412 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



damage caused by the more common agricultural pests. Aside 

 from the work of the striped cucumber beetle, the black flea beetle, 

 the onion maggot, stalk borer and San Jose scale, there has been 

 comparatively little injury to general agricultural crops. The sea- 

 son of 1903 was remarkable because of the unprecedented abundance 

 of certain plant lice, particularly of species occurring on appletrees, 

 and also on account of the extremely destructive work of the pear 

 psylla (Psylla pyricola Forst.), a species which so seriously 

 weakened thousands of trees in the Hudson river valley in particular,, 

 that they were unable to survive the unusually severe winter. These- 

 pests have hardly attracted the notice of agriculturists during the- 

 past season, and on referring to the following reports it will be- 

 observed that most of them are significant because of their negative 

 character. Relatively few observers reported and those, as a rule,, 

 only at irregular intervals, indicating most clearly that insect 

 depredations attracted comparatively little notice. The general 

 sparsity of insect life may be attributed in part to the unusually 

 severe winter, since the temperature went far below the normal on 

 several occasions, and if it be true that insects can be frozen but 

 once and survive, the severe weather of last winter was certainly 

 sufficient to kill a very large proportion of the more exposed hiber- 

 nating forms. The effect of winter on insect life is one of con- 

 siderable importance, particularly if the future should demonstrate 

 that a study of meteorological data would enable us to forecast with 

 reasonable accuracy, the probability of severe injury by various- 

 insect pests. Such information can be acquired only through 

 observations extending over a series of years and in various portions- 

 of the country, and it is gratifying to state that arrangements have 

 already been made for such observations in New York and several 

 of the New England states. 



Cattaraugus county [C. E. Eldredge, Leon]— A small brown scale 

 insect, the cherry scale (Lecanium cerasifex Fitch) has 

 appeared in some numbers on peartrees but has not caused serious- 

 damage. — May ji 



Cattaraugus county [F. A. Fitch, Randolph]— Last season the 

 peartrees blighted very seriously (this probably refers to pear 

 psylla attack, which was exceedingly common throughout the 

 State). Tent caterpillar (Malacosoma americana Fabr.) 

 nests are less numerous than usual at this time of the year. A few 

 cabbage butterflies (Pieris rapae Linn.) have been observed. — 

 May 28. Potato beetles (Doryphora lo-l i n e a t a Say) are 

 quite numerous and mosquitos are in full force. Tent caterpillars 



