October, ’23] 
PRIMM & hartley: box leaf miner control 
435 
were prepared and seeded to wheat remained dust-like until the periodic 
rains of October. Germination of early seeded wheat was irregular and 
incomplete until after the rains. Too much moisture immediately after 
the rains delayed sowings. Hence from the general weather conditions 
most of the wheat did not appear above ground until two weeks after 
the recommended dates to evade Hessian fly attacks. It was there¬ 
fore, in an attractive stage for fly oviposition and in the stage in which 
plants would greatly suffer from fly injury. There w r as a three-fold 
struggle through the winter, a struggle of host and enemy, the death of 
one meant the death or life of the other, and the composite struggle of 
both to survive the winter coldness. From 24% to 38% of the wheat 
plants sowed to one week after the recommended dates died. An ad¬ 
ditional 24% to 37% of plants on good land and land properly prepared 
and seeded evaded death by the rapid growth of secondary culms. Late 
sowed wheat lacked heavy infestation of the fly in the fall and missed 
winter kill. 
RESULTS OF AN OIL SPRAY IN TREATMENT OF BOX LEAF 
MINER (.MONARTHROPALPUS BUXI) LABOU. 
By Jas. K. Primm, and E. A. Hartley, Bureau of Plant Industry, Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania. 
Abstract 
The box leaf miner, Monarthropalpus buxi (Dipter'a, Itonididec) injuries has re¬ 
sulted, in a reduced demand for certain varieties of boxwood. A series of experi¬ 
ments indicate limited usefulness for the molasses spray and very satisfactory results 
were obtained with a heavy emulsifying petroleum oil, 1-20, and a pint of Black 
Leaf 40 to 50 gallons of spray, making one or two applications. 
A decrease in the demand for certain varieties of boxwood, especially 
Buxus sempervirens, is noted among nurserymen in the eastern part of 
Pennsylvania and is attributed to the unfortunate experiences which 
people have had with the box leaf miner (Monarthropalpus buxi). The 
encouraging results obtained by the use of sticky applications to the 
foliage, designed to entrap the adults at the time of emergence and 
prevent oviposition, have been largely offset by the cost of material and 
the multiplicity of failures due to heavy rains during the emergence 
period which washed off the sticky coating, and entailed a second, or 
sometimes a third outlay for spray material with a lessened prospect of 
control. 
On estates where a noticeable reduction of infestation has been at¬ 
tained by the most generous use of labor and material, how much credit 
should go to the molasses treatment and how much to other methods 
