46 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



STANDING OF THE INSECT INVASION AND 



CONDITION OF OUR ORCHARDS. 

 By Prof. E. F. Hitchings, State Entomologist. 



As you all know, the year 1907 has been one of the most 

 crawly years in the history of our State, or buggy, or whatever 

 the term you might apply to it. We have had all sorts of speci- 

 mens of insects sent in to the office, and I have heard them being 

 complained of all over the State. Of course among them we 

 find some old — shall we call them friends? no — we find insects 

 that we have been familiar with from our childhood, lots of 

 them, but never in such an abundance, and never have they done 

 such damage probably in the history of the State as they have 

 during the past year. 



Now among the common insects that have infested your 

 orchards, your shade trees, your garden, vegetables, etc., we will 

 only refer to a few and call your attention to the exhibit here, 

 which you can consult, and we will be glad to answer any ques- 

 tions in regard to these specimens here, or any others that you 

 may wish to ask about. 



We had in the spring our usual infestation of what we term 

 the tent caterpillar. In some counties in the State that insect 

 did a great deal of damage, especially so in York and Oxford 

 counties. Some sections were almost free from any nests of the 

 tent caterpillar. We had many complaints of our leaf rollers, 

 b»ud moths, etc., those small, minute insects that perhaps many 

 of you have never seen, or may not know that they have been 

 in your orchards. 



Then we had coming to us after haying caterpillars that strip 

 young trees especially, kill them outright. I can show you one 

 block of between three and four hundred trees dead from the 

 effect of just the red-humped apple worm. Now the moth of 

 this caterpillar hatches out late in the season. She lays her eggs 

 while you are haying, or earlier than that — the caterpillars hatch 

 while you are haying, and while you think your orchard is safe 

 these little fellows begin their work, and by the time you get 

 through haying, and by chance visit your young orchard, the 

 damage has been done. I venture to say that if we could get 

 full data from that one pest, it would be up into the thousands — 



