48 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
weather prevented spraying on the morning of the 21st and evidently 
nothing was done until Monday, the 23d, at which time conditions 
were such that spraying could not be advised. 
The main difficulty in the control of this insect, as is evidenced 
by the above, is to make the application at the time it will be most 
effective, since there is no question but that thorough spraying 
with a nicotine soap preparation will destroy the thrips, provided 
they have not sheltered among the partly opened blossoms. The 
early spraying just before the buds start or “crack” is perhaps 
the best of all and it is certain that a considerable degree of pro- 
tection can be obtained from the dormant lime sulphur application 
containing 60 to 80 pounds of lime, provided the spraying is done 
before the buds have opened sufficiently to permit the thrips to 
enter. Treatment should be delayed as late as possible in order 
to secure maximum results. There is a very close time limit and 
the successful execution of this method requires preparation before- 
hand and quick treatment, something that is not always possible 
under present conditions. 
There is some evidence to justify the belief that repeated spray- 
ings in an infested area result in a general betterment, though this 
may not be very marked in any one season. 
Red bugs. There are two very similar species, namely, the 
dark-red bug, Heterocordylus malinus Reut. and the 
bright-red bug, Lygidea mendax Reut. The eggs of both 
are deposited in the bark of the smaller branches during the summer 
and remain unhatched till the following spring. The eggs of the 
former hatch soon after the leaves of the fruit buds start and those 
of the latter about a week later. Consequently it makes a difference 
which species is abundant in the orchard and observations show 
that apparently one species may be numerous and then the other. 
This has resulted in much confusion among fruit growers and more 
or less unsatisfactory control. 
These insects are becoming increasingly abundant in many orchards 
in widely separated parts of the State and in not a few instances 
have proved very injurious, occasionally destroying one-fourth of 
the fruit. 
Reports received during the past season indicate either a general 
prevalence, a local abundance or in a few instances somewhat 
general injury in the following counties: Allegany, Broome, Colum- 
bia, Dutchess,* Monroe, Niagara, Ontario,* Orange,* Orleans, * 
Rockland, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben,* St Lawrence, Ulster, * 
