102 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



CHARLES H. FERNALD. 



Two l)ulletins have been issued from this department dur- 

 insj the year, — one on the habits, food and economic value 

 of the American toad {Bufo lentiginosus atnericanus) , and 

 one on the brown-tail moth {Eiqwoctis chrysorrhoea) . I 

 have been able in the intervals of other duties to prepare a 

 monograph of the plume-moths {Pterophorid(E) of North 

 America, which is published with illustrations in the thirty- 

 fifth annual report of the college. A large amount of time 

 has also been devoted to the work on the gypsy moth in the 

 eastern part of the State. 



San Jose Scale. 



The San Jose scale (Aspidtofiis perniciosus) has appeared 

 in many places in Massachusetts, having been received on 

 nursery stock from nurseries both in this and in other States. 

 In the early part of the season my assistants visited, as far 

 as possible, all the nurseries in the State, and carefully ex- 

 amined them for this scale. Most of them appeared to be 

 entirely free from this insect, but a few were more or less 

 infested. The owners of these infested nurseries have taken 

 the most active measures to destroy this pest, under the 

 supervision of one of my assistants. Manj^ of the nursery- 

 men do not raise a sufficient amount of stock to supply all 

 of their orders, and often purchase from outside sources. 

 This stock is often received and sent out without examina- 

 tion, and in this way it is possible for the San Jose scale to 

 be distributed by those whose nurseries are not infested. A 

 bulletin on the San Jos6 scale will be published as soon as 

 other duties will permit, in which will be given a more com- 

 plete account of the condition of the nurseries visited, to- 

 gether with the measures taken to eradicate the pest. 



