III. SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT INJURIOUS 

 INSECTS OF THE YEAR. 



Locusts. 



During the past season we have received letters from the 

 vicinity of Rome, N. Y., to the effect that the '' grasshoppers " 

 were proving a serious pest again. We spent a day in August 

 hist driving through some of the infested sections near Rome. 

 The locusts were very abundant at that time, although some of 

 the farmers said that they were less numerous then than earlier 

 in the season, and also that they were even more numerous the 

 previous summer. But even last year these insects were suffi- 

 ciently abundant in some districts to necessitate the cutting of 

 oats, rye, etc., green in order to save the crop. 



The following species were very common during August 

 and probably throughout the season: Melanoplns femoratus, 

 Melanoplus femur-riibrum. De Geer, and Mdanoplus atlunis Riley. 



The Striped Cucumber-beetle. 



An account of this insect as it occurs on Long Island was 

 given in our report for last year. We find that this injurious 

 insect is also of much importance in the western part of the 

 state, especially since the growing of pumpkins, squashes and 

 cucumbers has become a prominent industry among western New 

 York farmers. During the early part of the season this pest 

 threatened to ruin the young pumpkin and squash vines in many 

 of the fields about Geneva. The authorities at the canning fac- 

 tories state that the " cucumber-beetle " is one of the most seri- 

 ous pests with which their growers have to deal. 



Most of the injury is done just as- the young vines are coming 

 out of the ground. The beetles are usually present in great num- 

 bers at this time and will very quickly eat the young plants en- 

 tirely off just at the surface of the ground, o*r cripple them to 

 such an extent that they will be greatly delayed in growing or 

 unable to survive the injury. 



