REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I905 IO3 



They were quiet and healthy and had broods in all stages, also 

 eggs. December 2 they were put in the cellar for the winter. 



It does not appear to Mr Wilke that the bees showed to best 

 advantage, since they were received too late in the season to do 

 much on honey, yet they were rather slow in building up even when 

 mild weather favored them. Respecting comparative gentleness | 



he is not certain, as all of his bees with the exception of one strain 

 were somewhat more vicious than usual. 



Large carpenter ant (Camponotus herculaneus 

 Linn.). This large, black ant is frequently observed in small 

 numbers about dwellings and occurs commonly in dead stumps or 

 trunks in nature. It is a well known wood borer and occasionally 

 excavates large cavities even in living trees. Its work is particu- 

 larly noticeable in the x\dirondacks, where spruce and balsam trunks 

 are sometimes badly riddled by its operations. 



Our attention was called to the work of this ant in dwellings 

 by the receipt of a communication July 14 from Mr C. C. Merriam 

 of Lyons Falls. He stated that they first observed a heap of saw- 

 dust in the attic of their recently constructed house, and on investi- 

 gation found that this ant was working in the rafters. The insects 

 had fairly riddled about 3 feet of two 2 inch spruce rafters lying 

 side by side. The injury was of such a nature as to raise a serious 

 question as to the ultimate effect upon the building. These insects 

 rarely carry their depredations to the point where the integrity of 

 a structure is threatened, though there is no reason why considerable 

 damage might not be inflicted wherever the pests are abundant, 

 since tree trunks may be so thoroughly tunneled by this species 

 that they, break readily in a high wind. It would probably be advis- 

 able, in case a few timbers in a dwelling are somewhat injured and 

 contain numerous ants, to either remove them and replace with ' 



some wood less likely to be attractive to the pests, or else adopt 

 some active measure for the destruction of the ants. The insects 

 in infested timbers should be destroyed so far as possible, and the 

 cavities might be filled with a creosote or tar preparation or even | 



a thin plaster of paris, with a view of preventing further depreda- ' 



tions. Blowing insect powder into the cavities or the injection , 



of carbon bisulfid will drive out or destroy many of the ants. There | 



is a possibility that they could be attracted to poisoned sweets or i 



destroyed in large numbers by placing a syrup, made by dissolving ' 



borax and sugar in boiling water, in the vicinity of their haunts. 



Green-headed horsefly (Tabanus lineola Fabr.) . This 

 species was very abundant and annoying to horses about ; 



