618 RecentLiterature. [oct.Auk

Van Cleave's "Acanthocephala of the Canadian Arctic Expedi- tion, 1913-1915."•--In his paper Dr. Van Cleave states that so far as he is awarethere are no publishedrecords of the occurrenceof Acantho- cephala in the arctic fauna of Igorth America. "Species describedby some of the early explorershave becomethe objects of much conjecture on the part of present-day investigators. Under the name Sipunculus lendix, Phipps (1774) describedfrom an Eider Duck what is obviouslya speciesof Acanthocephala. Soon afterward, Goeza (1752: 141) called attention to the fact that this speciesof Phipps is in reality an acantho- cephalan. Since that time various investigators have endeavored to determinethe correctdisposition of this specieswithin the group, but all of their attempts appear to be mere guessesostensibly fostered by the desireto distributeall of the speciesnames into groupswhich would at least give the appearanceof a completelyworked out synonymy. "Three speciesof fresh-water fishes, two marine fishes, and one bird constitute the entire list of acanthocephalanhosts recordedby the expe- dition. . A new speciesof the genus Filicollis [Filicollis arcticus Van Cleave,type host, King Eider, Somateriaspectabilis (Linnaeus), in intestine,collected at Bernardharbour, Dolphin and Unionstrait, North- westTerritories, June 16, 1916;cotypes deposited in the Victoria Memor- ial Museum, Ottawa, Canada, and in the collectionof the author at Urbana, illinois] from the King Eider standsintermediate between the European and the 1qrorthAmerican speciesof this genus, but in some respectsshows much closerrelationship with the previouslydescribed American species. A comparisonof F. arcticus with other' known membersof the same genusdiscloses some interestingfacts re- garding the geographicaldistribution of the membersof this genus.F. anatisis the commonEuropean representative of Filicollis while F. botulus occurs in the Eiders in the United States. Filicollis arcticus, n. sp., dif- fers in definite manner from both the previously mentioned speciesbut shows a distinctly closer relationship to F. botulus. In F. bo- tulus there are but sixteenlongitudinal rows of hooks (on the proboscis) while for F. arcticus the writer has found t/½enty-two. Both of these American specieslack the sphericalenlargement of the proboscischar- acteristic of the European species. "The King Eider, the host of F. arcticus,though circumpolarin its distribution, evidently doesnot carry the same acanthocephalaninfesta- tion throughout its range. From the West Tajmirland peninsula, yon Linstow (1905: 3). [Helminthen der RussischenPolar-Expedition 1900- 1903. Mem. Acad. Imp. Sc. St. Petersbourge,Serie 8, Class Physico- Math., 18: 1-17] describedEchinorhynchus pupa from this same host

•Report of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18, Vol. IX: Annelids, Parasitic Worms, Protozoans, etc. part E: ACanthocephala. By H. J. Van- Cleave. Southern Party--1913-16. Ottawa: J. de Labroquerie Tache, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1920. Issued April 7, 1920. pp. 1-11C. Vol. XX.X¾II1920 ]J RecentLiterature. 619 species. Unfortunately his descriptionand his figures of this species fail •o give a full enough account of the structure to enable anyone to place it with certainty in any of the genera recognizedin modern tax- onomy of the Acanthoceph•la.... No evidenceis presented,either in his descriptionor in his figure, which would make it seemprobable that his speciesbelongs to the genusFilicollis. Thus on oppositesides of the arctic circle the King Eider apparently is parasitizedby Acantho- cephala representingtwo distinct genera."--R. M. A.

Economic Ornithology in Recent Entomological Publications.-- A few recent entomologicalcontributions contain noteworthy references to bird enemies;they relate to the followinginsects: Round-headedapple-tree borer (Saperdacandida): Lossesfrom this insect have increasedwith the development of apple growing, and at presentthe speciesis a primary pest throughoutthe regioneast of the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Fred E. Brooks, author of a comprehensive bulletin• on this borer says: "Probably no other economicinsect of equal importancehas had so few natural enemiesrecorded definitely and spe- cifically as has the round-headedapple-tree borer," and that personally he has never found any evidenceof hymenopterousparasites. However, he goeson to say that: "While the control effect of parasitesand predaciousinsects on this borer is negligible,woodpeckers play an important part in holding it in check. Wherever the writer has collected specimensor made observa- tions in borer-infestedlocalities the work of thesebirds has always been in evidence. Soonafter the borershatch the woodpeckersbegin to find them beneath the thin covering of bark and thereafter the birds drill for them as long as they are in the tree. In severalorchards where counts were made from 50 to 75 per cent of the borershad been destroyedin this way. "During October, 1915, 24 young borerswere collectedand planted in furrows gougedout of the wood beneath loosenedtongues of bark on the trunk of an apple tree. A week later, when the tree was revisited for the purposeof putting a wire screenaround the trunk to protect the bor- ers from birds, woodpeckershad punctured every tongue of bark and removed the borers from beneath. Not one had escaped. In May of the same year, while pupae were being collectedfrom an orchard,a total of 11 pupal cells •vere found and from every one the occupanthad been removedby woodpeckers. In another case21 pupal cellswere found, 19 of which had been openedby woodpeckersand the insectsremoved." (pp. 29-30.) Ribbed pine-borer (Rhagiumlineatum): While not a seriousinsect pest, this speciesmaterially hastensthe death and decay of injured pines. A

• Bul. 847, U.S. Dept. Agr. 1920.