48 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
Blister mite (Eriophyes pyri Nal.). The blister mite is 
widely distributed in western New York and has also been found 
in several places in the Hudson valley. It has been especially 
destructive the past season to apple trees, being so abundant upon 
the foliage at South Byron early in June as to give many trees a 
brownish appearance when viewed from a distance. Many of the 
badly infested leaves dropped later and the same is true of orchards 
in the vicinity of Albion. In some instances at least half of the 
leaves must have been destroyed by the work of this pest. The 
characteristic blister of this form is easily distinguished by its 
peculiar, raised, spongy, brick-red appearance. The venation dis- 
appears in the affected area and furthermore, there is almost in- 
variably a small, round hole near the center of the blister. These 
blisters may occur singly or in groups and frequently fuse to form 
irregular, reddish brown blotches which eventually may include a 
considerable proportion of the leaf. Inasmuch as the mites spend 
most of their time within the leaves, it is impractical to attempt any 
remedial measures during the summer. The pest winters under 
the bud scales and at such times it can be destroyed in large num- 
bers by spraying with a lime-sulfur wash or one of the miscible or 
so called “soluble” oils. An application of a lime-sulfur wash is 
in our judgment preferable, since there is not the slightest danger 
of injuring the trees. Furthermore, reliable commercial prepara- 
tions of this material can now be purchased, so that it is not neces- 
sary to bother with boiling if one feels that the delay incident to 
preparation is a serious hindrance. Orchards which have shown 
during the past season a more or less general infestation by this 
mite should be sprayed after the leaves drop and before they appear 
again in the spring with one of the contact insecticides named above, 
in order to prevent the chance of serious injury occurring another 
season. 
Small fruit insects 
Grape root worm (Fidia viticida Walsh). This insect 
is generally distributed throughout the Chautauqua grape belt. 
There has been a marked improvement in conditions over those 
obtaining last year, as there was comparatively little evidence of 
injury, though there were reports of severe local damage in vine- 
yards in Sheridan or Fredonia. An examination of a number of 
vineyards failed to disclose any alarming conditions, and we are 
well satisfied that as a whole there has been a material betterment. 
Part of this is undoubtedly due to better cultivation, particularly 
