REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 10,1 7 6$ 



almost constant demand for information relating to household 

 insects had practically exhausted the edition of State Museum 

 Bulletin 136 dealing with the " Control of Flies and Other Household 

 Insects," and the Entomologist therefore prepared an extended and 

 almost entirely rewritten edition entitled " Household and Camp 

 Insects," which was issued as State Museum Bulletin 194 and 

 widely distributed among sanitary officers of the army as well as to 

 those specially interested in work of this kind throughout the country. 



Insect Pest Survey and Information Service. This special war 

 activity was organized by the Entomologist last May in cooperation 

 with the New York State Food Supply Commission, the State 

 College of Agriculture, the farm bureaus, the State Experiment 

 Station and other agencies. An additional stenographer was 

 engaged in this work from May 23d to July 31st. This service, 

 since its organization and up to September 1st, in addition to the 

 normal work of the State Entomologist's office, sent out 729 letters, 

 4763 copies of circulars, 1729 copies of the fifteen weekly digests 

 prepared, 1754 report blanks and 12,174 pages of circular matter. 

 It received 606 reports from over 100 correspondents located in all 

 parts of the State, mostly representatives of the New York State 

 Food Supply Commission. 



The main purpose of the survey was to secure early and accurate 

 reports from all over the State, to summarize the information thus 

 obtained, distribute it promptly, and thus promote the checking or 

 prevention in large measure of the numerous losses naturally 

 inflicted by insect pests. Particular emphasis was laid upon the 

 initial signs of injury in order that the insects might be controlled 

 before material damage had been inflicted. The survey was closely 

 articulated with the control work in the field under the supervision 

 of Messrs Crosby and Matheson of Cornell University. The more 

 important crops received first attention, especially the insect enemies 

 of potatoes, fruits (such as apples, pears, peaches and cherries), 

 cereal and forage crops and truck and garden crops. The importance 

 of this work may be gauged somewhat by an estimate made in 19 13, 

 which placed the approximate loss caused by insects in this State to 

 all farm crops at $20,000,000. 



The organization outlined above had one or more active agents 

 in practically every county of the State and has made feasible a 

 closer watch upon insect developments than has heretofore been 

 possible. The experience of the past season repeatedly showed 

 that insect outbreaks in the southern part of the State, especially 



