JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



OFFICIAL ORGAN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGISTS 



AUGUST, 1909 



The editors will thankfully receive news items and other matter likely to be of in- 

 terest to subscribers. Papers will be published, so far as possible, in the order of re- 

 ception. All extended contributions, at least, should be in the hands of the editor the 

 first of the month preceding publication. Reprints of contributions may be obtained 

 at cost. Minor line flgures will be reproduced without charge, but the engraving of larger 

 Illustrations must be borne by contributors or the electrotypes supplied. The receipt 

 of all papers will be acknowledged.— Eds. 



The peculiar meteorological and entomological conditions obtain- 

 ing in New York State the present season indicate the desirability of 

 more exact and generally applicable information respecting the in- 

 fluence of climate upon the development and abundance of various 

 insects. It is well known that variations in temperature and mois- 

 ture have a profound influence upon the development of certain spe- 

 cies, and it is more than probable that the relative intensity of light 

 influenced by the presence or absence of clouds is also an important 

 factor. The early part of the season of 1909 was remarkable for its 

 coolness, accompanied by a retardation in the development of vege- 

 tation. The same was true in 1903 and in 1897 — all years accompa- 

 nied by a superabundance of plantlice. Is there a correlation be- 

 tween the two phenomena? Entomologists in other parts of the 

 country must have witnessed similar conditions, most of which, we 

 fear, are allowed to go unrecorded. Knowledge of this kind, if gen- 

 erally applicable, would be invaluable to the economic entomologist, 

 and we would suggest that data along these lines is at least worthy 

 of record and might, under certain conditions, be tested experimen- 

 tally. There is certainly an inviting field for any one willing to 

 study carefully the connection existing between climate and the 

 development of insects. There are already a number of records 

 showing a most intimate relation between meterological conditions 

 and the growth and multiplication of certain injurious species, while 

 the influence of minimum temperatures has been the subject of care- 

 ful studies by several observers. 



There is another general subject deserving attention at the present 

 time. Recent years have witnessed numerous outbreaks by leaf 

 feeding caterpillars, particularly in forests. New York State, for 

 example, suffered greatly about 1900 from extensive depredations by 

 the forest tent caterpillar. Forests were severely injured in 1906 

 and 1907 by the green striped maple worm and the snow-white linden 



