90 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



given in the writer's report for 1908 [N. Y. State Mus. Bui. 



134, P- 45-47]. 



Tarnished plant bug (Lygus prate n sis Linn.). Al- 

 most every year we receive inquiries as to the cause of de- 

 formed apples. These can not be answered satisfactorily in 

 all cases, though recent investigations indicate that in the above 

 named species we have one of the offenders in this respect. 

 The tarnished plant bug is a small, yellowish and black, angu- 

 lar insect about ^ of an inch long. It occurs on a considerable 

 variety of plants. The investigations of Dr Taylor in Mis- 

 souri have shown that this familiar species may deposit eggs 

 under the skin of young apples. The injured portion heals with 

 the formation of corky tissue and fails to grow. Thus, as the 

 apple develops, an unsightly, craterlike depression is produced, 

 materially aii'ecting the value of the fruit. There is no prac- 

 tical method of controlling this pest, aside from keeping the 

 orchard and its surroundings as free from brush, coarse weeds 

 and other shelter as possible. 



Rose leaf hopper (Typhlocyba rosae Harr.). This 

 species was found October 2, 1909 in considerable numbers on the 

 young apple trees of Mr George T. Powell, Ghent, N. Y. The 

 foliage was badly specked by this insect, in some instances the 

 damage almost approximating the injury inflicted by the grape leaf 

 hopper, Typhlocyba c O' m e s Say in the Chautauqua region. 

 There was every indication that the insects had bred in considerable 

 numbers upon the apple, particularly toward the latter part of the 

 season, since cast skins were rather numerous on the foliage. Rose 

 bushes were certainly not abundant in the vicinity. This attack 

 though unusual, is not unprecedented, since the late C. V. Riley 

 recorded this species as abundant on apple foliage at Burlington, 

 Vt., in 1892, while Prof. G. C. Davis, according to Professor 

 Gillette took specimens at the Michigan xA.gricultural College on 

 the foliage of apple, plum, tame cherry, currant and grape. This 

 species, should it become abundant, can be easily controlled by the 

 application of a contact insecticide before the leaf hoppers attain 

 maturity and are therefore able tO' fly. 



San Jose scale (Aspidiotus perniciosus Comst.) . 

 This pest, while not attracting such widespread notice as in earlier 

 years, has continued to multiply and is slowly becoming established 

 in sections previously uninfested. A large number of fruit trees 

 in the Hudson, valley have been seriously injured or destroyed by 



