POPULAR EDITION* 



OF 

 BULLETIN No. 286. 



AN ENEMY OF POPLARS AND WILLOWS. 

 F. H. HALL 



In the never-ending contest against insect foes 



~. , the nurseryman and landscape gardener are no 



more exempt than men in other branches of 



TVT v i agriculture and horticulture. They suffer from 

 New York. . , Al _ .^ J 



many ot the enemies ot the iruit-grower and ot 



the florist and have, beside, a few troublesome 

 pests of their own. Among the latest of these to attract atten- 

 tion in this State is a borer, the larva of a curculio, Crypto- 

 rhynchus lapathi, that injures poplars and willows both in the 

 nursery and as mature trees. 



This is not really a new pest, since it was described by Linnaeus 

 nearly a century and a half ago and has been noted in Europe as 

 a foe to the forests for seventy-five years. It is, though, of com- 

 paratively recent occurrence in America, being first discovered 

 near New York City in 1882. It later became quite destructive 

 in some parts of New Jersey and Massachusetts, but did little 

 damage in western New York until about five years ago. 



In 1902 some blocks of poplars and willows in 



Extent nurseries near Rochester were so badly injured 



of by the insect that some of the growers thought of 



injury. abandoning the culture of these trees. Since 



that time the annual loss in many nurseries has 



been not less than 10 per ct. of the trees, and occasionally the 



entire planting has been ruined. 



The insect has spread quite rapidly in this section of the State 

 because of the great number of lakes, canals and small streams 

 that are everywhere bordered with willows. These native wil- 

 lows have often become so badly affected that many of them will 

 ultimately die as a result of the injury. From these trees the 



* This is a brief review of Bulletin No. 281 of this Station, on the Poplar 

 and Willow Borer, by W. J. Schoene. Any one interested in the detailed ac- 

 count of the investigations will be furnished, on application, with a copy of 

 the complete bulletin. The names of those who so request will be placed on 

 the mailing list to receive future bulletins of the Station, popular or complete 

 as desired. Bulletins are issued at irregular intervals, as investigations are 

 completed, not monthly. 



