MONTANA INSECT PESTS, 1949 AND 1950 33 



The beekeepers in the north and eastern parts of the state 

 kill their bees each fall and buy bees from the south each spring. 

 This means that about 20,000 colonies of bees are shipped into the 

 state each year. Difficulties are encountered in moving bees from 

 one state to another because of the laws of different states. In 

 1949 the Montana Assistant State Apiarist was appointed by the 

 Apiary Inspectors of America to serve with inspectors of several 

 other states to draw up a uniform set of regulations covering the 

 interstate shipment of bees. These regulations were adopted by 

 the states involved, making it much easier for the inspectors to 

 control interstate movements of bees and at the same time mak- 

 ing it easier for the beekeepers of these states to procure bees of 

 better quality. 



Disease control has been the main objective of the State 

 Apiarist. The use of sulfathiozol as a preventive of American foul 

 brood has made it possible for some commercial beekeepers to 

 almost eradicate this disease from their yards. However, inspec- 

 tion is still necessary to keep this disease from spreading and 

 causing large areas to be infected with American foul brood. 



During the war, many people bought one or two hives of bees 

 so that they could produce a little honey for home use. Sugar has 

 been readily available during 1949-50, and honey has gone down 

 in price. Consequently, many small operators have neglected their 

 bees, and these bees have become a serious source of disease in 

 many areas of the state. 



The report on inspections on page 32 is not a true picture of the 

 disease problem in Montana. It has been possible to inspect only 

 those areas where the disease problem was most acute. 



INDEX 



Page 



INTRODUCTION 3 



GENERAL FEEDERS 4 



Grasshopper Control 4 



1949 Season 4 



1950 Season 6 



Outlook for 1951 "^ 



Range Grasshopper Investigations ^ 



1949-1950 Montana range grasshopper studies 8 



1950 Montana range plant studies 10 



Other Important Pests 1^ 



Mormon crickets j-^ 



Garden slugs j^ 



White grubs |* 



Army cutworms ^^ 



Pale western cutworms |^ 



Wireworms r^ 



Blister beetles 



