IIMX;.] PUBLIC IKXl'MKNT— Xo. ;^3. 149 



KEP(JUT OF THE ENTOMOLOGISTS. 



C. II. I'KUNAI.I), li. T. KEKNALI). 



The year 1905 has been marked by a great abundance of 

 insects of many kinds, while the two years preceding were 

 equally marked by their scarcity. To this fiict is probably 

 due the large increase in the amount of correspondence the 

 l)resent year, nearly two thousand letters having been sent 

 out, besides an unrecorded amount of printed matter, in an- 

 swer to questions received. 



Investiirations as to the number of broods and times of 

 appearance of the codling moth and oyster-shell scale ha\ e 

 been continued during the season, and should be repeated for 

 several years to come, that reliable date averages may be 

 obtained, and thus the best times for the treatment of these 

 insects be ascertained, 



Scvcml private insecticides have been more or less tested 

 and the results noted, statements of these having been sup- 

 l)lied in each case to the persons sending the materials. 

 While some of these substances were shown to have a cer- 

 tain value for the destruction of insects, it was noticeable that 

 they were no more effective than well-known insecticides 

 costing less, or that they were injurious to the foliage of the 

 plants they were tested on. In fact, none of the materials 

 tested at this station during the year can be considered as- 

 adding anything of value to our present list of standard in- 

 secticides, though it has taken considerable time from other 

 work to establish these negative results. 



The collections of the division have, as usual, been given 

 the needed care and have been added quite consideralily to 

 during the year, while additional facts as to the distribution 

 of insect pests in Massachusetts and their haliits have been 



