insect pests of cotton occurring on the coast of Kenya Colony, between Mombasa and Mambrui, some eighty miles to the north.

The pink boll-worm, Platyedra gossypiella, Saund., was found to occur in every plot of cotton visited ; it was also noticed that a certain proportion of the worms were parasitised by a species of Braconid, which has been described above by Mr. D. S. Wilkinson under the name of Microbracon kirkpatricki.

A second visit was paid to the coast during the beginning of February 1927, to ascertain to what extent, if any, the pink boll-worm was controlled by this parasite, and to report on the possibilities of its introduction to other countries.

Owing to the short time available for this work, these notes are naturally very incomplete ; it is hoped however that they will be of some value should anyone be of the writer's opinion that it is well worth while attempting to introduce this parasite into other countries.

Eurycoccus cuniculorum sp. n. and E. tamariscus sp. n., are described from Pakistan. They were collected on species of Tamarix during a survey of insect pests by the Commonwealth Institute of Biological Control for possible natural enemies of Tamarix spp. that have become undesirable plants in the USA. The mealybugs live under the bark or in tunnels caused by other organisms and both species have unusual characters in the positions of the thoracic spiracles.

A chalcidoid wasp, Torymus apiomyiae sp. n., is described from material reared in southern Yugoslavia. The host is Apiomyia bergenstammi (Wachtl), a gall midge galling young fruit-bearing twigs of pear trees, which is locally a serious pest.

Successful emergence of examples of Contarinia sp. and associated parasites has been obtained at Rothamsted Experimental Station from midge-infested heads of sorghum received from India (Mysore State) and West Africa (Ghana).

Since typical pre-mating behaviour was observed on all of the few occasions when newly emerged males and females from the two continents were confined together, and actual mating was obtained between a male from Ghana and two females from Mysore in rapid succession, it is concluded that inter-mating will take place under suitable environmental conditions, although in the present series of experiments such conditions were rarely present.

It has not yet been possible to test the fertility of such inter-matings or to prove biologically that the species of Contarinia concerned is the C. sorghicola (Coq.) of Texas, although on morphological grounds there are apparently no reasons for their separation.

Two species of parasites, a Tetrastichus sp. (group of flavovarius, auct.) and Eupelmus popa Gir., were reared from the Indian material, and another species of Tetrastichus (group of flavovarius, auct.) and E. popa were reared from the West African material.

Whilst the status of Capnodis as a pest in Israel has been considerably reduced by the control measures that have been adopted, it was considered desirable to test the new synthetic contact insecticides, in particular DDT and BHC.

Techniques for the determination of the effect of insecticides on neonate larvae of Capnodis are described and the results discussed.

It is shown that BHC and DDT are ineffective as fumigants against the boring larvae.

Used as a contact insecticide against the larvae, a high degree of mortality is obtained with 5 per cent. BHC over a period of 50 days. DDT is far less effective. BHC, dieldrin and methoxychlor remained effective for over a year if left undisturbed in the ground.

Against adult Capnodis, BHC gave results comparable to those obtained with cryolite and retained its activity for at least twelve days after application.

Simuliid flies are a well known feature of riverain land in the northern Sudan during months of low Nile. They have been discussed in detail by Lewis (1948). Two species occur, Simulium damnosum Theobald, and S. griseicolle Becker. The former is larger and darker in colour. The latter is smaller with characteristic grey shoulders and is usually much more numerous. S. damnosum bites humans readily, especially round the ankles. S. griseicolle is usually less effective in its attempts to bite humans but susceptible persons may be badly bitten. It commonly attacks the head and shoulders and may cause great irritation by invading the eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Temporary protection for up to four hours can be obtained by rubbing the skin with di-methyl phthalate which acts as a repellent against both species.

Since a fairly extensive collection of the Braconid genus Spathius, largely comprised of bred series of new species, had lately been received for identification by the Imperial Institute of Entomology, and since there were various species in the British Museum awaiting description, it was considered opportune that I should attempt some sort of revision of this comparatively little worked but nevertheless quite interesting group : it is hoped to publish my results shortly. In the meanwhile, however, the following descriptions are presented since most of these names are required at an early date for inclusion in a paper on the biology of these parasites.

Afroryzophilus djibai is a new genus and species of weevil, which attacks rice in Senegal. Its biology, pest potential and relationships with other Erirhininae are discussed.

Q.—Length (12 specimens) 9·5 to 12 mm.; width of head 3·5 to 4·4 mm.; width of front at vertex just under 0·5 to just under 0·6 mm.; length of wing 7·75 to 9·8 mm.

Belonging to the Ortheziinae. Antennae four-segmented, situated on low tubercles; eyes well developed and situated close to but not fused with the base of antenna. Tibia and tarsus distinct, tibia exceedingly short compared with tarsus. Larva with antennal and limb characters of adult. Genotype O. reynei, sp. n.

The material, upon which these observations were made is contained in the collection of the “Centraal Militair Geneeskundig Laboratorium” in Weltevreden (Java). To complete my observations many specimens in the collection of the British Museum were studied and compared.

A small number of Haematopota from the Congo were recently sent for determination to the British Museum by M. E. Roubaud of the Pasteur Institute. Among these were specimens of an interesting new species of the H. pertinens group, and as M. Roubaud was kind enough to say that the type of this species might be deposited in the British Museum, I undertook to describe it, including at the same time, at Dr. G. A. K. Marshall's request, descriptions of a few of the numerous unrecorded African species of this genus in the collections of the British Museum and the Imperial Bureau of Entomology.

The species of Sesiidae reared from larvae feeding in the vines and tubers of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) in Kenya are described as new and named Synanthedon leptosceles and S. dasysceles, respectively. Illustrations are given of the adults and male and female genitalia of both species. S. leptosceles is differentiated from the superficially similar East African species S. erythromma Hmps., which also is associated with sweet potato. Aegeria pyrostoma Meyr. is synonymised under S. erythromma following the examination of type material. S. dasysceles is noted to be readily distinguishable from these and other known species of Synanthedon by the rough scaling and white markings of the legs.

The writer some years ago described a mosquito under the name of Dixomyia elegans, the type of which remained unique until May, 1927, when a few adults, larvae and pupae were collected. The larvae and pupae were found in hoof-holes made by cattle on the edge of a swamp. The water in these holes contained a considerable amount of decaying vegetable matter and was comparatively clear. It was not examined for algae, except that both Nitella and Chara were noted as being absent. The B. D. H. Universal Indicator gave a colour change of greenish-yellow (7·0–7·5) in all samples of water tested for pH.