188 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Director R. S. Shaw : 



Dear Sir: — Following is a brief report of the work of the Division 

 of Entomology for the year ending June 30. 1911. 



The season, thus far, has been made notable by a very bad invasion of 

 cutworms, and by plant lice in the orchards. Three species attacked 

 the opening buds and threatened grave injury but two of these species 

 migrated to other hosts and parasites seem to have taken care of the 

 third species, (the rosy apple louse). Tussock moths and rose-chafers 

 are more abundant than usual but agriculturists are becoming better 

 acquainted with their control now than in the past. Wire-worms are 

 making some trouble and the cottony maple scale is just now becoming 

 a prominent pest. 



The writer has been unable to make much progress in his study of 

 insect diseases owing to press of other duties and also to difficulty with 

 the eyes, due to long continued work of this sort. 



Many species of insects have been bred and determined in connection 

 with the complaints which are constantly coming in, complaints about 

 pests and supposedly noxious insects. Correspondence in relation to 

 such cases seems to be greater than ever before and replies to inquiries 

 now demand quite an appreciable effort in giving advice. 



During the late winter a revised edition of the Spray and Practice 

 Outline was prepared by Prof. Eustace and the writer, and published 

 as Special Bulletin 54, and some few field experiments in spraying are 

 being carried on jointly by the departments of horticulture and entom- 

 ology. 



Dr. Geo. D. Shafer has just prepared a bulletin on the first part of 

 his problem, ''How do Contact Insecticides Kill Insects." 



For several years past the writer has been making special efforts 

 to find some effective measures for the control of the tamarack saw- 

 fly, (Lygaeonematus erichsomii) an imported insect that has caused 

 the loss of a large part of the larches and tamaracks in the United States 

 and Canada. 



Recently, at a great expense and after several trials a parasite has been 

 imported from England by Dr. C. GordoQ Hewitt, Dominion Entom- 

 ologist of Ottawa, Canada, and he, through our National Bureau of 

 Entomology, has generously supplied us with part of his material for 

 trial in Michigan. 



In order to successfully introduce parasites of this type, it is nec- 

 essary to bring them to maturity from the pupal stage in which they 

 pass the winter, at just the right time, so that they may lay their eggs in 

 the young caterpillars of the sawflies in the forest. They must be placed 

 where they can mate and then be liberated, without turning loose any of 

 the parasites of the parasites which would render nugative the entire 

 work if allowed to do so. 



