April, 1914.] Unreported Cecidia from Connecticut. 289 



SOME UNREPORTED CECIDIA FROM CONNECTICUT 



B. W. Wells 



Thru the winter of 1912-1913 and the summer of 1913, in pre- 

 paring for some work on abnoniially developed plant parts, the 

 writer made a collection of insect galls in the eastern highland 

 region of Connecticut. Most of the field work was done in the 

 town of Mansfield in the vicinity of Storrs and Spring Hill. The 

 extreme northern part of the eastern half of the state was visited 

 a few times as well as the southern portion bordering on Long 

 Island Sound. In the course of eleven months residence in the 

 eastern Connecticut region, 204 galls were found, 22 of which are 

 believed to be as yet unreported in the United States. 



The object of the present paper is thus to present descriptions 

 and illustrations of some heretofore undescribed cecidia pro- 

 duced by insects and mites in the eastern Connecticut highland 

 region. A bibliography of the more important literature con- 

 sulted, is appended. 



The writer wishes to express his appreciation of valuable 

 assistance rendered by Mr. Billings T. Avery of Ledyard, Conn. 

 who not only materially assisted in enlarging the collection of 

 previously described galls but found a nimiber of the new ones 

 described in the present paper. 



It is self evident that such a report as the present one in which 

 the galls only are adequately described, is an imperfect report. 

 Yet, a list of these newly discovered definite hypertrophies and 

 hyperplasies of plant parts should be set forth as a basis for future 

 work, in which the whole of the subject entomological as well as 

 botanical may be elucidated. Such a paper as the present one 

 may perhaps act as a stimulus to the collection of cecidia by show- 

 ing the unworked condition of the field. The animal induced 

 pathologic structures developed on plant parts have not been col- 

 lected with any degree of completeness; and no full and extended 

 systematic studies have been made of those collected in America. 

 Careful search in any locality, particularly among herbaceous 

 plants is bound to bring to light some little known or entirely new 

 cecidia. 



The writer has left the matter of naming the causal organisms 

 to future workers, beheving that specific names should be origin- 

 ated by the first describer of the mite or insect concerned. The 

 custom on the part of some of applying a specific name to an in- 

 sect or mite merely on the basis of the intimately associated gall , 

 is to be deplored. New names of gall producing fomis should 

 appear only with adequate descriptions of the arthropods con- 

 cerned. 



