8 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



The hickory bark borer, a most pernicious enemy of hickories, 

 has been very injurious to the magnificent trees of Prospect Park, 

 Brooklyn. Injuries by this pest have also been reported from the 

 central portion of the State. This nefarious pest has in recent 

 years destroyed thousands of valuable trees in this State. Its 

 destructive potentialities amply' justify the prompt destruction of 

 infested trees. 



Gipsy and brown tail moths. The appearance of the latter 

 species in this State has already been mentioned and must be re- 

 garded as but the precursor of similar visitations. This insect has 

 not, to our knowledge, become established west of the Connecticut 

 valley, and it is to be hoped that the repressive measures, prose- 

 cuted jointly by the state of Massachusetts and the federal govern- 

 ment, will result in keeping this destructive form at a distance for 

 some years to come. 



The finding of numerous winter nests of the brown tail moth 

 upon imported French stock last winter resulted in our conducting 

 a series of experiments for the purpose of determining the effi- 

 ciency of hydrocyanic acid gas as an agent in the destruction of 

 the caterpillars. Though this most deadly gas has given excellent 

 results with other species, it proved of no service in killing brown 

 tail moth caterpillars within their nests, and could not be relied 

 upon to destroy free caterpillars in a dormant condition at any 

 reasonable strength and without an unduly prolonged exposure. 

 The details of these experiments, showing the unreliability of this 

 gas, are given on a following page. On the other hand, dipping 

 the caterpillars in a miscible oil was invariably followed by death. 



There is still no authentic record of the gipsy moth having be- 

 come established in New York State. The pest has not made its 

 v^ay nearer than the outlying small colonies known to exist at 

 Springfield and Greenfield, Mass. and the more recent infestation 

 at Wallingford, Conn. The Entomologist has sent out a number of 

 warning placards to places where these insects would be most likely 

 to become established and as yet nothing suspicious has been 

 discovered. 



Miscellaneous. The large, olive-colored form known as Say's 

 blister beetle was unusually abundant in the vicinity of Albany and 

 occasioned some anxiety lest it prove a serious pest. There was 

 a restricted outbreak of the army worm at Oakdale. Conditions 

 were evidently rather favorable for more extended mischief by 

 this insect, since the writer found the caterpillars numerous at Port 



