Uranotaenia painei, sp. n.

♂♀.—Head clothed with blackish scales, many erect and forked. Proboscis dark, slightly shorter than abdomen but not thickened. Thorax rather dark ochreous-brown, uniform in tint, except that the postnotum is darker, without ornamentation of any kind; bristles and scales dark. No flat scales above wing-root, and no scales at all on front margin of mesonotum or on posterior pronotal lobes; a patch of small flat scales on upper part of sternopleura which are difficult to detect as they are of the same colour as the integument. Abdomen entirely dark brown both above and below. Legs uniformly dark brown, devoid of special features in ♂; first tarsal segment of fore and mid legs about as long as tibia, that of hind legs slightly longer than tibia. Wings dark, venation and scaling normal; length 2·5 mm.

Until about ten years ago Australia was considered to be free from the haematophagous Diptera of the genus Phlebotomus, which are found abundantly in all other regions of the earth, over one hundred species having been recorded. Mr. G. F. Hill was the first entomologist to discover in Australia a species of the minutus group, which he described under the name of P. queenslandi. This species was found in Townsville, North Queensland, in a bath-room, and nine flies were secured. It has not been found again since, either there or lower down the Australian east coast, where such experienced entomologists as Drs. Bancroft, Ferguson and Mackerras, have kept a special look-out for these flies.

Although on the whole our plantations of exotic conifers, now amounting to some 500,000 acres, have not yet suffered from widespread epidemics, there are certain exotic insects already well established in the country that must be considered as potentially dangerous. Attention is being given to the most important of these.

1. At 27°C. the life-cycle of Dysdercus howardi occupies approximately 32 days.

2. Copulation (at 27°C.) takes place approximately 2·8 days after the last moult of the female insect.

3. At 27°C. oviposition begins about 8 days after the last moult of the female, and 5–6 days after mating.

4. The average number of eggs laid by one female is 141·9 and the average number of batches is two.

5. Mortality appears to be highest among the 5th stage nymphs.

6. The ratio of females to males is 1: 1·27.

7. The average length of adult life in the female Dysdercus howardi is eleven days.

8. A table comparing D. howardi with other species of the genus Dysdercus is given.

This mite was described by Froggatt as attacking oats in New South Wales in 1921 (Agric. Gaz. N.S.W. 3rd Jan. 1921) under the name of Notophallus bicolor, sp. n., but with a very inadequate description. In my paper of 1933 “ On some Acarina from Australia and South Africa ” (Trans. Roy. Soc. South Aust. 57, pp. 108–112) I recorded it from the Cape Town area of South Africa, as well as from certain States of the Australian Commonwealth, giving a redescription and detailed figures. The generic name was changed to Penthaleus, as it had been shown that Notophallus of Canestrini 1886 was synonymous with Koch's Penthaleus of 1838. At that time, although so far as I was aware no recent redescription of any of the European species of Penthaleus had been published, I gave P. bicolor (Frog.) as doubtfully synonymous with P. major (Dugès 1834), a species considered by European workers as the same as P. haematopus, Koch 1835, and P. insulanus, Thorell, 1872.

The object of the present work is to study the histological picture of the intestinal tube of insects when subjected to the action of insecticides, in order to discover the mechanism of the action of poisons on insects.

1. The report covers a period of 3½ years actually spent in the field.

2. During this time 19 major pests have been studied, with special reference to their natural enemies and other limiting factors. The pests of sugar-cane have, however, received by far the most attention, partly because this is the most important crop throughout the region as a whole, and partly because the industry has made substantial financial contributions.

3. Advice has been given, on request, to local Governments, planters' organisations and individual planters, and schemes have been drawn up for intensive local research on cane-borers, on froghopper and on mongoose. The researches of the two investigators of the cane-borer (Diatraea spp.), under grants from the Colonial Development Fund, have been supervised so far as their technical aspect is concerned.

4. For the control of the small moth-borer (Diatraea) the most important pest of sugar-cane as a whole, the Cuba fly (Lixophaga) has been introduced (in collaboration with Mr. Box) into the Leeward and Windward Islands, and the Amazon fly (Metagonistylum) into British Guiana (in collaboration with Mr. Cleare). Both these very promising parasites, the second of which was discovered during the course of the investigation, are now widely established.

5. A specific parasite is now needed for Diatraea canella in British Guiana and D. impersonatella in Trinidad. It is possible that experiments now in progress (in collaboration with Mr. Pickles and Mr. Cleare respectively) that Paratheresia will serve for the first and Metagonistylum for the second, but a highly specific parasite for D. canella remains greatly desirable.

1. Apanteles sesamiae, Cam., is the only parasite of Busseola fusca, Fuller, which is of importance in the Eastern Transvaal.

2. The adult is described, and the morphology of the last stage larva of the parasite is discussed in detail.

3. The biology and bionomics of the species are dealt with, and the effect of parasitism on the host is described.

4. The extent of natural parasitism and the rapidity of increase in the field shows that A. sesamiae is an effective parasite of the Maize Stalk-borer in South Africa.

5. The results of cold storage experiments are given and the methods of shipping parasite material are described. It was found impracticable to ship cocoons, but successful consignments of parasitised borer larvae were sent to Canada.

In 1927 and 1931 the writer published two papers on the food-plants of some Nigerian insects; the present paper contains additional data obtained since 1931. The writer wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to the Imperial Institute of Entomology and the specialists of the Department of Entomology in the British Museum for identifying the insects mentioned and to Messrs J. West and O. J. Voelcker for supplying him with many of the Lepidopterous larvae.

1. The effects of humidity upon the rate of development of the egg, larva and pupa of Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis, Bché., is quite negligible.

2. The rate of development and reproduction primarily depends upon the temperature.

3. The larva and adult are more resistant to the ill effects of combined temperature and relative humidity than are the egg and pupa.

4. Humidity of above 87 per cent. is the safe zone for the development of the pupa.

5. A temperature-activity scale for Heliothrips is given.

6. The plant tissue wherein the egg is laid may have a detrimental effect upon the egg under certain conditions.

7. The effects of the particular climatic conditions of Palestine on the seasonal abundance of the insect are described.