REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I908 5I 



State, its webs on willow in particular forming conspicuous features 

 in the landscape. In several instances small wild cherry trees were 

 entirely defoliated by this pest. The promiscuous breeding of this 

 insect on roadside and other trees, simjjly increases the danger of 

 attack to more valuable trees, particularly when the latter are not 

 sprayed systematically. Well cared for and systematically sprayed 

 orchards suffer very little from injuries by this species. 



White marked tussock moth (Hemerocampa leuco- 

 stigma Sm. & Abb.). The white marked tussock moth continues 

 to be a serious pest on horse-chestnuts and lindens in particular. It 

 was extremely abundant and destructive in both Brooklyn and New 

 York. It was numerous, though probably not quite so injurious 

 in some other localities in the State. The impending destruction in 

 Buffalo, we are pleased to state, was greatly mitigated by the 

 activity and efficiency of the newly appointed city forester, Mr 

 H. B. Filer. Buffalo has long held an unenviable reputation be- 

 cause of the poor condition of its shade trees, particularly horse- 

 chestnuts, and we trust that the above mentioned appointment 

 means a well supported and an advanced policy respecting shade 

 tree protection. 



The caterpillars of this notorious shade tree pest also occasioned 

 considerable anxiety in the fruit section of the western part of the 

 State. The partly grown caterpillars v^ere found in considerable 

 abundance in orchards, eating into the young fruit, the amount of 

 damage being estimated at from lo to 80;^. This method 

 of injury is by no means unknown, since similar work was ob- 

 served in Nova Scotia in the summer of 1907. Though it is diffi- 

 cult to adequately control caterpillars which have developed the 

 fruit-eating habit, it is very easy to keep this pest under control 

 in commercial orchards. Systematic spraying with an arsenical 

 poison will in the long run, at least, prove most efficacious in de- 

 stroying the pest, though it may take a few years to bring about 

 these results in badly infested orchards fruiting every season. It 

 is comparatively easy to practically clear trees of this insect by 

 collecting the conspicuous white egg masses any time during the 

 winter. This work can be done thoroughly and at comparatively 

 slight expense, then there is no occasion for worry as to the out- 

 come another season, and an orchard once cleared is easily kept 

 comparatively free from subsequent injury. 



Snow-white linden moth (Ennomos subsignarius 

 Hubn.), This species, at one time ret^g'nized as a most destructive 



