Oniversity ol the State ol New York Bulletin 



Entered as second-class matter August 2, 1913, at the Post Office at Albany, N. Y., 



under the act of August 24, 1912 



Published fortnightly 



No. 547 ALBANY, N. Y. July 15, 191 3 



New York State Museum 



John AI. Clarke, Director 

 Ephraim Porter Felt, State Entomologist 



Museum Bulletin 165 



28th REPORT OF THE STATE ENTC^^LOCiST*^^ 



1912 



Dr John M. Clarke, Director of Science Division 



I have the honor to present herewith my report on the injurious 

 and other insects of the State of New York for the year ending 

 September 30, 1912. 



The past season was remarkable because of the superabundance 

 of the common apple tent caterpillar in the Hudson and Mohawk 

 valleys and on the borders of the Adirondacks. The pests were 

 so numerous that most of the wild cherries on the roadside were 

 defoliated and many orchards severely injured. There were reports 

 of local damage here and there by the allied forest tent cater- 

 pillar; in several sections extended tracts were stripped of foliage. 

 There is at least a fair probability of the insect being more abund- 

 ant another season and possibly causing serious injury locally. 

 The green maple worm, so numerous last year, attracted no atten- 

 tion the past season. 



Petroleum compounds as insecticides. Dead and dying trees 

 in several Greene county orchards which had been sprayed the pre- 

 ceding fall with a commercial preparation of petroleum, led to a 

 careful study of the cases and the behavior of the trees through 

 the season. A comparison was also made between the condition 

 of these trees and injury of earlier years following applications 

 of petroleum. We were unable to note any material difference 

 between the two and, furthermore, observed a marked restriction 

 of the damage to trees or even portions of trees which had re- 

 ceived the application. A detailed discussion of our findings is 

 given below, and after a careful study of the various phases of 

 the matter we were forced to conclude that a certain measure ci 



