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NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



by removing everything; in wliicli the insects may be living. The 

 door of the vault shouM be tight enough so that there would be 

 no danger of subsequent entrance, and great care should be exer- 

 cised to prevent rcintroduction of the pest with material for storage. 

 Fumigation with hydrocyanic acid gas would 1>e of but limited 

 vakie, since the fumes would hardly destroy all the insects in their 

 galleries. The infested backing of electrotype blocks should be 

 burned, while the insects in bulky papers or other material could be 

 destroyed either by spreading the papers out loosely and drying 

 thoroughly, or in some instances by subjecting to a gentle heat for a 

 considerable period, since white ants succumb readily to both heat 

 and excessive dryness. Storage boxes for valuable papers should 

 be of metal or at least lined with tin and special care exercised to 

 avoid any crevice which would allow the insects to enter. 



Fig. 20 Termes flavipes: a, dorsal view of head of winged female; b, ventral 

 aspect of same, with mouth parts open, greatly enlarged. (After Marlatt, U. S. Dep't Agric. 

 Div. Ent. Bui 4. n. s. 1896) 



Mosquito notes. The season of 1908 was particularly interest- 

 ing because a considerable proportion of New York city was in- 

 vaded by large swarms of the salt marsh mosquito, C u 1 e x s o 1 - 

 1 i c i t a n s Walk. Undoubtedly the insects came from adjacent 

 marshes, possibly those of New Jersey and very likely some at least, 

 from undrained areas on Long Island. The pests were so numer- 

 ous in the city as to be a pronounced scourge for a few days, and 

 (lid much to arouse popular interest in the problem of mosquito 

 control. 



The draining operations on Staten Island have been completed 

 and the resultant change for the better has been most marked. 

 Many places which were previously almost uninhabitable because of 

 the swarms of mosquitos are now comparatively free. The work of 

 draining marshes in other portions of Greater New York has been 



