REPORT OF THE STATE EXTOMOLOGIST 1901 735 



is paid to its operations. It was not only seriously dam- 

 aging young trees there, but it was commonly present in 

 greater or less numbers at the base of the older ones. It was 

 fiound quite abundant in an orchard of young trees in East 

 Greenbush, where seven good sized grubs were taken from 

 the base of a small tree not over 3 inches in diameter. 

 There is no doubt that persistent and thorough digging or cut- 

 ting out of these grubs and the use of a protective wrapper at 

 the base of the trees are all that is. necessary to control this 

 pest. The cost of these measures is very slight compared with 

 the value of the orchard. 



Red-headed flea beetle, S y s t e n a frontalis Forst. The 

 destructive tendencies of this little blaclv, red-headed flea beetle 

 have been noticed in a recent report. This 

 year it was received, in company with other 

 insects, as a depredator on grapevines. It 

 probably, as in preceding cases, had bred in 

 weeds, and, when numerous, turned its atten- 

 tion to more valuable plants. 



Forest tent-caterpillar, C 1 i s i o c a m p a 

 d i s s t r i a Hiibn. This insect has been a 

 most serious pest in New York state for the 



FiG.n Red headed flea bee- 

 last four or five years, and in localities here ''« '"ucu enlarged (original) 



and there it has proved exceedingly destructive this sea- 

 son. The outbreak of 1901, so far as could be learned, 

 was much more limited in area than in earlier years and 

 confined largely to sections adjacent to where the insect 

 had been specially abundant previously. The caterpillar ap- 

 pears as a rule to be unable to exist in large numbers 

 in one locality for more than four or five years in succes- 

 sion. This is probably to be explained by the local activity 

 of natural enemies. Another marked feature has been the 

 increasing predominance of tiie pest in orchards. It is perhaps 

 hardly necessary to add that most of the injuries in orchards 

 could have been prevented by timely and thorough spraying. 



