112 [Assembly, 



roots and putting in a mixture of dry ashes and salt. Without this 

 precaution it is said that the bugs will at times burrow in the 

 ground out of sight to feed upon the sap of the stalk. Fertilizing 

 freely is an excellent preventive of injury from this insect and, 

 indeed, trom most all others. 



The Grain Aphis. 

 Sijphonophora avena? (Fabr.). 



The grain aphis, which has borne several different names, as 

 Aphis avencB Fabr., A. gratiaria Kirby, A. cerealis Kalt., and 

 A. hordei Kyber, is an introduction from Europe, which has 

 been very destructive in some years in portions of the United 

 States, as recorded by Dr. Fitch in the year 1861, when " over all 

 the New England States, over all the State of New York except 

 its western section, through the north-east portion of Pennsylvania, 

 and in several parts of Canada, every grain field was invaded, 

 and most of the fields literally thronged by it." No subsequent 

 attack of this insect has approached this in severity, nor has it 

 since been very destructive over broad districts. But it is not at 

 all improbable that the coming year it will become numerous 

 in our grain fields, and the occasion of unusually severe injuries. 

 The past summer has been very favorable to the multiplication of 

 aphis life, as shown in the almost entire failure of the hop crop in 

 the State of New York from the ravages of the hop aphis, Phorodon 

 humuli, upon the unfolding leaves and blossoms. 



Early in the month of September last myriads of minute insects, 

 which almost filled the air in the streets of Albany, were identified 

 by me as this grain aphis ; and in a note addressed to the Albany 

 Evening Journal, and contained in the issue of September ninth, 

 the fear was expressed, based upon the remarkable abundance of 

 the insect at this time, that the coming year might bring with it a 

 repetition of the memorable demonstration of the summer of 1861, 

 above referred to. 



The opportunity escaped me of examining more than a few of 

 these insects, but it is not improbable that the flight consisted very 

 largely, if not entirely, of females — all of the summer broods, 

 of which there are several, being produced without the presence 

 of the male sex — and that, having just deserted the grain fields. 



