“When we consider what immense services hymenopteron insects render to agriculture, it is surprising that those states that have spent already such large sums of money to fight noxious insects and that have lost still more through their depredation have never tried to raise ichneumon flies by the million and let them loose wherever there are any insect pests to destroy.” Felix Gillet., Hort. Comm., El Dorado, California, 1882.

This is the second of a series of papers dealing with the life-histories of a number of insects attacking the black sage, Cordia macrostachya, in the West Indies, where search is being made for suitable species to use in an attempt at the biological control of the weed in Mauritius (Simmonds 1949).

Schematiza, like Physonota alutacea, is a leaf-eating beetle, sometimes occurring in relatively large numbers on Cordia. It is very heavily parasitized in Trinidad, and as it appeared to be very suitable for introduction into Mauritius it was investigated in detail, both in the field and in the laboratory.

During the summer of 1949 an outbreak of flea beetles on both sweet and silage corn occurred at Armstrong, British Columbia. The first damage to the corn was noticed by the growers in early July, and by mid-August was so severe in some instances that the crop had to be cut for ensilage before the cobs were mature. The adult beetles confined their feeding to the leaves and cob husks, causing decided browning and drying out of these areas.