REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I914 69 



kernels. An examination July i6th showed that a small yellow 

 ant, presumably the above-named species, had excavated the 

 interior of kernels of com here and there, scattering the granular 

 remains about in the soil and leaving the outer shell or coat of 

 the kernel nearly intact. This type of injury was much less prev- 

 alent than damage by grass webworms described elsewhere, and 

 as a rule it is not serious and is rarely reported. The only published 

 records of this character are those by Doctor Forbes, state ento- 

 mologist of Illinois. The development of the corn is arrested and, 

 as noted above, the plants may even seem to grow smaller. 



In localities where this field ant is numerous and liable to cause 

 damage in the above-described manner, we would suggest tarring 

 the com and adding thereto a poison such as Paris green or arsenate 

 of lead. In experiments recently conducted in Massachusetts, gas 

 tar was diluted with linseed oil until rather thin and the seed tarred 

 and then coated with road dust and Paris green mixed in such a 

 proportion that the com after being shaken up in a bucket showed 

 a greenish color. This protective coating will probably prevent 

 the ants attacking the seed until growth is so well started that 

 comparatively little harm would result. Com treated in this manner 

 can be sown with a planter. 



Say's blister beetle (Pomphopoea sayi Lee). The soft 

 blister beetles have a somewhat characteristic shape and are usually 

 dull colored. This, the largest of our native forms, is nearly an inch 

 long and is easily distinguished from its allies by its rather stout, 

 olive green body and the shining black, orange-banded legs. It 

 was unusually abundant and injurious in the vicinity of Albany the 

 latter part of May and early in June, having been reported from such 

 widely separated localities as Port Jervis, Feura Bush, Rensselaer, 

 Canajoharie and Little Falls. The records of 1909 indicate that these 

 beetles may be found the latter part of June and early in July. The 

 Rensselaer outbreak was marked by the appearance of hosts of the 

 insects in an acre of beans, the crop being threatened with destruc- 

 tion by their feeding upon the blossoms. The species had been com- 

 paratively rare until recent years. It was brought to our attention 

 first in 1900, and in 1909 and 191 1 there were numerous rather local 

 outbreaks. The beetles occur in swarms and display a marked pref- 

 erence for locust blossoms. The outbreak- lasts only about a week 

 and, as a rule, the results are not serious. The beetles have also been 

 recorded as feeding upon peach blossoms, wheat and the leaves of 

 butternut . The grubs feed upon grasshopper eggs and the probabilities 

 are that the species is decidedly beneficial on the whole, even though 



