204- NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



sapping of elms already weakened by repeated losses of their foliage is a 

 serious matter. The extent of this drain is hardly appreciated till one 

 observes the damp sidewalks, which even the heat_ of summer can not dry, 

 and the blackening fungus covering broad leaf expanses, indicating the loss 

 of an equal amount of moisture, all drawn by these little creatures from 

 the struggling elms. On bright sunny days in June it is very easy to see 

 the exudations of these bark lice falling in showers from infested trees. 



Introduction and distribution. This insect, like many of our worst insect 

 pests, is an introduced species. It was first brought to notice in this country 

 in 1884 by Mr Charles Fremd, of Rye, Westchester co., N. Y., who com- 

 plained that thousands of elms in his nursery were infested. This species 

 was probably accidentally imported several years previous to its discovery. 

 It has now become established at a number of points in the Union, having 

 been recorded from \'ermont, INTassachusetts, District of Columbia, ^lichi- 

 gan, Nevada and California, besides localities in New York State. It is 

 known to occur on Long Island and in a number of places along the Hud- 

 son river north to Greenwich, and it has been received from Ogdensburg, 

 St Lawrence co. Thus, if this pest has not already attained a general dis- 

 tribution throughout the State, it is only a question of time before that will 

 occur. 



Description. The adult females are by far the most conspicuous form 

 of this insect. They may be seen clustered along the underside of the 

 smaller limbs, usually beside a crack or crevice in the bark, and presenting 

 a general resemblance to a growth of lichens. The full grown, viviparous 

 females are about ^lo inch long just before giving birth to their young, oval 

 in outline and with slightly pointed extremities [pi. 3, fig. 16, i6(?]. Each 

 is surrounded with a white, wooly secretion, which also extends partly over 

 the insect and thus renders its segmentation more apparent. 



The young are j-ellowish specks and may easily be recognized as they 

 move over the younger limbs and leaves [pi. 3, fig. 15]. They have an 

 elongated, oval form, rounded anteriorly and tapering posteriorly to a pair 

 of pointed processes, each bearing a long and a short seta. The body seg- 



