14 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



AN UNDESIRABLE FOREIGNER ON THE AMERICAN 

 CONTINENT {CRYPTOCOCCUS FAGI BARRENS). 



BY R. W. BRAUCHER, KENT, OHIO. 



The writer received a letter dated Oct. 2, 1913, from Mr. L. G. 

 Vair, the Manager of the Canadian Davey Tree Expert Co., of 

 Montreal, which reads in part as follows: "I am mailing you 

 under separate cover a piece of bark cut from a common beech 

 tree which is covered with what looks to be some form of insect. 

 I hope you will be able to identify it and give its full history and 

 control. If it is an insect, I should think it would be hard to con- 

 trol by spraying. The trouble is noticeable all through the woods 

 in the vicinity of Halifax, N.S., and the whole trunk area will be 

 covered just as the specimen is, as will also most of the limbs. It 

 seems to be killing out the beech trees quite rapidly, and is really 

 a menace which something should be done to exterminate." 



The specimen was received in due time, but the writer was 

 unable to find anything like it described in American literature, 

 but on pages 234 and 235 of A. T. Gillanders' " Forest Entomology" 

 he found a good illustration of the specimen sent and a description 

 of the pest and its work. 



Specimens were sent to Dr. L. O. Howard for verification o* 

 the determination, and he reports under date of Nov. <i, 1013, in 

 part, as follows: "1 have referred this material, to Mr. Sanford, 

 who is of the opinion that it is the European felt scale (Cryptococcm 

 fagi Baerens). So far as I am aware, this is the first report of the 

 occurrence of this coccid in North America, and its presence in 

 Nova Scotia is a surprise to me. Doubtless it has been imported 

 on European stock, and measures should be taken to prevent its 

 becoming widely distributed." 



Gillanders (page 235) says: "This insect confines its attack> 

 exclusively to the beech {Fagiis syhalica), and, by reason of its 

 whitish appearance, must not be confounded with the various 

 species of Chermes (Aphidse) on larch, silver fir, Weymouth pine. 

 etc. It should also be noted that the 'Copper beech' is all but 

 immune from this insect pest. In fact, i have occasionally seen 

 cases where the copper beech was grafted on the common beech, 

 of the pest appearing fairly thick on the stock or common beech 



January, 1014 



