1910 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 19 



NESTS OF THE BROWN-TAIL MOTH IN IMPORTATIONS OF FRENCH 



NURSERY STOCK, 1909. 



By Arthur Gibson, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa. 



The inspection work in Canada which was necessary in view of the finding 

 of nests of the Brown-tail Moth in shipments of nursery stock from France, is 

 treated of fully in the annual report of the Division of Entomology and Botany 

 for 1908-1909, which is now in press. 



A short statement, however, of the work which was done in the provinces of 

 Ontario and Quebec may be of interest to the members of the Society attending 

 this meeting. 



Nests of the Brown-tail Moth containing living larvae were discovered earlv last 

 January in New York State on apple, pear and cherry seedlings and quince stocks 

 imported from France. This fact was at once communicated to the Division of 

 Entomology, and a circular giving this information and asking for advice of 

 shipments coming into Canada was at once prepared by the Director, Dr. W. 

 Saunders, and sent out to nurserymen and others who would be interested, as 

 well as to the press generally. On February 5th, after undoubted nests had been 

 found in Ontario, a second circular, giving further information on this threatened 

 invasion of such an injurious insect, was prepared by the Director and the writer, 

 and sent to nurserymen. 



The first nest found in such imported nursery stock in Ontario was on a plum 

 seedling on 37th January. This was in the first shipment of stock examined. 

 From this date until May 20th, every shipment of nursery stock coming into the 

 provinces of Ontario and Quebec was examined carefully, either by me or by Mr. 

 Harry Arnold, the Provincial San Jose Scale Inspector, lof Pelham Centre, who had 

 been instructed by Mr. P. W. Hodgetts to assist me on certain dates in this work. 

 Every nurseryman who im.ported such stock was visited, as well as a number of 

 seedsmen and florists. Thirty different firms or individuals in all were visited, 

 26 in the Province of Ontario and 4 in the Province of Quebec. A complete list 

 ■of these and the nature of the stock examined and the number of nests found will 

 be found in the report of the Division above referred to. Many of the nurserymen 

 had to be visited several times, immediately on the arrival of stock. 



The examination of this imported stock had, of course, to be made very care- 

 fully. Generally speaking, the whitish nests were easily detected, but occasionally 

 small nests would be found, or some which had become broken. The nests mostly 

 occurred between two or three of the twigs or along the main stem of the seedlings, 

 and in size varied from less than half an inch in length and about the same in 

 width, to about nearly three inches in leug-th and over an inch in width. 



In the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, 1,503,129 plants were examined. 

 These consisted largely of apple, pear, plum and cherry seedlings, to be used either 

 for grafting or budding. In the province of Ontario, 188 nests of the Brown-tail 

 Moth were found, and in the province of Quebec, 8, making a total of 196. These 

 were found as follows : 100 on pear, 56 on apple, 28 on plum, 5 on quince, 1 on 

 cherry, 2 on rose, 2 on spiraea, 1 on sugar maple and 1 on Prunus pissardi. 



We have reason to expect, owing to the way in which the consignments of 

 nursery stock were examined, that every nest of the Brown-tail Moth present was 

 found. No report has come to the Division since this inspection work, of any 

 larvae of the Brown-tail Moth having escaped from these shipments and established 

 themselves. Nurserymen and others were strongly advised to burn all packing, etc.. 



