558 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Parasite Work. 

 Report of Mr. A. F. Burgess, in Charge of Moth Work, PAa.\siTE 

 Laboratory, Melrose Highlands, Mass. 



Jan. 12, 1915. 



Dear Professor Rane: — Dr. L. 0. Howard, chief of the Bureau of 

 Entomology, has requested me to prepare a brief report on the parasite 

 work for the year 1914. The information enclosed relates particularly 

 to conditions in Massachusetts, and is of especial interest to the citizens 

 of tliis State. 



Very truly yours, 



A. F. Burgess, 

 In Charge of Moth Work. 



The plan for conducting the parasite work of the gypsy and brown- 

 tail moth has been to collect and rear the most important natural enemies 

 of these insects, and colonize them in territory remote from where the 

 parasites had already spread. This was done in order to enable the bene- 

 ficial species to become established over the entire infested territory as 

 rapidly as possible. In order to secure further information in regard to 

 the work of the parasites of the gypsy moth in Europe, Dr. John N. 

 Summers, one of the assistants in the Bureau at the Gypsy Moth Labora- 

 tory, visited Germany during the spring and summer of 1914. 



Unfortunately, severe gypsy-moth outbreaks did not exist in Germany 

 this year, so that he was not able to obtain as much information as was 

 anticipated. He visited, however, a number of large forests in Hungary 

 where the gypsy moth was present in large numbers, and secured some 

 data concerning the habits of tliis insect in its native home. Owing to the 

 fact that he did not receive information in regard to the presence of this 

 gypsy-moth outbreak until late in the season, it was impossible to secure 

 parasites for shipment to tins country. No parasites have been imported 

 during the present year. 



During the spring of 1914, 1,500,000 specimens oi Anastalus hifasciatus 

 were colonized. Most of these were liberated in towns in northern Massa- 

 chusetts, but a few towns in New Hampshire were also supplied. An 

 examination of egg clusters from some of the colonies of tlus species which 

 were liberated several years ago showed that the parasitism is sometimes 

 as high as 43 per cent., and very commonly 25 per cent, of the eggs in a 

 cluster are destroyed by this insect. 



In the fall of 1914 collections in the field enabled us' to rear at the 

 laboratory large numbers of Schedius kuvanae, and over 2,000,000 speci- 

 mens of this species have been colonized in 111 towns, 60 of which are 

 located in Massachusetts. The colonization work in Massachusetts was 

 begun in the Cape district, and extended in a crescent form to the New 

 Hampsliire line, plantings having been made in practically all the kno^\^^ 

 woodland colonies of the gypsy moth in southern Massachusetts. 



