REPORT OF THE STATIC ENTOMOLOGIST I916 77 



an attempt is made to prevent the introduction of the pest. The 

 small, developing gall appears as a slight, nodular elevation with a 

 darker center protected to some extent by an unusually abundant 

 mass of short, white hairs, while the fully developed gall, about 

 one-twelfth of an inch long, has comparatively few of these short 

 hairs and the discolored apical portion makes it relatively incon- 

 spicuous. The galls containing insects nearly ready to escape may 

 be recognized by the small, withered, discolored, free tip. Scat- 

 tered galls may occur almost anywhere along the stem, on the petiole 

 of the leaf, on the leaf surface, along the veins of the leaves and occa- 

 sionally at the very tip of the lobe, and as they are only about one- 

 'twelfth of an inch long, it is very easy to overlook a few. 



A detailed account of this insect is given in the report for 191 5, 

 New York State Museum Bulletin 186, pages 51 to 55, to which 

 the reader is referred for additional details. 



Thread scale (Ischnaspis longirostris Sign.) . Speci- 

 mens of this insect, previously unrepresented in the state collections, 

 were received in early September from the western part of the 

 State. This scale insect occurred on the Chinese fan palm and 

 is recorded from a variety of plants, such as palms, palmetto, latania, 

 magnolia, coffee, etc. It is a dark brown or blackish scale, one- 

 twelfth to one-eighth of an inch long and easily distinguished from 

 other scale insects by its extreme narrowness, it being about eight 

 times as long as wide, and frequently more or less curved. This 

 species is recorded by Newstead of England as being a difficult 

 one to destroy, and the most promising method of controlling it, 

 should this prove necessary, would be by thorough and repeated 

 sprayings with nicotine-sulphate, 40 per cent nicotine, used at 

 the rate of three-fourths of a pint to 100 gallons of water to which 

 are added 6 to 8 pounds of any cheap soap. The probabilities 

 are that breeding is nearly continuous throughout the year under 

 greenhouse conditions, and consequently repeated applications 

 might be necessary to control the pest. 



GRASS AND CLOVER INSECTS 



White grubs (Phyllophaga 1 fusca Frohl. and others) . 

 Injuries by white grubs in 191 5 were extremely severe here and there 

 in southern Rensselaer and northern Columbia counties in particular, 

 though the damage was considerably lessened by an unusually 

 abundant and well-distributed rainfall during the summer months. 



1 This is Lachnosterna of earlier publications. 



