-3- 






















; A. C. Morgan spent a few days in Washington in the early part of April for 
sonference with the chief of bureau and with Doctor Hunter, 

FRUIT INSECT INVESTIGATIONS 
A, L, Quaintance, Entomologist in Charge 
" Dr, A, C. Baker will assist Dr. Quaintance in administrative work in the 
office of Fruit Insect Investigations, He will continue as custodian of the aphid 
and aleurodid collections, and will have time to pursue his studies in these 
families. A. C, Mason, under Doctor Baker's supervision, will devote all his time 
to the aphididae, 
. Fred E, Brooks, in charge of the bureau laboratory at French Creek, W. Va., 
writes (April 14) that this field station, which is situated at an elevation of 
1,650 feet, experienced unusual cold during the first half of Avril, the mornin; 
of April 1 the temperature was 7 degrees above zero and on the 10th, llth, and 12th 
heavy frosts occurred, the temperature dropping to 25 degrees. Vegetation of all 
Kinds is backvard. Apple buds are not yet showing the white of the petals and ap= 
parently can not open before the 20th, The cool weather, however, does not seem to 
have greatly retarded the activities of the various borers which attack apple, 
iarvae of the roundheaded apple-tree borer, Saperda candida, are feeding and eject= 
ang fresh castings through the bark, About half the maturing individuals have 
pupated, Flat—headed borers, Chrysobothris femorata, are just beginning to pupate, 
Many are being destroyed by the parasite Phasgonophora sulcata, All maturing indi-~ 
Widuals of the apple root-borer, Agrilus vittaticollis, have pupated, while the 
iSpring brood of the chief parasite of the species, Xylophruridea agrili, is now on 
the wing. All these activities are taking place at about the normal time. Failure 
to collect either plum curculois, Conotrachelus nenuvhar, or plum gougers, Anthono-= 
m scutellaris, in jarring plum trees on April 14 indicates that these species 
ave not yet emerged from hibernation, Chestnut weevils are to be found in the 
s0il in great numbers, their abundance evidently being due to the favorable oppor= 
tunities for multiplying which have been afforded by consecutive crops of chestnuts 
dn 1920, 1921, and 1922, Should chestnut trees bear the coming season, there is 
food reason for believing that the nuts will be very wormy. 
a 
¢ 
1 
t 
O. I. Snapp, in charge of the bureau laboratory at Fort Valley, Ga., reports 
hat the curculio—suppression campaign waged in Georgia since the insect took such 
| heavy toll from the peach growers in 1920 has evidently greatly reduced the 
general infestation. Jarring records kept since 1920 show that the maximum number 
f beetles collected on any one morning to April 15 of each year is as follows: 
Mets 2,59e beetles; 192ec, 534 beetles; and 1923, 138 beetles. This general re- 
luction in the infestation has been reflected in the better quality of the crop eacu 
@€ar since 1920, The 1923 campaign of curculio suppression is well under way, and 
13 growers are uniting in their efforts to enforce the various control measures, 
he second application of arsenate of lead is now being applied, Examinations of 
1 io winter-hibernation cages, providing different types of hibernating quarters, 
how the folloving percentages of appearance to April 15; Bermuda grass, 67; oak 
saves, 61.5; Spanish moss, 48; pine needles, 38; sticks and trash, 22.5, and bare 
round (no hibernating quarters), 6.75 per cent. The first plum curculio egg of 

