REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST 355 



to the growing twigs arrested their growth, and caused the young trees 

 to throw out additional side shoots. In many instances these shoots 

 would also be attacked and the tree, as the result, would develop a thick 

 head of stubby branches. Many of these stunted and deformed trees 

 were cut back and allowed to start again before they were sold. 



At the time of my visit (August), it was too late to identify positively 

 the author of the injury, as most of the damage had been inflicted early 

 in the spring. An examinaiion, however, showed the presence of the 

 tarnished plant-bug, on the trees. A grower informed me that Prof. 

 Slingerland, of the Cornell agricultural experiment station, had been 

 studying the work of the insect a year or two before. On communi- 

 cating with him, my suspicion as to the cause of the injury was confirmed, 

 he having found their eggs in blighted tips and watched their oviposition 

 in breeding cages. 



Description. The following description of the immature stages of 

 this insect is compiled from the notices of it by Prof Forbes. 



The egg. The smooth, pale watery-yellow egg of this species is 

 slender, cylindric, slightly curved, round at one end, tiuncate and com- 

 pressed at the other, .92 mm long and .25 mm wide at its greater diameter. 



The single example from which the above description was drawn, was 

 loosely placed among the hairs on the petiole of a dead leaf According 

 to Prof. Slingerland's observations, the eggs were evidently deposited 

 within the young stems of peach trees. 



The first stage. The recently emerged bug is a pale green or sulfur- 

 yellow color with a median orange spot on the third abdominal segment, 

 and about .}-„ inch long. The antennae are nearly as long as the body, 

 the beak extends to the last abdominal segment. Head slightly darker 

 before the eyes, legs long, white, with an orange ring at the upper 

 end of the tibiae. In the latter part of this stage the antennae, tarsi and 

 apical segment of the beak become dusky, and a transverse black mark 

 is seen just behind the orange spot on the abdomen. The tiny insect is 

 sparsely covered with sliort black hairs. 



The second stage. After the first molt it is -^V inch long, the abdomen 

 is broader than the thorax, a circular black spot occurs on each 

 side of the middle of the first and second thoracic segments, and a 

 median black quadrate spot on the suture between the third and fourth 

 abdominal segments. The legs are much as before, except that the tibial 

 rings are more brightly colored and there are traces of a second reddish 

 tibial ring and of two femoral rings. The antennae are relatively shorter 

 and darker, being reddish dusky with pale articulations, except that the 

 second segment has a paler shade in the middle, and the basal one is 

 nearly white. 



The third stage. The greatest change after the second molt is in size, 

 the insect being -j^fo or -^^ inch long, the wing pads are just begin- 

 ning to appear, and there is a higher coloration. ' In the more strongly 

 marked specimens, the head, abdomen, legs and antennae, are more or 

 less deeply suffused with crimson, the head having a median longitudinal 



