56 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



being rapidly destroyed by the pernicious bronze birch borer, the 

 depredations of which were detected the past season in the eastern 

 part of the State. 



Forest pests. Injuries by insects to forests have greatly 

 increased during recent years. The hickory bark borer has destroyed 

 thousands of magnificent trees in the vicinity of New York. The 

 •investigations of the Entomologist showed that this nefarious pest 

 had destroyed many hickories at Tivoli. A warning circular was 

 issued and widely copied by the local press. The two-lined chestnut 

 borer, probably breeding first in fungus-affected chestnut, invaded 

 nearby oaks at Old Westbury. This outbreak was studied and 

 appropriate repressive measures advocated. Damage by this species 

 was also reported from Garden City. The severe though local injury 

 by the locust leaf beetles at Syosset and Jericho received personal 

 attention. The exceptional abundance of the maple leaf cutter at 

 Lake George was also investigated. 



Flies and mosquitos. General interest has been maintained 

 in the house fly campaign. The Entomologist prepared several popu- 

 lar notices and experimented in a limited way with a fly trap. The 

 results with the latter, while beneficial, were not entirely convincing. 

 He investigated a local mosquito problem at South Salem and had the 

 satisfaction of learning that the execution of his recommendations 

 resulted in the speedy disappearance of the pests. Many localities in 

 the State are suffering needless annoyance and, in some cases, illness 

 because mosquito breeding pools are ignored. One case came to his 

 notice where malaria developed following the employment of Italians 

 in a locality previously free from this disease. 



Gall midges. The studies of the Entomologist in this inter- 

 esting and important group have been continued as opportunity 

 offered. A number of new species have been reared and described, 

 and a table of food habits of the reared species and a generic 

 synopsis of the entire group published. This family, composed 

 entirely of small to minute flies and including a number of destructive 

 forms, is an immense complex which could be grouped satisfactorily 

 only after prolonged and careful microscopic studies. This has been 

 accomplished and a monographic account of the family is now in 

 manuscript. 



Publications. A number of brief popular accounts of the more 

 injurious species of the year were prepared by the Entomologist and 

 widely circulated through the agricultural and local press. His 

 extended contributions, aside from the report for last year, are: 



