48 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Blister mite (Eriophyes pyri Nal.). The blister mite is 

 widely distributed in western New York and has also been found 

 in several places in the Hudson valley. It has been especially 

 destructive the past season to apple trees, being so abundant upon 

 the foliage at South Byron early in June as to give many trees a 

 brownish appearance when viewed from a distance. Many of the 

 badly infested leaves dropped later and the same is true of orchards 

 in the vicinity of Albion. In some instances at least half of the 

 leaves must have been destroyed by the work of this pest. The 

 characteristic blister of this form is easily distinguished by its 

 peculiar, raised, spong}% brick-red appearance. The venation dis- 

 appears in the affected area and furthermore, there is almost in- 

 variably a small, round hole near the center of the blister. These 

 blisters may occur singly or in groups and frequently fuse to form 

 irregular, reddish brown blotches which eventually may include a 

 considerable proportion of the leaf. Inasmuch as the mites spend 

 most of their time within the leaves, it is impractical to attempt any 

 remedial measures during the summer. The pest winters under 

 the bud scales and at such times it can be destroyed in large num- 

 bers by spraying with a lime-sulfur wash or one of the miscible or 

 so called " soluble '' oils. An application of a lime-sulfur wash is 

 in our judgment preferable, since there is not the slightest danger 

 of injuring the trees. Furthermore, reliable commercial prepara- 

 tions of this material can now be purchased, so that it is not neces- 

 sary to bother wath boiling if one feels that the delay incident to 

 preparation is a serious hindrance. Orchards which have shown 

 during the past season a more or less general infestation by this 

 mite should be sprayed after the leaves drop and before they appear 

 again in the spring with one of the contact insecticides named above, 

 in order to prevent the chance of serious injury occurring another 

 season. 



Small fruit insects 



Grape root worm (Fidia viticida Walsh). This insect 

 is generally distributed throughout the Chautauqua grape belt. 

 There has been a marked improvement in conditions over those 

 obtaining last year, as there was comparatively little evidence of 

 injury, though there were reports of severe local damage in vine- 

 yards in Sheridan or Fredonia. An examination of a number of 

 vineyards failed to disclose any alarming conditions, and we are 

 well satisfied that as a whole there has been a material betterment. 

 Part of this is undoubtedly due to better cultivation, particularly 



