42 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



caterpillars, after wintering in their characteristic cigar-shaped 

 cases attached at right angles to the twigs and nearly a quarter o^ 

 an inch long, are very hungry and devour the young leaves and 

 developing blossom buds with equal avidity. Very thorough early 

 applications of a poison, using preferably arsenate of lead (15 per 

 cent arsenic oxide) is advisable wherever this pest is numerous^ 

 though we have yet to find an orchard which has been well sprayed 

 for several years, badly infested by this pest. 



Cherry fruit fly (Rhagoletis cingulata Loew). 

 This relatively new pest of the cherry grower has been somewhat 

 abundant and injurious to IMorello cherries in particular, at Ger- 

 mantown and vicinity. i\Ir S. E. Miller states that in 1909 the 

 cherry crops of some five or six growers in that section were 

 rather seriously affected by this maggot, though an investigation 

 of local conditions in 1910 leads us to believe that in some instances 

 at least, the injury may have been due in part to the plum curculio, 

 Conotrachelus nenuphar Herbst. An examination of 

 conditions June 29, 1910 in the orchard of Mr Miller showed that a 

 few adult flies could be found upon each tree. There were no signs 

 of oviposition, though the insects were frequently observed upon the 

 fruit. We found a number of cherries infested by the curculio, 

 though there was no evidence of the presence of maggots. Mr 

 Miller was not certain but that the major portion of the serious 

 injury of last year was due to curculio attack rather than to the 

 work of the fruit fly. This year he sprayed with a poisoned lime- 

 sulfur wash earlier in the season and the application was doubtless 

 of service in controlling the plum curculio. Mr Miller, at our sug- 

 gestion, had sprayed the trees with sweetened arsenate of lead (3 

 pounds of sugar and 4 ounces of arsenate of lead to 5 gallons of 

 water) the previous week, probably the 23d. The mixture was dry 

 and very evident upon the margins of the leaves, though none of 

 the flies were observed working thereupon. There was no evidence 

 of dead insects. 



The orchard was visited on the afternoon of July 5th by Assistant 

 State Entomologist Young. The day was sunny and very hot and 

 comparatively few flies were then seen. The next morning flies 

 were more in evidence, especially in certain portions of the orchard. 

 They were taken in copula and a number of individuals captured. 

 The insects becaire more active as the day advanced though ovi- 

 position was not observed. Some of the poisoned bait prepared by 

 Mr Miller and described above, was sprinkled on a branch at 9.55 

 a. m. at what seemed a favorable place for the flies, and, although 



