INSECTS AFFECTINT. PARK AND WOODLAXD TREES I 53 



if tliere Ijc an abundant suiJiily of fresh leaves a third generation may be 

 produced in considerable numbers. This last brood rarely cKtvelops on the 

 secontl or third set of leaves, but is more fre(|uently found on nearby trees 

 which liad not suffered much earlier in the season. It may i)e considered 

 the rule in All)any that a considerable second brood will appear with a 

 possible third veneration in smaller numbers. This beetle attacks European 

 elms by preference, though frecjuently it is very destructive to American 

 elms. 



Natural checks. Man\' ha\'e thought that in the course of a icw years 

 some natural a^ent miL;'ht reduce this grievous pest to comparatively harm- 

 less numbers. This can hardly be expected for some time, at least, b(-cause 

 the beetle is still very injurious at Washington 1). C, where it has been for 

 many years, and the same is true of other localities. Man\' of the beetles 

 are killetl while hilling in damp jjlaces b\' a fungus, .S p o r o t r i c h u m 

 entomophilum Peck. The toad must devour large numbers of the 

 beetles if the following record be its normal habit. Pupils under the direc- 

 tion of Miss Clara Russell of the State Normal College, .\ll)an_\- X. Y., 

 observed one toad eat 50 elm leaf beetles within an hour. Though we have 

 seen nothing of the kind in this vicinity, one gentleman affirms most posi- 

 tively that the English sparrow feeds on the elm leaf beetle larvae, having 

 repeatedly observed it picking them off the trunks of the trees. If the 

 sparrow has this habit, it offsets to a certain extent its many bad traits. 



Se\"eral insects are known to prey on this jjest, its pu[)a or its lar\'a. 

 Three beetles. Plat \' n u s p u n c t i f o r m i s Sa)-, O u e d i u s m o 1 t) c h i- 

 n u s Grav. and C h a u 1 i o g n a thus m a r g i n a t u s P'abr., feed on this 

 species as recorded b\- Rile)\ Ally, Cyrtoneura stabulans Eall., 

 destroys many pupae in Washington. In this latitude the half grown nymph 

 of P o d i s u s s p i n o s u s Dallas has been observed with an elm leaf beetle 

 grub on its extended beak, and it probably prej's extensivel\- on the larvae, 

 since in Washington all stages are known to attack it. Unfortunately this 

 beneficial species is not abundant, though it is to be hoped that the large 

 food su])ph-will lead to an mcrease in its number A small capsid. Camp- 



