40 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



A previously unknown though sparse colony of the periodical 

 Cicada was located at Geneseo as an outcome of the interest aroused 

 by the appearance of the enormous brood last year. 



Flies and mosquitos. There has . been a general interest in 

 controlling the house fly and preventing the superabundance of 

 mosquitos. Both of these insects have been the subject of corre- 

 spondence, and a number of bulletins giving directions for rem- 

 edying undesirable conditions have been distributed. 



An unusual departure was the w^orking out of the life history 

 of a common blowfly, Phormia regina Meign. and a flesh 

 fly, Sarcophaga georgina Wied., under controlled condi- 

 tions. These two insects, though exceedingly common, were 

 comparatively unknown except in a very general way. The de- 

 tails of this investigation, undertaken for the purpose of solving 

 a specific problem, are given in the Entomologist's report. 



Gall midges. This large group of small flies has continued to 

 receive attention from the Entomologist. He has succeeded in 

 identifying the w^heat midge of Fitch, which proved to be an un- 

 described species, discovered and described a second form re- 

 corded as living in heads of American wheat, and reared another. 

 The last was identified through the cooperation of European en- 

 tomologists as Thecodiplosis mosellana Gehin. In 

 addition, a number of new gall midges have been reared from 

 various food plants and described. The outbreak by the Hessian 

 fly, noted above, and an abundance of the pear midge in the vicin- 

 ity of Albany afforded opportunity for additional studies of two 

 economic forms. 



Lectures. The Entomologist, as in past years, has delivered a 

 number of lectures upon insects, mostly economic forms, before 

 various agricultural and horticultural gatherings. This work 

 enables him to become personally acquainted Avith the problems 

 of various localities and has been greatly facilitated by a chart 

 showing the results secured in the codling moth experiments of re- 

 cent years. 



Publications. A number of brief, popular accounts of the 

 more injurious species of the year were widely circulated through 

 the agricultural and local press. The more extensive publica- 

 tions, aside from the report for last year, are : The Elm Leaf Beetle 

 and the White Marked Tussock Moth (Museum Bulletin 156), 



