REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST 1914 Jl 



variolarius Pal. Beauv., was present in much smaller numbers 

 and was observed feeding upon both corn and tomatoes. This 

 insect apparently experienced less difficulty in piercing the skin 

 of the tomato, though it did not drive the lancets so deep into the 

 fruit as to necessitate the folding of the labium. 



Such outbreaks are very unusual and can ordinarily be con- 

 trolled best by systematic hand picking, such as jarring the bugs 

 into a shallow pan containing water and kerosene. 



Iris borer (Macronoctua onusta Grote) . Specimens of 

 this borer were received under date of August 12th last, from Mrs 

 C. H. Van Orden of Catskill, accompanied by the statement that 

 the pests were working havoc in an Iris bed and making a clean 

 sweep of the plants. A detailed account of this insect was published 

 by the writer in the 27th report of this office, Museum Bulletin 155, 

 pages 52 to 54, and since this notice appeared the investigations of 

 Mr A. F. Winn / Westmount, Quebec, have shown that the greenish 

 eggs of this species are deposited in the fall. The moth was observed 

 to lay her eggs in the long crack of one leaf and also between the 

 edges of overlapping leaves where they probably remain unhatched 

 until spring. Mr Winn describes the egg as pale greenish, turning 

 in a few days to purplish. It is much flattened on the top and 

 bottom and shaped somewhat like a vest button. The transverse 

 diameter is .6 mm and the vertical diameter .27 mm. It is marked 

 with shallow ribs which are most evident on the rounded sides. 

 Winter burning of the debris on Iris beds, if this can be done without 

 injury to the roots, is the simplest and most effective method of keep- 

 ing this pest in check since, as shown by these observations, it must 

 result in the destruction of the hibernating eggs. • 



ORNAMENTAL AND SHADE TREE PESTS 



European hornet (Vespa crabro Linn.). The white-faced 

 hornet of America, Vespa maculata Linn., is well known 

 because of its large size, bright contrasting markings and the very 

 large, nearly globular, paper nests rather commonly seen hanging 

 from the eaves of buildings or the branches of trees. The European 

 representative (Plate 2, figure 3) of this hornet is even larger, has 

 become well established in southern New York and throughout New 

 Jersey, and during the last few years has attracted notice because of 

 its gnawing off the bark from the small branches of various' trees, 

 especially birch (Plate 2, figure 4). 



1 Canadian Entomologist, 46: 296, 191 4. 



