32 DECIDUOUS FRUIT INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES. 



cherry, and it had not been sufKciently abundant to cause more than 

 occasional record of the fact in the literature of economic entomology. 

 For instance, it is not mentioned in the Catalogue of the Exhibit of 

 Economic Entomology at the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, 

 Portland. Oreg., 1005, given in Bulletin No. 53 of this Bureau. It 

 has been listed several times, however, as occurring on plums and 

 cherries, and in the following cases had been mentioned especially in 

 respect to its injury to these plants: Kellicott reported serious injury, 

 in some instances, to plums in New York State in 1881, but Smith, 

 nine years later (1890)," stated that it was rare in New Jersey. In 

 1802 Kellicott reported serious injury to cherries in Ohio. In 1899 

 Lugger thought the insect was increasing in Minnesota. Finally, in 

 1006, Quaintance reported it as very abundant in Georgia, causing 

 material injury to peach trees. 



ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION; SCIENTIFIC NAME. 



The insect was first described as new to science in 18G8 by Grote 

 and Eobinson, from adults captured in the "Atlantic district 

 (Penna.)." It Avas given the specific name pictij^es and placed in 

 the genus JEgeria of Fabricius. In 1881 it was redescribed as new 

 by Henry EdAvards under the name of .Egeria inusitata^ from speci- 

 mens obtained in the AAliite Mountains, New Hampshire, and at 

 Andover, Mass. Twelve years later Beutenmiiller (1803) established 

 i7iusitata Hy. Edwards, as a synonym of pictipes. In the meantime 

 Smith (1800) had removed the species pictipes to the genus Sesia of 

 Fabricius, which removal was accepted later by Beutenmiiller (1800, 

 1897) and Dyar (1902). Soon afterwards Holland (1003), finding 

 that the name Sesia had been restricted to a genus of the Sphingida) 

 by Fabricius, applied to the genus Hiibner's proposed name, Synanthe- 

 don, which seems to be the proper course in this case (p. 385). The 

 insect's scientific name, therefore, is Syncintliedon pictipes (Grote and 

 Robinson). 



COMMON NAMES. 



Owing to the fact that the lesser peach borer feeds in the larval 

 stage on a variety of trees it has become knoAvn by local or common 

 names, depending on its most common or most important food plant 

 in particular localities. It was first found on plum, and hence was 

 first called, by Bailey in 1870, the plum-tree borer, which has since 

 been the name oftenest applied to it. In 1806, as previously men- 

 tioned, Webster referred to it incidentally as "the peach borer;" 

 and in 1006 it was designated by Starnes as " the wild-cherry borer." 

 In the same year, however, because of its increasing abundance on the 



^ y__ — — . — 



« Dates in parentheses refer to the bibliography at the end of this paper. 



