- 2*2 - 
COR N 
EUROPEAN CORN BORER ( Pyrausta nubilalis Huebn.) 
New England W. R. Walton (Bureau of Entomology October 25) . "In New England 
the natural spread observed late in the present season has been 
unexpectedly extensive; 34 new towns have so far bern found in- 
fested in Massachusetts. The western border of the infestation 
now embraces the town of Worcester. The southwestern edge of 
this area has progressed across the r.astern border of Rhode Island 
and now embraces five towns in that State. To the nox-thward an 
extensive new wedge of infestation has progressed up the Merrimac 
Valley in New Hampshire as far as Bristol, and the total number 
of towns so far found infested in this State is 25 . A similar 
spread has been noted in the southwestern corner of Maine, where 
11 new towns have been found infested, the most northerly of which 
are Saco and Lyman. The northern edge of this infestation has not 
yet been definitely located. 
''The factors involved in the production of this unusual dispersion 
of moths are believed to be about as follows: In 1918 and the early 
part of 1919 large areas of vacant land bearing heavily infested 
weeds and growths of wild plants were extensively treated by the 
United States Department of Agriculture by means of fire, etc., in 
order to destroy the millions of corn borers which were breeding 
in them. This, it is believed, prevented wide dispersal. Since 
that time, however, funds have not been available for this purpose, 
and nothing has been done to diminish the production of roths from 
these extensive areas of weeds, consisting of vacant city lets, 
abandoned market garden areas, etc., and. as a consequence, the 
insects have bred by millions continuously for two years and are 
now seeking better feeding conditions elsewhere. They have 
naturally followed the prevailing winds to the northward and have 
entered the fertile Merrimac Valley along the lines of least 
resistance, and have flown up the coast of Maine in a similar 
manner. The past summer has been almost unprecedented in eastern 
Massachusetts as a favorable one for the growth of weeds, and it 
seems obvious that a very heavy second generation of moths has 
occurred as a result of conditions prevailing there. It is 
estimated that in the Mystic Park weed area at Arlington, Massa- 
chusetts, a very extensive tract, there exists a corn borer popula- 
tion of approximately 406,000 per acre. Some of the smaller areas 
were found to harbor a population of at least one million borers 
per acre ." 
New York V. R. Walton (Bureau of Entomology October 25) . "In western New 
York there has been an extensive spread eastward in the direction 
of the prevailing winds, including 47 new towns. The eastern edge 
of this infestation projects to the eastern border of Wyoming County. 
The County of Niagara in the northwestern corner of the State, 
immediately east of the Niagara River, has been found completely 
infested this year, and it is believed that most of the spread 
observed in this particular area has been caused by the flight 
of moths from the heavily infested districts in Ontario. 
