I I S E C T PEST SURVEY BULLETIN 
Vol. 20 Summary for 1940 No. 10 
INTRODUCTION 
The winter of 1939~40 averaged "below normal in nearly all sections east 
of the Great Plains, except for a considerable . area from the central lake 
region westward, with the greatest minus departures over a. large southeastern 
area# Erom the Rocky Mountains westward, the winter was decidedly warmer than 
usual. 
Precipitation was above normal over most of the western part of the 
country and very scanty over the eastern part, in some places amounting to 
less than half the normal rainfall. 
The area of severe cold weather, except in the Gulf end South Atlantic 
States,- had sufficient snow cover to protect hibernating insects; therefore 
survival was about . the same as usual, but in the Southeastern States the cold 
affected insect populations adversely. Scale insects and aphids were reduced 
when citrus trees were defftliated by freezing temperatures; however, the a,phidf 
rapidly increased when the new tender growth started. The San Jose scale suf- 
fered high mortality in the Port Valley district of Georgia, where more than 
Usual infestation had built up. On account of the scarcity of blooms, flower 
thrips were reported in very small numbers, in the Southeast, northward to 
North Carolina. The survival of the boll weevil was the lowest recorded for 
many years and the lowest on record -at Tallulah, La. The banded cucumber 
beetle, usually active all winter, was killed extensively and cutworms were 
rendered less active. Pea aphid was killed in the Gulf States. On the other 
hand, several species of aphids on truck crops around Norfolk, Va. , were able 
to withstand the cold and continued to reproduce all winter. 
April and May were characterized by abnormally cool c and wet weather in 
the eastern- part. of the country and continued warmth in the West.’ This was 
most unfavorable to the chinch' bug; and in spite of the fact that the great 
populations that went into hibernation in the fall of 1939 survived the winter, 
migrations by _the adults from winter quarters to cultivated fields was slow 
and development of the first brood was delayed and prolonged. The weather 
likewise interfered with hatching of grasshopper eggs and the development of 
the young hoppers over much of the infested area, The cool, ra.iny wea.ther was 
favorable to activity by cutworms and root and seed maggots. 
The summer was cooler than normal over the eastern pa,rt of the country, 
but warmer west of the Rockjr Mountains. 
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