74 ASSOCIATION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGISTS, 



block of catalpa nursery stock which had been killed, owing to re- 

 peated defoliation b}^ this insect. 



The bagworm {Thyridopteryx ephemermformis Steph.) has been 

 found in the southern part of tlie State to a greater extent than usual 

 this year, and Melasoma scripta Fal5. has caused considerable injury 

 by defoliating poplars in nurseries. 



The willow borer {Cryptorhynchus lapathi L.) continues to spread, 

 and the oyster-shell scale {Lep'ulosa plies ulmi L.) is a serious pest in 

 the extreme northern section of the State. 



During the past year a preliminary list has been published of the 

 mosquitoes of the State. This has been accomplished through co- 

 operation with Professors Osborn and Iline, of the Ohio State Uni- 

 versity. Seventeen species are known thus far to occur here, but no 

 systematic collecting has yet been done with special reference to this 

 family. Although the yellow-fever mosquito {Stegoniyia calopus 

 Meig.) has not been taken in the State, it is known to occur at Lexing- 

 ton and Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., the former locality 

 being less than 100 miles from Cincinnati. 



NOTES FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



By E. DwiGHT Sanderson, Diirhaiii, N. H. 



An interesting feature of the past season has been an outbreak of 

 Gingilia catenaria Cram., or " chain-dotted geometer," and commonly 

 known as an " inchworm." The normal food plant of the caterpil- 

 lars is the so-called " sweet fern " {Myr'tca nspleni folia), which often 

 covers the rocky hillsides of New Hampshire, belonging to the same 

 genus as the bayberry. During August these plants were stripjoed 

 over considerable areas in many sections. When they had been de- 

 foliated the caterpillars spread to birch, wild cherry, apple, or what- 

 ever presented itself, including many common weeds. August 9, 

 1905, a piece of some 25 acres of stripped land, covered with scrub 

 growth, was observed, upon which practically all of the sweet fern 

 had been defoliated. The line of advance of the army of caterjDil- 

 lars was clearly visible, though at this time they were far less abun- 

 dant than the previous week. Numerous predaceous and j^arasitic 

 insects were found preying upon them, but probably 80 or 90 per cent 

 were dying from disease. The exact nature of the disease remains un- 

 known. The dead caterpillars became attached to the twig upon 

 which the}^ clung by means of fine threads — evidently of a fungous 

 disease. Through the courtesy of Dr. L. (). Howard, specimens were 

 submitted to the bacteriologists of the Bureau of Animal Industry, 

 who reported that four organisms were isolated from the diseased 

 larvae, the most important being a bacterium. Preliminary experi- 

 ments with a culture of the latter have been made upon larvae of 



