October, '16] MOZNETTE: FRUIT-TREE LEAF SYNETA 459 



and may be entirely absent. The color is usually a grayish-white to 

 testaceous with the suture nearly black. The posterior tibiae are 

 simple with terminal spurs. The female is usually a yellowish-white 

 and varies less in color than the male. The forms recorded from Nash- 

 mine in Trinity County, California, at an elevation of 5,000 feet, are 

 much larger than are any of the individuals collected at other points 

 in California and at points to the north, The species has not been 

 found south of San Francisco Bay, occasionally one may be found in the 

 hills near Oakland, California. In that region it is often confused with 

 a variety of an allied species, Syneta simplex Lee, which is usually the 

 most destructive to fruits in sections of California,^ and occurs in 

 greater abundance than does Syneta albida Lee. Specimens recorded 

 from Port Angeles, Washington, are very dark in appearance, the dark 

 brown approaching a black. A specimen taken at Yaquina Bay in 

 Oregon is a deep red in color. The striations on the elytra of both 

 sexes, which is a characteristic distinguishing it from the existing 

 species, vary greatly according to the locality in which they are found. 

 A more detailed account of the variations of this species is intended to 

 be incorporated in a later paper on the revision of the genus Syneta. 



The original host of this species is not known to the writer. In many 

 instances the beetles were found working on vine maple and hazelnut 

 trees which maj'' possibly be their native hosts. Among the fruit 

 trees which are attacked may be listed the apple, cherry, prune, pear, 

 quince, plum and wild crabapple. Occasionally the small fruits, as 

 currant and gooseberry, are attacked. 



Due to the fact that considerable alarm existed among the orchard- 

 ists of the Willamette Valley, a series of spraying experiments were 

 conducted in a preliminary manner to test the efficiency of a few sprays 

 as killing agents or as repellents. At the time when this insect is doing 

 its destructive work the precipitation in western Oregon is very heavy. 

 This is during April and May. Hence it is absolutely essential that the 

 spray materials possess adhesive and colloidal properties. This year 

 the adults were particularly numerous from the last of April until the 

 last of May. 



In the experiments conducted the sprays were applied after the 

 beetles had already done some damage, but as the beetles are capable 

 of living from a month to six weeks fairly good data could be obtained 

 from the action of the sprays used under our climatic conditions. The 

 following applications were applied to Italian prunes on the place of 

 Mr. C. O. Constable at Salem, Oregon, in May, a short while after the 

 petals had fallen or just after the shucks had fallen: Black Leaf 40 



1 Injurious and Beneficial Insects of California, E. 0. Essig^ Cal. State Com. of 

 Horticulture, Sacramento, Cal. 



