Februarj^ '16] SASSCER: IMPORTED XURSERY INSECTS 217 



that the Plant Quarantine Act, in addition to offering many advan- 

 tages to the state inspectors, has, furthermore, indirectly served the 

 purpose of strengthening the inspection service of foreign countries. 

 However, undesirable insects continue to enter on imported plants 

 and plant products, but the number is infinitesimal as compared 

 with former years. Instead of collecting brown-tail nests and gipsy 

 moth egg masses by the hundreds, they are now intercepted only on 

 rare occasions and in limited numbers. This scarcity of recognized 

 pests does not indicate that there are not others of equal importance, 

 which should be kept out, and careful examination of all foreign stock 

 should be continued with vigilance. 



Unfortunately, there still appears to be a lack of funds in certain 

 states to properly conduct the inspection of foreign plants, with the 

 result that many small shipments, especially those containing florists' 

 stock, are not examined. The repeated finding of gipsy moth egg 

 clusters on azaleas would seem to justify a careful inspection of all 

 imported field-grown plants. In view of the fact that letters of infor- 

 mation listing all reported interceptions have been placed at the dis- 

 posal of the inspectors at intervals throughout the year, only those 

 pests which appear important will be briefly referred to at this time. 



Seven nests of the brown-tail moth (Euproctis chrysorrhaa Linn.) 

 have been collected on French nursery stock, and one nest on rose 

 from Irleand. Egg clusters of the gipsy moth (Porthetria dispar. 

 Linn.) were taken on six shipments as follows: three on azaleas from 

 Belgium; one on blue spruce from Holland; and two on cedar from 

 Japan. No less than 1,105 larvse of the European pine shoot moth 

 (Evetria huoliana Schiffermiller) were detected on shipments of 

 Pinus mughus and P. montana from Holland, and a single specimen 

 of E. resinella was also taken on P. mughus from Holland. 



A new species of Tripopremnon was collected in Irish potatoes from 

 Peru. This is the fourth potato weevil ^ taken from Andean tubers, 

 none of which are known to exist in the L^nited States. Occurring 

 as these insects do in the Andean region of South America, it is very 

 probable that if once established in the States, these w'eevils may 

 become a serious menace to the growing of Irish potatoes. Infested 

 potatoes are riddled with galleries and rendered unfit for consumption. 



Egg masses of the European tussock or vapourer moth (Notolo- 

 phus antiqua Linn.) have continued to enter on various kinds of stock 

 from France, Denmark,' Holland, and England. A dagger moth 

 (Apatela auricoma Fab.) has also been frequently reported on 

 French nursery stock. 



1 Sasscer, E. R. and Pierce, W. D. [Proc. Entom. Soc. Wash., XV, 3, p. 143 (1913)]. 

 Pierce, W. D. [Jn. Agric. Research I, p. 374 (1914)]. 



