30 



A little gall ou youug shoots, fouud very locally ouly, is formed by a 

 Gecidomyiid very uear to Lasioptera farinosa, if uot identical with it. 

 The youug shoots are always trimmed out before the imago emerges in 

 spring, and uo damage is done. The larva is also parasitized quite fre- 

 quently, and only a few imagos were obtained. The relations of the 

 parasites to each other is still somewhat obscure, and one of the species 

 may be secondary. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



Meeting called to order at 4 p. m. by President Fletcher ; 29 persons 

 were present. 

 Mr. Smith read the following: 



THE SaUASH BORER, MELITTIA CUCURBIT-S;, AND REMEDIES 



THEREFOR. 



By John B. Smith, New Bntnsivick, JV. J. 



The most dangerous enemy to squash culture in New Jersey is un- 

 doubtedly this borer. Its life history is already' fairly well known, and 

 the question of remedies is the vital one. Those usually recommended 

 have not proved eminently satisfactory in practice, and cutting out is 

 still most generally relied upon. Summer squashes are badly infested, 

 but have a large stout stem and usually mature a crop before the borers 

 can kill the vine. Of the later varieties the Hubbard is the favorite, 

 not only of the grower, but of the borer. The missing links in the life 

 history seemed to be in the egg stage, and these were carefully observed 

 by me during the present season. I found in every case one or more 

 eggs at the base of the plant, as near to the root as possible, and usually 

 on the underside of the stem, i. e., that portion of it resting on the 

 ground. The moth evidently gets as near to the base of the plant as 

 l^ossible, and deposits her eggs as far towards the root as her ovipositor 

 will extend. Rarely' the egg will be found at the axil of the first or 

 second leaf stalk ; but it is at such points that the insects rest at night. 

 The egg itself is chestnut brown in color, iu form a flattened disk and 

 of quite large size. The shell is quite hard and chitinous, but brittle. 

 Jt is not readily jjervious to the kerosene emulsion diluted 12 times, but 

 is readily crushed. This stage is quite a protracted one, lasting at least 

 12 and probablj^ often 15 days. The young larva when it leaves the 

 egg moves off less than an inch and immediately enters the stem. This 

 habit accounts for the ill success of the arsenical mixtures applied to 

 the stem. The difficulty of getting all around it is great in the first place, 

 and the larva eats so little that it has at least an even chance for escape. 

 The kerosene emulsion might be more satisfactory but for the difficulty 

 of getting the application ou the under side of the stem. When the egg- 

 laying habits were observed the experiment patch was examined, all the 

 spare vines pulled up so as to verify the universal i^resence of eggs, and 



