62 THE EEPOET OF THE No. 36 



informed the senior author in 1914 that he was not familiar with it and no speci- 

 mens were contained in his museum collections. As the species seemed to be 

 more numerous in France, Austria and Germany, and desiring to know more 

 of its present status as an injurious insect, a circular letter soliciting information 

 on the creature was sent to a goodly numher of European entomologists. The 

 importance of the species can he judged from excerpts from two letters, one from 

 France and one from Austria. A. Giard"^ writes that while impressifrons is by 

 no means rare in the spring upon willow and alder, it is not an important species, 

 and little is known regarding its ethology. Zimmerman" states that the insect 

 is not very common in Austria or Germany and occurs on willow and alder. 

 Injuries to the foliage of fruit trees have not so far heen recorded. Little know- 

 ledge exists as to its life history and habits. 



DiSTEIBUTION IN NeV7 YoEK. 



The actual range of distribution of the beetle in the State of New York has 

 not been determined. The insect has become established in Ontario, Monroe and 

 Wayne counties, and scattering numbers of the species have heen captured as far 

 west as Albion, in Orleans county. It is not improhahle that the species occurs 

 over a larger territory than has been indicated. 



Food Plants. 



The heetle is apparently an omnivorous feeder, subsisting on the foliage of a 

 large number of plants, among which there may be listed birch, willow, poplar, 

 apple and pear as its favorite plants. Scattering individuals have been collected 

 at various times on elm, rose, linden and black locust, which seemingly were 

 feeding on these plants, although their presence on them may have been acci- 

 dental and due to the close proximity of more attractive plants. While specimens 

 of the beetles, either actively engaged in feeding or in copulation have heen 

 observed on all of the above plants, it should be noted that none or very few 

 of the insects have been seen on maple, box elder, horse chestnut, lilac, syringa 

 or elderberry, although these were growing in considerable numbers near the 

 preferred hosts. 



To determine more closely the preferences of impressifrons, heatings were 

 made of different plants, and from the collections^ obtained it appears that the 

 insects seek hirches, willows and poplars in the greatest numhers, and, if the 

 beetle manifests any "choice among these, preference is given to hirches. In feeding 

 tests in breeding cages the creatures subsisted on the foliage of these plants as 

 well as of pear with no apparent choice, and selected the foliage of the foregoing 

 trees in preference to that of the apple. 



Sittings of earth showed that the insect breeds in large numhers on such 

 varieties as the Pussy Willow (Salix discolor), the Kilmarnock Willow (Salir, 

 pendula), the Laurel-Leaf Willow {Salix petandra), the Weeping Willow (Salix 

 bahylonica) , the Wisconsin Willow {Salix dolorosa), and the White Willow (Salix 

 alha). Larvae in great ahundance were similarly obtained in soil about two 

 species of birch (Betula populifolia and alha) and the Carolina and Lomhardv 

 poplars (Populus deltoides, var. carolinensis and P. nigra, var. italica). 



"Giard, A., Letter of July 7, 1906. 



" Zimmerman, W., Letter of Aug. 7, 1910. 



