REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I9II 9 



Forest pests. Injuries by insects to forests have greatly in- 

 creased during recent years. The hickory bark borer has de- 

 stroyed thousands of magnificent trees in the vicinity of New- 

 York. The investigations of the Entomologist showed that this 

 nefarious pest had destroyed many hickories at Tivoli. A warn- 

 ing circular was issued and widely copied by the local press. 

 The two-lined chestnut borer, probably breeding first in fun- 

 gous-affected chestnut, invaded nearby oaks at Old Westbury. 

 This outbreak was studied and appropriate repressive measures 

 advocated. Damage by this species was also reported from 

 Garden City. The severe though local injury by the locust leaf 

 beetles at Syosset and Jericho received personal attention and is 

 fully discussed on subsequent pages. The exceptional abundance 

 of the maple leaf cutter at Lake George was also investigated, and 

 an account is given below. 



Flies and mosquitos. General interest has been maintained in 

 the house fly campaign. The Entomologist prepared several 

 popular notices and experimented in a limited way with a fly 

 trap. The results with the latter, while beneficial, were not en- 

 tirely convincing. We investigated a local mosquito problem 

 at South Salem and had the satisfaction of learning that the exe- 

 cution of our recommendations resulted in the speedy disappear- 

 ance of the pests. Many localities in the State are suffering 

 needless annoyance and, in some cases, illness because mosquito 

 breeding pools are ignored. One case came to our notice where 

 malaria developed following the employment of Italians in a 

 locality previously free from this disease. 



Gall midges. Our studies in this interesting and important 

 group have been continued as opportunity offered. A number of 

 new species have been reared and described, and a table of food 

 habits of the reared species and a generic synopsis of the entire 

 group published. This family, composed entirely of small to 

 minute flies and including a number of destructive forms, is an 

 immense complex which could be grouped satisfactorily only 

 after prolonged and careful microscopic studies. This has been 

 accomplished and a monographic account of the family is now 

 in manuscript. 



Publications. A number of brief popular accounts of the more 

 injurious species of the year were prepared and widely circu- 

 lated through the agricultural and local press. The extended 

 contributions, aside from the report for last year, are : Summary 



