During recent years a great deal of research work has been carried out in connection with the control of the black currant gall mite Eriophyes ribis (Westw.) Nal. This work has necessarily included the very careful study of the mites themselves, in order that the life-cycle might be fully understood, with the final object of trying to exterminate the mites at a period when they offered least resistance and were not living within the buds, which afford them adequate protection.

While examining some black currant bushes in the late spring and summer months of 1923, in order to locate the position and determine the habits of the mites during that season, a rather peculiar form of mite was noticed to be present in small numbers. This new mite, when examined in the field, appeared to be very much stouter and of a darker colour than the familiar black currant gall mite. However, for some time it was regarded as being an immature stage of the common species. After some months this mite turned up again in greater numbers, and it was decided to examine it in detail in the Laboratory. The species proved to be a new one belonging to the genus Phyllocoptes.

Simulium bancrofti, Taylor (Plate V, figs. 1–5).

Head : Width of the frons slightly less than half that of the whole head ; antennae short, about two-thirds the width of the head ; first three segments cyathiform, the first slightly broader than long, a little less than half the length, and slightly more than half the width of the third ; second segment one-third longer than wide ; segments 4–7 inclusive approximately the same length ; the fourth a little wider than segments 5–7, which are all of about the same width ; penultimate longer than 4–7 individually ; apical segment moderately long and somewhat cone-shaped. Palpi five-jointed ; first joint cyathiform, with an apical row of four bristles, the two outer ones longer than the second segment ; the latter oblong, its sides nearly parallel, also with an apical row of bristles of about the length of the inner two on the first segment ; first and second segments together half the length of the third, the latter somewhat obovate, tapering slightly distally ; fourth almost pear-shaped, tapering basally, shorter than the third (11 : 14) ; fifth fusiform, tapering to a blunt point at both extremities and very little longer than the third, with a few scattered hairs, especially on its apex. Legs : fore femora and tibiae dilated ; first tarsal joint tapering very slightly at its base, a little more than half the length of the tibia (27 : 46), outer edge with a dense fringe of spinules, except on its basal fifth, apex with a stout spine on its outer apical angle ; base of second joint narrower than apex, lower surface with numerous spinules, especially on the distal two-thirds, apex with two stout spines, one on either side ; third and fourth joints cyathiform, the former one-third longer than the latter ; fourth with a deep median depression for almost half the length of the tarsus, forming the socket of the fifth ; third joint with numerous spinules on its distal two-thirds and an apical row of moderately long spines, the outermost the longest ; fourth joint sparsely covered with fairly long hairs, apex with four long, stout bristles, two on either side of the base of the fifth joint ; the latter pear-shaped, a little more than twice the length of the fourth, with a few fairly long hairs on its distal half ; claws short, almost straight, not toothed. Mid leg with the tibiae dilated, with a long, stout, external, apical spine ; first tarsal joint not dilated, a fringe of spinules along its outer margin and a few scattered ones over its ventral surface ; second joint with the spinules on the outer margin increasing in length and stoutness apically ; third joint similar to that of fore leg and without spinules ; fourth and fifth similar to those of fore leg ; joints 2 to 5 distinctly hairy.

The small and obscure leafhoppers of the subfamily Typhlocybinae are assuming increasing economic importance, firstly by direct damage to the plants on which they live, and secondly as carriers of “ virus ” diseases.

Various species of Curculionidae are injurious to orchards in Ukraine, but Sciaphobus squalidus, Gyll. (fig. 1) is considered by fruit-growers to be the most harmful, as it attacks the buds of all fruit trees. Mr. Znamenskii was the first to make an adequate study of the life-history of this insect. The following notes give an account of my own observations and deal principally with methods of control.

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.

The pineapple is a plant indigenous to Central America and, it is believed, Trinidad also. In this part of the world its cultivation has developed on commercial lines only in Cuba and Porto Rico, and to a lesser extent in Jamaica, with small areas in other islands, particularly Martinique.

There have been of late indications of an increased interest in the possibilities of fruit production on a large scale in Trinidad, the pineapple being among the favoured fruits. For this reason the pest dealt with below assumes a greater importance than it otherwise would, though the usual freedom of this plant from pests focuses attention on any new one found.

In October 1926, young fruit on the plots of the St. Augustine Experiment Station of the local Department of Agriculture were found to be exuding gum and showing signs of insect attack. Though at the time there was few fruits, it being too early for the main crop, a high proportion of these was found to be damaged. It was reported that many fruits had been rendered unsaleable during the previous season by a similar attack.

(1) There are two forms of D. superstitiosus, F., in Nigeria, which are designated banded and spotted forms in the present paper. The banded form appears on cotton earlier in the season than the spotted, and it remains on the crop longer. Migration to cotton is gradual in the case of the banded form, while a sudden influx of migrants of the spotted form commences in October. Many spotted adults migrate to Bombax and Sterculia between January and March, whereas the banded form remains on the cotton until it is uprooted at the end of March. The spotted form is far more numerous than the banded on maize and guinea corn.

(2) There is considerable variation in the colouration of adults of the spotted form; at Ibadan about 99 per cent. of the migrants to cotton are yellow or orange in colour, while the adults of the filial generations produced on cotton are almost always red in colour (a few individuals are deep orange-red). These colour variations are thought to be of seasonal origin.

(3) D. superstitiosus is the most prevalent species on cotton at Ibadan, Ilorin, Oyo, Zaria and Kano; melanoderes is of equal or greater importance in the forest zone at Ilugun and occasionally is numerous at Ibadan; fasciatus is of importance in savannah country at Oyo; haemorrhoidalis is rare on cotton. No evidence has been obtained that any one of these species is a varietal form of another species. Both forms of superstitiosus are widely distributed in Nigeria.

(4) Migration to cotton is induced by the flowering of that crop. The maximum weekly migration has occurred between the weeks ending 15th October and 7th November in five localities in the last three years; viz., at the time of, or soon after, the maximum flowering of the cotton crop. There are indications that there is a tendency for stainers to migrate in a southerly direction, probably as a result of the desiccating harmattan wind from the Sahara.

(5) The principal alternative food-plants of stainers in the Ibadan district are: Bombax sp., Sterculia sp., Hibiscus esculentus, H. sabdariffa, Urena lobata, and Abutilon zanzibaricum. At Ilorin, silk-cotton trees (Bombax), H. esculentus, H. lunariifolius and U. lobata are the most important alternative food-plants.

(6) A rhythm exists in the weekly proportions of the sexes during the cotton season; males predominate among the early migrants to cotton and among the first individuals to mature of each generation. This rhythm appears to be the result of shorter period of post-embryonic development in the case of males than in that of females derived from the same batch of ova.

[In 1919 work on the genus Oneilella was 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 genus Oneilella, Cam. 1904, created for the reception of Cryptus 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 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.

In the Revista Industrial y Agrícola de Tucumán of November 1923 to January 1924, 4th year, numbers 6–8, Arthur H. Rosenfeld & T. C. Barber published an interesting article on the sugar-cane moth borer, known in Tucumán as the “ gusano chupador de la caña de azucar,” in which they detail the different effects of the said moth borer (Diatraea saccharalis).

Last year, Dr. William E. Cross, Director of the Estación Industrial y Agrícola de Tucumán, was good enough to entrust me with the study of some Diatraea parasites, the identification of which had, so far, only been effected generically.

My best thanks are due to Dr. Cross for having supplied me with material for this investigation, which I consider very interesting, owing to the daily increasing importance of the biological control of agricultural pests.

There is no doubt but that by continuing these investigations other parasites will be discovered ; this is as yet only the first step on the road which may lead to very important results.

The purpose of this paper is to place on record my notes on the distribution of the mosquitos obtained by myself during an Expedition to Central Abyssinia made, in company with Mr. J. Omer Cooper, from September 1926 to January 1927. We were engaged in collecting insects of many Orders and some other animals, as well as plants, so that it was not possible to devote more than a limited time to Culicidae. Nevertheless, I purposely gave rather special attention to this family and got together a series of some 103 specimens of the adult insects, belonging to 13 (or possibly 14) species. Examples of each species were pinned immediately, when freshly killed, with fine pure-silver pins, while in a few places where large numbers of one species occurred the surplus specimens were placed in spirit. No detailed investigation of the larval or pupal stages was undertaken ; a few examples of these may later be forthcoming among the collection of aquatic organisms which are Mr. Omer Cooper's special province, but they are not dealt with here.

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.

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.