86 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



more, near the northwestern edge of Whaley pond and close to the 

 tracks of the New England Railroad running from Poughkeepsie 

 to Water bury, Conn., the writer noted a group of oaks upon a knoll 

 which, from the car window, gave every indication of having been 

 injured by Cicada oviposition. These facts indicate a probable 

 wide and sparse distribution of this brood in Dutchess county and it 

 is possible that similar conditions may obtain in the wild regions on 

 the western bank of the Hudson river though no definite reports 

 were received. Correspondence with several New Baltimore persons 

 failed to locate an infestation, which is also true of East Glenville, 

 Schenectady county, a locality from which the insect had been 

 reported in earlier years. 



GRASS INSECTS 



Grass webworms (Crambus luteolellus Clem.). The grass 

 ■webworm depredations of last year have been continued this season, 

 in one case a five acre field of corn near Pine Plains being destroyed 

 by the insects. These pests, as has been stated before, live by 

 preference upon grasses and ordinarily their depredations in culti- 

 vated fields are limited to portions adjacent to mowings or pasture? 

 or to crops planted upon badly infested, recently turned sod. The 

 latter is due to the fact that the grass webworms pass the winter as 

 partly grown caterpillars and when the sod is destroyed they m.ust 

 feed upon whatever else is allowed to remain upon the soil or perish. 



There is no very practical method of fighting these pests, owing 

 to the fact that usually severe injury is caused before their presence 

 is suspected and then it is too late to do much to protect the rem.ainder 

 of the crop. In localities where webworm.s are liable to be abundant 

 it is advisable to keep corn and other crops susceptible to attack at 

 some distance from grasslands and to avoid planting upon recently 

 turned sod. If land badly infested by these insects is plowed in 

 late summer or early fall, say August or early September, many 

 of the caterpillars would perish before the following spring. If this 

 be impractical, spring plowing should be delayed as late as possible 

 so as to give the caterpillars a chance to complete, so far as practical, 

 feeding before the sod is turned under. The putting in of an extra 

 amount of seed and liberal fertilization is also of service in enabling 

 the crop to withstand any such injury. There is considerably 

 less danger of serious infestation where a frequent crop rotation is the 

 rule, which is another consideration in favor of good agricultural 

 practice. 



It is possible that many of the young caterpillars could be destroyed 



