Report of the State Entomologist 217 



useless to resort to any measures for their destruction. The one 

 was a member of the faniil}^ of CoccineUidce, the species of which 

 are justly reg-arded as highly beneficial to the ag-riculturist from 

 their feeding- almost exclusively upon Aphides or plant-lice. But 

 unfortunately this species, Epilachna horealis (Fabr.), has won for 

 itself an exceptionally bad reputation, and was for a long time 

 quoted as the only leaf -eating member of a carnivorous family. A 

 few other species — eig-ht or ten — have since been found to be 

 partly veg-etarian in their habits, but of these about one-half the 

 number have only been detected feeding on the spores of fungi 

 or other vegetable growths of no economic value. At Glen Cove, 

 L. I., Epilachna horealis was particularly injurious to the melon 

 and squash, while it fed readily on any of the Cucurbitacece. 



Associated with the above, in almost equal number, was a com- 

 mon Chrysomelid beetle, Diahrotica 12-punctata (Oliv.), of broad 

 distribution throughout the United States, and hitherto reported as 

 injurious to corn, particularly in some of the western states 

 where its larvae have infested the roots of the young- plants to such 

 an extent as to impair the crop fully 75 per cent. It proved a 

 great anno^^ance at Glen Cove in infesting the greenhouses and feed- 

 ing ou chrysanthemums and other flowers. 



The elm-leaf beetle, Galeruca xanthomeltena (Schrank), whose 

 steady progress northward has been noticed in former reports, and 

 which was announced in my Fifth Report, for the year 1887, as 

 having made its appearance at Poug-hkeepsie — midway between 

 New York and Albany, has during this year (or more probable a 

 year or two earlier) extended its range forty miles farther north, 

 being now found at Hudson — 117 miles from New York and within 

 thirty of Albany. It is aU'eady so injui-ious to the elms in Hudson, 

 that its citizens have become alarmed, and in several instances have 

 resorted to spraying with arsenites for the arrest of the threatened 

 destruction of their shade trees. 



Studies of interest and of considerable economic importance 

 have been made upon the beau-weevil, Bruchus obsoletus, which, in 

 the disclosure of unlooked for phases in its life-history and unsus- 

 pected powers for harm, have shown the need of resort to means 

 by which the insect may be killed as soon as the crop is gathered. 

 Far more active and earnest measm-es against it than have hitherto 

 been deemed necessary, should be undertaken. 



The grain aphis, Siphonopliora avence (Fabr.), which was reported 

 last year as destructive in adjoining, and some of the western, 

 states, while New York was apparently free from its presence, has 

 appeared the present season in portions of our state, particularly 



