INSECTS AFFECTING PARK AND WOODLAND TREES 1 53 



if there be an abuiuhuit suppl)- of fresh leaves a third generation may be 

 produced in considerable numbers. This last brood rarely develops on the 

 second or third set of leaves, but is more frequently found on nearby trees 

 whicii had not suffered much earlier in the season. It may be considered 

 the rule in Albany that a considerable second brood will appear with a 

 possible third oreneration in smaller numbers. This beetle attacks European 

 elms by preference, though frequentl)- it is very destructive to American 

 elms. 



Natural checks. Many have thought that in the course of a few years 

 some natural agent might reduce this grievous pest to comparatively harm- 

 less numbers. This can hardly be expected for some time, at least, because 

 the beetle is still very injurious at Washington D. C, where it has been for 

 many years, and the same is true of other localities. Many of the beetles 

 are killed while hiding in damp places by a fungus, Sporotrichum 

 entomophilum Peck. The toad must devour large numbers of the 

 beetles if the following record be its normal habit. Pupils under the direc- 

 tion of Miss Clara Russell of the State Normal College, Albany N. Y., 

 observed one toad eat 50 elm leaf beetles within an hour. Though we have 

 seen nothing of the kind in this vicinity, one gentleman affirms most posi- 

 tively that the English sparrow feeds on the elm leaf beetle larvae, having 

 repeatedly observed it picking them off the trunks of the trees. If the 

 sparrow has this habit, it offsets to a certain extent its many bad traits. 



Several insects are known to prey on this pest, its pupa or its larva. 

 Three beetles, P 1 a t y n u s p u n c t i f o r m i s Sa)', O u e d i u s m o 1 o c h i- 

 n u s Grav. and C h a u 1 i o g n a t h u s mar g i n a t u s Fabn, feed on this 

 species as recorded by Riley. Ally, Cyrtoneura stabulans Fall., 

 destroys many pupae in Washington. In this latitude the half grown nymph 

 of P o d i s u s s p i n o s u s Dallas has been observed with an elm leaf beetle 

 grub on its extended beak, and it probably preys extensively on the larvae, 

 since in Washington all stages are known to attack it. Unfortunately this 

 beneficial species is not abundant, though it is to be hoped that the large 

 food supply will lead to an increase in its number A small capsid. Camp- 



