REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I912 7 



exterminate such outlying infestations, as this policy is much cheaper 

 and decidedly more advantageous to the general welfare than the 

 adoption of repressive measures with the inevitable slow spread 

 of the insect and shortly the greatly increased cost of controlling 

 the pest incident to its being distributed over an extended area. 

 Such measures are also advisable, since checking the normal spread 

 is most advantageous for the development of introduced parasites, 

 a number of which have already been established in this country. 



The recent enactment of a national plant quarantine act, recom- 

 mended by the Entomologist and his associates in other states, is 

 an important step in advance and should prove of great service in 

 restricting the spread of this and other injurious insects as well as 

 preventing the introduction of dangerous pests. 



Brown-tail moth. This species has attracted comparatively little 

 attention the past season, though it has become established in the 

 northwestern corner of Massachusetts and it is only a question 

 of time before it will make its way into this State. The danger 

 of this pest being introduced on nursery stock grown in infested 

 sections still exists and should not be overlooked simply because 

 a portion of the State is contiguous to infested territory. The 

 winter nests are so characteristic that there should be little difficulty 

 in identifying the insect and at the outset prevent its becoming 

 excessively abundant. 

 . Grass and grain pests. White grubs have been extremely 

 numerous in portions of Albany, Columbia and Rensselaer counties, 

 at least. They were so abundant in many places as practically to 

 kill the grass over areas half an acre or more in extent. The 

 roots were almost entirely destroyed and in many fields much of 

 the sod was, as a consequence, torn loose where a horse rake was 

 used. The outbreak was taken advantage of to study in repre- 

 sentative spots, the work of the grubs, their habits and natural 

 enemies, with special reference to methods of control. A detailed 

 account of our investigations is given in this report. 



The Hessian fly caused serious losses in the wheat-growing sec- 

 tion of western New York, destroying entire fields and, in many 

 cases, reducing the yield by 50 per cent. A personal investigation 

 was made of the injury for the purpose of ascertaining any 

 peculiarities in its inception and determining the probabilities of 

 serious damage another year. A number of parasites were reared 

 from infested wheat stems collected in representative areas. An 

 extended discussion of this insect is given on a subsequent page. 



