MAINE AGRICUIvTURAI, EXPERIMENT STATION. I913. 4I 



the salt marsh grasses near Portland. In 1908' Aphrophora 

 parallcla attacked the new growth pine shoots in the southern 

 part of the State to such an extent that the sap dripped down 

 from the wounded tips like rain-drops from branches after a 

 shower. 



The leaf hoppers affecting the cereal and forage crops con- 

 stitute a very constant factor and the extent of the drain on 

 such crops is doubtless very much greater than is generally 

 appreciated. In some estimates made by Professor Osborn in 

 other parts of the country these insects were taken in grass 

 land at the rate of one and a half to two millions to the acre 

 and in many instances grain fields have been very badly in- 

 jured (see Bulletin io8. Bur. Ent. U. S. Dept. Agr.). It may 

 be stated that no such serious devastations were found thi.-^ 

 season in Maine, but meadows and grass lands have shown 

 the presence in large numbers of certain species which are in- 

 jurious to an extent that makes them an economic factor of 

 importance. 



In all approximately 150 Maine species were studied by Pro- 

 fessor Osborn which will be discussed in a forthcoming report 

 on the investigations for the season with especial attention to 

 such as are most important from the economic standpoint. 



SAWFLY INVESTIGATIONS. 



A sawfly belongs to the same order of insects as the bees and 

 wasps but instead of having a sting for an ovipositor, its egg 

 laying apparatus is equipped with a little saw with which it 

 cuts a slit in the tissue of the leaf and deposits an tgg in the 

 opening. The adult or winged sawfly does practically no harm. 

 but the young which hatch from her tgg^ are as greedy as 

 caterpillars and as completely demolish the foliage they feed 

 upon. The larvae resemble hairless caterpillars somewhat in 

 their appearance as well as in their feeding habits and are fre- 

 quently mistaken for them. 



Certain species like the currant and gooseberry "worm" the 

 pear and rose "slugs" and the larch sawflly are familiar pests 

 to all who are interested in these plants, and it frequently hap- 

 pens that pine and spruce growths over large areas are devas- 

 tated by sawfly larvse. 



But in spite of their destructiveness, the larvse of sawflies 



