NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM f 



The European corn borer is of such general importance and its 

 habits in New York State so different from those in Massachusetts 

 that application was made to the Legislature of 1920 for a special 

 appropriation for the investigation of the status of this insect, and 

 $5000 was made available. The money has been used in a careful 

 field study of the pest to ascertain the rapidity of spread, the 

 amount of injury and the possibilities of control or repressive 

 measures. The work was placed in charge of D. B. Young, who 

 was temporarily detailed from the Entomologist's office. Hall B. 

 Carpenter of Somer^^lle, Mass., was engaged as a special assistant 

 for this work and an intensive study of the Schenectady area was 

 made. The studies sustained earlier opinions and demonstrated a 

 considerable difference in the habits of the corn borer in New York 

 State, and as an outcome, there has been a material modification in 

 quarantine restrictions. The special work of 1920 was continued 

 on a greatly modified basis the past season and among other things 

 demonstrated the utility of thoroughly plowing under infested 

 stubble or corn stalks in the fall. 



An outstanding feature in 192 1, in addition to the very serious 

 injury in Canada, was the discovery in late summer of a sparse 

 infestation along the southern shore of Lake Erie, extending almost 

 continuously from the New York State line west to Cleveland, 

 with scattering infestations from the latter point to the western 

 extremity of the lake. These infestations presumably originated 

 from moths drifting with the winds across Lake Erie or from 

 infested corn stalks carried by water currents or drifting with the 

 wind. 



Early in July 1919, the Entomologist was appointed collaborator 

 of the Bureau of Entomology, United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, and specifically authorized to investigate European corn 

 borer control in the states of New York and Massachusetts. This 

 appointment has been continued from year to year and has 

 immensely facilitated studies of the broader aspects of the prob- 

 lem and has enabled the Entomologist to keep in close touch with 

 developments in the various infested areas and furthered closer 

 cooperation between the different federal and state agencies. 



The Entomologist has participated in a number of conferences 

 called for the special purpose of considering the situation and 

 agreeing upon the most feasible methods of handling the problem. 



Late in the fall of 1920, the federal authorities started extensive 

 clean-up operations in the more badly infested area about Silver 



