REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I916 7 1 



this pest by burning over infested beds any time after the foliage 

 dies and before the appearance of a new growth in the spring. Mr 

 Bird cites several instances in which this method has given excellent 

 results. 



An incipient infestation, if one recognizes the connection between 

 wilting stems and later root injury, can be materially checked by 

 cutting out the flower stalks containing the young borers and burning 

 them. It is even possible to destroy larvae in the roots by injecting 

 arsenate of lead into the burrow with a small syringe or oiling 

 can. 



Silver-spotted skipper (Epargyreus tityrus Fabr.). The 

 peculiar caterpillar of this butterfly is a well-known feeder on locust 

 and wisteria and has been recorded from such a variety of legu- 

 minous plants that in the opinion of the late Doctor Scudder, 

 the insect would probably feed on any of the Papilionaceous 

 Leguminosae. The full-grown caterpillar is about one and one- 

 half inches long, greenish or greenish yellow, with a dark-brown 

 head bearing a pair of bright red, eyelike spots. The slender neck and 

 somewhat sluglike shape of the body, in connection with the above 

 characteristics, is sufficient for the identification of this caterpillar. 

 Ordinarily it feeds within a partly folded leaf and therefore largely 

 escapes observation. There is but one brood in the North and two 

 or three in the South. 



This insect was the cause of an unusual complaint the past sum- 

 mer on account of its feeding on wisteria and then making itself a 

 nuisance by invading a sleeping porch partly sheltered by the vine 

 and even soiling the bedding. The conditions were such that con- 

 trol by the applications of poisons could not be advised and, as a 

 consequence, hand picking or the exclusion of the caterpillars by 

 means of a fine screen were the only practical methods of eliminating 

 the nuisance. 



Spindle worm (Achatodes zeae Harr.). Elder shoots 

 infested by this caterpillar were received from Geneva, N. Y., in 

 mid- June. This insect is a close relative to the more common and 

 better known stalk borer, and the larva, like that of some of its 

 allies, occurs in the stems of a variety of plants. It has been recorded 

 from corn and dahlia, in addition to elder, and occasionally becomes 

 somewhat abundant though it is rarely brought to the notice of the 

 economic entomologist. The full-grown caterpillar is yellowish 

 white, about an inch long, with a black head, thoracic and anal 

 shields and a series of moderately conspicuous, black tubercles of 

 spots on the body. Its work in elder twigs is marked by a wilting 



