10 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



to 1899 in the cities of Albany and Troy as to literally compel some 

 action, or a very large proportion of the elms would have been 

 destroyed. The insect obtained such a start in both of these cities 

 that it was able to destroy or ruin about 1500 elms in each before the 

 end of 1900. The vigorous measures employed both in Albany and 

 Troy have mitigated the plague very largely and have demonstrated 

 the practicability of keeping the insect in check. The results in 

 both cities are evident to any observer, because instead of a large 

 proportion of the elms having their leaves skeletonized and browned 

 in midsummer, as was the rule in 1896 to 1898, the work of this pest 

 is observed only here and there and is limited to sections where the 

 trees have not been thoroughly sprayed or to localities where neglect 

 is the rule. This was very well shown in the summer of 1906 in both 

 Albany and Troy. The effective work of earlier years had led many 

 to suppose that the elm leaf beetle was becoming less injurious and 

 consequently there was a decided relaxation in the efforts to control 

 this insect. A very large number of trees in both cities suffered 

 severely as a result of this partial cessation in control work. 



Food plants. This leaf feeder displays a marked preference for 

 the more tender foliage of the English and Scotch elms, though after 

 it has become abundant, it is frequently exceedingly destructive to 

 the American elm. Its operations on this latter tree have been 

 especially severe in the city of Watervliet. 



Distribution. This pest has now attained an extensive distribu- 

 tion in this country-, ranging from north of Salem, Mass, to Char- 

 lotte, N. C. and westward into Ohio and Kentucky. It occurs in 

 most of the cities and villages in the Hudson valley, having made its 

 way north to Glens Falls and along the Mohawk valley at least to 

 Schenectady. It has become well established at Elmira and Ithaca, 

 N. Y., and has been known for some years in Oswego, though it 

 does not appear to have been particularly destructive in that city. 

 There is no record known to us of this species occurring in Utica, 

 Syracuse, Rochester or Buffalo, though it is rather surprising that it 

 has not already become established in all of these cities. 



Description. The skeletonized brown appearance of the foliage 

 in midsummer is very characteristic of the work of this pest, particu- 

 larly in the eastern cities and villages of the State. The irregular, 

 oval holes about % inch in diameter, eaten by the beetles in early 

 spring, are another indication of the work of this species. 



