^8 SECOND REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



of the Hudson, I ask the State Entomologist to give us the full history 

 of an insect that stings the squash vines after they have commenced to 

 run, and lays an egg in the puncture, which shortly develops into a 

 maggot or grub, i 1-4 to i 1-2 inches long, that soon, if left alone, eats 

 and bores the vine so as to destroy all its substance, and of course kills 

 it. We would like its full history ; its scientific name ; how and when 

 it breeds ; what changes it undergoes after the boring stage, in which 

 they make such havoc in squash vines; what the perfect insect looks 

 like, and above all, how we are to best meet it. Every one here has 

 given up raising the Hubbard squash, and the insect has gone to laying 

 its eggs in the pumpkin vines for want of something better. Every 

 remedy tried has failed — even going over each vine daily and cutting 

 out the parts where the insect lays its eggs. For the last crop I tried 

 to raise, I spent nearly $100 in labor, going over the vines each day and 

 cutting out the grubs. I should not have grudged this if it had saved 

 the crop, but it did not. I lost every vine, and did not have a single 

 squash. 



We have never tried poison, as the borer is in the very center of the 

 vine, and I do not see how the poison can reach it. It is possible that 

 the State Entomologist can suggest something that would put an end to 

 the pest. To give some idea how bad it is, I would say that I have cut 

 out one hundred and forty-two grubs from a single vine, though not at 

 one time. I have lately thought of making a box six feet square, and 

 covering it tightly with a mosquito netting, and using this to cover each 

 hill. It will be costly, buf if effective I could stand it, for I do not like 

 to have an insect get the best of me, and deprive me of so delicious a 

 vegetable. I have seen complaints of these borers in your paper, and 

 have seen it ascribed to a dozen different insects. Therefore we look 

 to the State Entomologist to give us the truth. P. V. B. 



COXSACKIE, N. Y. 



The insect of which inquiry is above made, is the one commonly known 

 as the " squash-vine borer." It was described by Dr. Harris, from the 

 moth, as ^Egeria cucurbits. Later it has been transferred to the 

 genus Melittia, and as M. cuciirUtiB it has been frequently referred to 

 by recent writers. In a check-list of North American moths, by A. R. 

 Grote, published in 1882, it is regarded as identical with a species 

 described by Westwood of England prior to Dr. Harris' description, 

 under the name of Ceto, but until its identity is more clearly shown, it 

 may better retain its well-known and appropriate name of cucurhfce. 

 Fig. I represents the moth (a male) one-half larger than the natural 

 size. 



Description of the Moth. 



The earliest description of the species is that of Dr. Harris, in the 

 Neiu England Farmer for August 22, 1828. It is of the moth only, and 

 is as follows : 



"Body tawny, with four or five black dorsal spots; anterior wings 



