60 



Recently its presence was suspected by the owner of the orchard, Mr. 

 Morrell, where it had beea found abundantly two years ago, but on 

 examination the scale proyed to be a rather closely resembling one, 

 Aspidiotus juglans-regice Coinst. An examination of the orchard showed 

 no liying San Jose scales, but later a single liying specimen on a twig 

 was brought to my office by Mr. Morrell. 



A neighboring orchard in Kinderhook was reported as badly infested 

 with the scale. On examination in July by Mr. E. P. Felt, my assist- 

 ant, the scale was found in abundance on plnm trees of apparently ten 

 or twelve years' growth, but upon perhaps twenty trees that were 

 carefully examined not a single liying scale was found. The trees had 

 not been treated for the scale, and it is therefore probable that the 

 insect had been winterkilled. How long they had been upon the trees 

 or the source of the infestation was not learned, but the age of the trees 

 'ouid indicate that the pest had not been introduced on nursery stock. 

 The orchard was within one-fourth of a mile of that of Mr. Morrell. and 

 it is highly probable that it had been carried from there by birds or 

 insects. 



The scale was also reported in August from another locality in Xew 

 York — in the valley of the Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson 

 Eiyer. A few fruit trees in an orchard in Middletown, Orange County, 

 were stated to be infested with the scale, the trees haying been received 

 from a ]Sew Jersey nursery. Inquiry was promptly made of the owner 

 of the orchard of the extent of the infestation, with proffer of assist- 

 ance if needed, but no reply haying been received, it is probable that 

 the infested trees were promptly destroyed and that the spread of the 

 insect was not feared. 



The peculiar oak kermes (Kermes galliformis Riley), which bears so 

 marked a resemblance to a gall as to be mistaken for it by everyone 

 not acquainted with it, may not be rare when one knows where to look 

 for it, but it has always been a rarity in my own experience. One of 

 my correspondents, Mr. TV". R. Walton, of Middletown, X. Y., has been 

 fortunate in his collection of it, and has kindly contributed a number 

 of examples to the State collection. He also has been successful in 

 breeding from it the beautiful lepidopterous parasite, Uuclemensia 

 bassetteUa Clem., with which it is so frequently infested and of which 

 he has made excellent colored drawings in its several stages. From 

 kermes taken from scrub oak in the latter part of December he obtained 

 the moth toward the last of the following June. The larger number of 

 the mature kermes were found to be infested by the parasite. 



Gossyparia ulmi Geoff., a European coccid feeding on most of the 

 varieties of the European and American elms, was first noticed in 

 this country at Rye, Westchester County, X. Y., in June, 1884. (See 

 Howard in Insect Life, Yol. II, pp. 3J-4-1.) Examples of it were brought 

 to me from Marlboro, Ulster County, in July, 1888. Since that time 

 it appears to have become distributed in different portions of the State, 



