6 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Fruit tree pests. The studies and experiments of the last four 

 years on the codling moth were continued. Some fruit growers 

 became apprehensive in midsummer of severe injury by larvae of 

 the second brood. Examinations by the Entomologist failed to 

 disclose a substantial basis for such fears, and this opinion was 

 confirmed in October by observations made in the orchards of 

 Messrs W. H. Hart of Arlington and Edward Van Alstyne of 

 Kinderhook. These persons sprayed under strictly commercial 

 conditions and with no expectations that the trees would be subjected 

 to a test later. There was a good crop and it was found that from 

 about 95 to 97 per cent of the entire yield was worm-free as a 

 result of one timely spraying. 



A small parasite has been exceedingly abundant and widely dis- 

 tributed in orchards infested by San Jose scale, and in not a few 

 instances has been an important factor in reducing the numbers of 

 the pest. Observations in typical sections show that in most cases 

 the trees in unsprayed orchards were seriously injured in earlier 

 years and, as a rule, we believe that fruit growers must continue 

 to rely upon applications of lime-sulphur washes for the control 

 of this pernicious enemy. 



Injuries by red bugs, Heterocordylus malinus and 

 Lygidea mendax, two very similar appearing species which 

 are known to occur in New York, were so abundant in one orchard 

 near Poughkeepsie that they deformed about one-third of a large 

 crop of greenings. A brief account of this outbreak is given in 

 this report. 



The work of the pear thrips, Euthrips pyri, one of the 

 newer fruit pests, was studied in the vicinity of Athens, and a 

 marked localization of injury observed as in earlier years. A de- 

 tailed account of this insect was given in our report for 1912. 



The pear psylla is a pest of considerable importance, especially 

 in the western part of the State, and occasionally very injurious 

 in the Hudson valley. Incidentally, the practical value of late spring 

 applications of a lime-sulphur wash for the control of this insect 

 was demonstrated in a badly infested orchard near Athens. 



A new grape enemy, Paracalocoris scrupeus, which 

 may become of considerable importance to growers in the Niagara 

 section, in particular, has been discovered. It may be known as 

 the banded grape bug. Its work is described and a discussion of its 

 habits and the best methods of control are given on subsequent 

 pages. 



