110 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
feeder that under ordinary conditions it does not inflict serious 
damages, and is usually fairly well controlled by natural enemies. 
Black banded Lecanium, Lecanium nigrofasciatum 
Perg. This small insect has previously attracted comparatively 
little attention in this State. It was noticed briefly in our previ- 
ous report and was brought to the attention of Dr Lintner in 
1896, by examples sent from Poughkeepsie, where it had been 
exceedingly abundant on a hard maple. It has been observed in 
relatively small numbers on soft maples in Albany till the last 
few years, when it has become plenty on certain trees, and during 
1902 it was found to be present in immense numbers on many 
soft maples. The insects were so abundant that a large amount 
of honeydew was excreted, and the growth of the trees seriously 
checked by its work. 
Forest insects 
Willow and poplar curculio, Cryptorhynchus lapathi 
Linn. This destructive weevil has been quite injurious to nursery 
stock in western New York during the past season. Its presence 
is usually indicated externally, in the case of willows, by a purp- 
lish discoloration of the bark on either side of the transverse 
burrow and by the drying and shrinking of the thin bark directly 
over the gallery. 
The full grown larva or grub burrows in the center of small 
stems, frequently for a distance of 3 or 4 inches, and the pupal 
cell is found near the extremity of this burrow [pl. 6, fig. 1]. The 
galleries of the young grubs occur around buds and at the base of 
small limbs and frequently partly girdle the tree. Their presence 
is not so conspicuous as the work of older individuals and is 
usually indicated by a brownish discoloration with a few minute 
borings near the entrance. 
Larvae, pupae and adults were found in infested stock sub- 
mitted for examination July 18. A number of adults were bred 
in the course of a few weeks. The insect was so abundant in 
some nurseries as to cause serious loss and, on account of its 
working within the stems, is a difficult one to control. The 
destruction by fire of badly infested trees appears to be the most 
practical method of checking it, though something may possibly 
be accomplished by spraying the stems of young willows and pop- 
