44 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



ing sections of the Hudson valley. The insect has been studied 

 as opportunity offered and it is evident, should conditions of last 

 year continue, that active, repressive measures must be adopted for 

 the control of this pest. 



Red bugs. The studies of the past season have shown that the 

 two red bugs are both widely distributed in the Hudson valley 

 and, where unchecked, have frequently inflicted serious damage 

 upon the apple crop. The lined red bug appears to be more numer- 

 ous though the other species is sometimes abundant. Practical 

 work during the past summer, in cooperation with fruit growers, 

 has demonstrated the efficacy of a tobacco application just before 

 the blossoms open. 



Pear thrips. The work of this new and erratic pest has been 

 followed somewhat closely. It has appeared in numbers in widely 

 separated pear orchards and in some cases completely destroyed 

 the crop. It was especially serious the past season because an 

 early and extremely warm period caught many growers unawares 

 and gave the thrips an opportunity to enter the blossoms. This was 

 followed by comparatively cool weather accompanied by a slow 

 development of the leaves and flowers, a condition favorable for 

 severe damage by any insects which might have gained entrance 

 to the buds during the warm weather. These unusual climatic 

 developments prevented carrying out certain projected cooperative 

 work. Observations showed that an attack by this pest may be 

 very sudden and that trees apparently free from thrips one day 

 may be infested by large numbers the next, this even occurring in 

 orchards where the pest was practically unknown the preceding 

 season. 



Pear psylla. Observations showed that serious injury by this 

 insect has occurred in some Hudson valley orchards, though the 

 outbreaks were usually very limited and were, as noted the preced- 

 ing year, frequently closely related to unusually favorable winter 

 shelters such as nearby brush heaps, fences or stone walls and their 

 accompanying weedy growths. Here also, abnormal weather con- 

 ditions necessitated the postponement of certain experimental work. 



The sinuate pear borer, an European insect which became estab- 

 lislied in New Jersey some years ago, has extended its range slowly 

 in New York State and is already known from several localities. 

 The study of infested orchards shows this insect to be an extremely 

 dangerous pest, owing to its insidious method of work, because the 

 larvae make numerous serpentine, Interlacing galleries In the Inner 



