INSECTS AFFF.CTIXC. PARK AXD WOODLAND TREES lOl 



Its reception the same yc-ar from Pike N. Y. indicates a general distri- 

 bution in New York State, at least. 



Work in Massachusetts. This species was studied by Mr J. G. Jack, 

 who stated in 1897, that it had been known to occur in Cambridge, Boston, 

 and vicinity for many )ears, antl that for several it had proved destructive 

 to almost all species of willows growing in the Arnold arboretum. Mr 

 A. H. Kirkland, writing of this insect in 1899, states that in Massachusetts it 

 appears to lie most injurious to the balm of Gileatl. It had become so 

 abundant in Winthrop and Revere that there was hardly a sound balm of 

 Gilead at the time of his writing. He also found that the insect bred in 

 nearly all species of poplars and willows and had oljserved serious injuries 

 in many of the larger nurseries in eastern Massachusetts. 



Distribution. This species, as stated by Professor Webster, is common 

 in Plurope, ranging over Siberia and Japan, but whether it extends farther 

 south into Central Asia is not known. It occurs in the United .States from 

 New Jersey, where it already had obtained a considerable distribution, to 

 Massachusetts and westward, tlirough New York into Ohio, it doubtless 

 havino- made its way along the southern shore of Lake Erie. Later it was 

 found in Minnesota whither it had been shipped in nursery stock. 



Description. The adult beetle or curculio is about I3 to 3/^ inch in 

 length. Its liody is a dull black, with little spots or tufts of jet-black 

 scales or hairs on the thorax and wing covers. The posterior third of the 

 wing covers, the sides of the thorax, the base of the anterior femora and 

 portions of the middle and posterior femora are a pinkish white. The 

 beetle is represented on plate 16, figure 8. The delicate pupa is white, 

 about i's inch in length, with a long snout, and when nearly mature begins 

 to show the coloration of the beetle. The full grown larva is about y. inch 

 in length, fleshy, white and footless. The egg has been described l)y i'ro- 

 fessor Webster as oval, pale yellowish white and from 15 to .8 mm wide. 



Life history. The adult beetles appear in midsummer. Tliey ha\e 

 been observed by Mr M. F. Adams at Buffalo N. ^■.. July 5, 1900. Mr 

 A. H. Kirkland records their occurrence in infested sticks July 28, 1897, and 



