^18 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [VoL 3 



insect pests, an unusual opportunity was offered in 1909, on ac- 

 count of the extreme abundance of the Saddled Prominent {Hetero- 

 campa guttivitta) in Maine and New Hampshire. 



For two years previously large areas of deciduous forests in these 

 states had been defoliated by this insect, and its unusual abundance 

 and the noticeable character of the injury caused led many land- 

 owners to fear that irreparable damage would result. During the 

 summer of 1908 reports relative to this insect were issued by Miss 

 Edith M. Patch,- Entomologist to the Maine Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, Prof. E. F. Hitchings, State Entomologist of Maine, and 

 ■C. F. Jackson^, Assistant Entomologist, New Hampshire Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station, and last summer the outbreaks of the 

 previous year were followed up by the above officials and their 

 assistants. 



In each of these reports mention was made of the fact that certain 

 predaceous beetles, particularly Calosonm frigidum, were found in 

 considerable numbers in the badly infested sections and as this genus 

 •of beneficial insects is receiving special study in connection with the 

 Gypsy moth work, it seemed desirable to secure as much data as possi- 

 ble to determine whether the species was doing any considerable 

 amount of good. 



Accordingly an arrangement was made with Prof. E. D. Sanderson 

 and on July 31 Mr. W. F. Fiske and the writer accompanied Professor 

 Sanderson on a tour of a part of the infested district in New Hamp- 

 shire. A visit was made to several badly infested localities in the 

 town of Tamworth, in the foothills of the White Mountains and a 

 colony of larvjB of the European beetle, Calosoma sycophanta was lib- 

 erated. These insects had been reared at the Parasite Laboratory in 

 Massachusetts and previous to this time over 6,000 had been liberated 

 in Gypsy moth infested colonies in that state. The caterpillar stage 

 •of that insect having passed, it was thought desirable to liberate this 

 colony in New Hampshire where the beetle larvae could obtain suf- 

 ficient food to attain full development. Adults of Calosoma frigidum 

 were common in this locality, where they were observed climbing the 

 trees and feeding freely on the Heterocampa larvce. No beetle larvae 

 were observed at this place. Another badly infested area was visited 

 in the same town. A large acreage on the hillsides had been com- 

 pletely defoliated and many Heterocampa larvfe were crawling about 

 on the ground and the trunks of the trees in a vain search for food. 

 This area had been defoliated the previous year. Many beetles were 



-Bulletin No. 161, Maine Agricultural Experiment Station. 



= 19tli and 20th An. Repts. N. H. Agrir. Expt. Sta., 1908, p. 514-531. 



