REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I915 79 



older, sinuous galleries become very conspicuous, especially on the 

 smooth bark because of an external, somewhat characteristic crack- 

 ing. A sickly condition of pear trees, not readily explainable by 

 known causes, should lead to a careful examination, since this borer 

 may be responsible for the trouble. The death of large trees is 

 usually preceded by a weakened condition and the gradual loss of 

 limbs. The slender, white grubs, easily recognized by the larger, 

 flat head and the pair of minutely toothed, brown, curved processes 

 at the posterior extremity, require two years for their development 

 and when full grown are about one and one-half inches long. The 

 second winter is spent in the pupal cell, an excavation made at a 

 depth of about one-fourth of an inch and connected with the bark by 

 an exit gallery. 



Badly infested limbs or trees should be cut out some time during 

 the winter and destroyed prior to the latter part of May so as to 

 prevent the escape of the contained insects. We are informed, 

 through the courtesy of Prof. P. J. Parrott of the State Experiment. 

 Station, that recent studies by Doctor Glasgow have shown that 

 the beetles feed readily on the foliage, which makes it possible that 

 they may be controlled to some extent by the use of an arsenical 

 spray the latter part of Ma}'- or shortly before the beetles commence 

 to appear. 



Professor Parrott also informs us that he is experimenting with a 

 deterrent wash composed of 60 to 80 pounds of lump lime, 2 pounds 

 of copper sulphate and 100 gallons of water. The copper sulphate 

 is dissolved and diluted with about 25 gallons of water, the lime is 

 slaked, then run through a fine screen and diluted with the remainder 

 of the water. The copper sulphate solution and the lime wash are 

 then mixed together and the application made with a spraying 

 machine. This wash or some modification should be thoroughly 

 tested in orchards where the insect has become established. 



It is perhaps needless to add that fruit growers in regions where 

 this insect is not known, shordd exercise every reasonable precaution 

 to prevent its introduction into uninfested orchards. It would be 

 much better to destroy, unnecessarily, a nrmiber of trees than to 

 take the chance of introducing such a serious pest. 



Pear thrips (Euthrips pyri Dan.) . Depredations by the 

 pear thrips have continued in the Hudson valley and in some instances 

 were exceptionally severe, the dam.age probably being much greater 

 because of the unusual weather conditions. There was an early 

 and extremely warm period which caused the pear buds to start 

 very rapidly and gave the thrips an opportunity to enter. This was 



