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Bulletin 434 June, 1940 5^ '
Connecticut State Entomologist
thirty-ninth report
1939
R. B. FRIEND, PH.D.
State Entomologist
Cnnn^cttott
^grtntltural Experiment ^lattmt
CONTENTS
Page
Wilton Everett Britton 215
Introduction 222
Insect Record for 1939 223
Conference of Connecticut Entomologists 225
Inspection of Nurseries, 1939 227
Number and Size of Nurseries 227
Connecticut Nursery Firms Certified in 1939 228
Other Kinds of Certificates Issued 235
Inspection of Imported Nursery Stock 236
Results of Inspection 236
Inspection of Apiaries, 1939 237
Statistics of Inspection 238
Financial Statement 239
Registration of Bees 239
Report on Control op the Gypsy Moth. 1938-1939 239
New Equipment 240
Control Operations 240
Work Performed by State Men 240
Work Performed by C.C.C. Men 241
WPA Work Performed 241
Scouting for Brown-Tail Moth 242
Financial Statement 242
Statistics of Infestations 243
The Japanese Beetle, 1939 248
Quarantine Activities 248
Scouting 248
Inspection and Certification 248
Control Activities 249
Mosquito Control Work in Connecticut, 1939 251
Rodent Control 254
Mouse Control 254
Pine Mouse Control 255
Woodchuck Control 255
Survey of Mammal Damage in Nurseries 257
Mouse Injury 257
Deer Injury 258
Report on Parasite Work for 1939 258
Oriental Fruit Moth Parasites 258
Japanese Beetle Parasites 259
Tests of Apple Sprays , 260
Continued Experiments on Control of the Apple Maggot 264
Continued Study of Stickers for Standard Spray Mixtures 269
Experiments with Manganese Sulfate as Safener for Lime Sulfur-Lead
Arsenate Spray Mixtures 272
Corn Borer Insecticide Investigations 273
Effect of Corn Borers on Potato Yield 275
Page
Biology and Control of the Potato Flea Beetle 277
Seasonal Life History 277
Life History Studies 277
Control 277
Summary 282
Survey of Wireworm Injury to Potatoes 283
Control of Squash Insects 285
Further Observations of the Effect of Salt Water Spr.w on Foliage . . . 287
Notes on the Smaller European Elm Bark Beetle, Scolylus muUistrialus
Marsham 293
Life Cycle 295
Habits 296
Developmental Stages *. 302
Flight and Wind Dispersion 305
Parasites and Predators 306
Survival of Larvae at Low Temperatures 307
Artificial Control 307
Summary 309
Miscellaneous Insect Notes 311
The Crazy Ant in Cormecticut 311
Dermestid Larvae in Composition Board 312
The House Cricket, Gryllus domesticus Linn 312
Notes on Asiatic Garden Beetle Damage in a Field of Sweet Corn 313
Results of Trapping Rose Chafers 314
The European Earwig 314
Bark Beetle Damage to Plantation Pine 315
Clover Mite in Dwellings 317
Calomyderus selarius Roelofs in Connecticut 318
Publications, 1939 318
Summary of Office and Inspection Work 320
Index 321
WILTON EVERETT BRITTON
September 18, 1868— February 15, 1939
State Entomologist, July 1, 1901— February 15, 1939
WILTON EVERETT BRITTON
Roger B. Friend
"rkOCTOR Wilton Everett Britton, State Entomologist of Connecticut and
Entomologist of the Agricultural Experiment Station at New Haven,
died February 15, 1939, in his seventy-first year. He had been a member
of the staff of the Agricultural Experiment Station since 1894 and State
Entomologist since the office was established in 1901. During his long
and useful career he exemplified that devotion to his profession and to the
welfare of his State that characterizes a public servant of the highest
calibre.
Dr. Britton descended from a line of New England ancestors going
back to James Britton who, at the age of 27, arrived in America on the
Increase April 15, 1635. Probably he came from London, and he lived
for a time in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The succeeding generations
of the family, dwelhng in eastern Massachusetts, southern Maine, and
southern New Hampshire, were presumably typical of that class whicli
formed the backbone of the population, a race of farmers, sailors, mechan-
ics, small merchants, and, when wars were afoot, soldiers. Dr. Britton's
father, Benjamin Howard Britton, was born at North Easton, Massachu-
setts, in 1833 and died at Gilsum, New Hampshire, in 1899. In 1861 he
married Emily Eliza Wright, whose great grandfather had come from
Hartford, Connecticut, and died at Keene, New Hampsliire, in 1812.
Dr. Britton was born at Marlboro, Massachusetts, September 18,
1868. His family moved to a farm in Gilsum, New Hampshire. There,
in a distinctly rural environment, the impress of which lasted throughout
his life. Dr. Britton spent his early years. He attended the local schools
and worked on the farm, raising the crops, caring for livestock, lumbering,
making maple sugar, etc. Life was a bit rigorous, but conducive to integ-
rity, industry, frugality, and independence of thought and action. He
enjoyed it. Later he attended the New Hampshire College of Agriculture
and Mechanic Arts at Hanover (now the University of New Hampshire
at Durham), from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Science in
1893. If later performance is any criterion, he must have been a good
student. The year following graduation was spent at Cornell University
studying under L. H. Bailey. Apparently at that time Dr. Britton's
main interests lay in the field of horticulture.
In 1894 the opportunity came to obtain a position as horticulturist
at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station at New Haven. Both
student and professor evidently believed this position offered great promise
professionally, for Dr. Britton once told the writer that Bailey advised
him to take the job even if he received no salary. The advice was followed,
although salary there was — fifty dollars a month. This inchnation to
disregard remuneration when offered an opportunity to work in his field
was quite characteristic. While at the Agricultural Experiment Station
he continued graduate study in the Department of Botany at Yale Univer-
sity and received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from that institution
in 1903.
216 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
During his tenure as horticulturist, Dr. Britton collaborated with the
Station chemist, Dr. E. H. Jenkins, in fertilizer investigations, worked
with "forcing-house" crops, conducted experiments in grafting nut trees,
and began his entomological career. The reports of the Experiment Station
during this period indicate that his work was carefully done and of such
high quality that the confidence of his superiors became firmly established.
Dr. Britton's interest in entomology dates back to his boyhood days.
The economic aspect of the science was early impressed on him by long
hours spent in the hot summer sun knocking Colorado potato beetles off
the plants into a can. While at college he made a collection of insects and
built a fine cabinet with eighteen glass-topped drawers to house it. This
was the foundation of the present collection at the Experiment Station,
and the cabinet is still in use. At this time he also wrote an article entitled
"The Horn Fly", which was published in the New Hampshire College
Monthly in 1893. While working in horticulture, his attention was drawn
to insect pests of cultivated plants and he considered them well worth
investigating. In the report of the Experiment Station for the year 1894,
a short article entitled "Notes on Some Leaf Miners" (pp. 143-146) bears
his signature. This describes the life cycle and habits of Odontocera dorsalis
Loew {Cerodontha femoralis Meigen), the habits of which had been unknown
up to that time, on corn, and Phytomyza aquilegiae Hardy, not previously
known to have occurred in this country, on columbine. At this time the
Station mycologist. Dr. Sturgis, was interested in insect pests and con-
tributed articles on the subject to the Station reports.
Dr. Britton gradually swung to entomology, emphasizing this phase
of his work increasingly each year. His horticultural and botanical training
stood him in good stead, and he never fully relinquished his interest in
these fields. Even during the latter part of his life he remained the Station
authority on the identity of native plants and horticultural varieties.
In the Station Report for 1895, he pubhshed short articles on several
insects, including one on the greenhouse whitefly, and, in collaboration
with Sturgis, an article on the San Jose scale. These two last were the
first of a number of contributions to our knowledge of whiteflies and scale
insects. Also in 1895 appeared Station Bulletin 121 on the elm leaf beetle,
by Britton, Sturgis, Jenkins and Johnson. Dr. Britton later became a
widely known authority on insects affecting trees. In the Report for 1896
the section entitled "Insect Notes" was written by Dr. Britton, who had
apparently by this time assumed the entomological work of the Station.
The Report for the following year states: "The necessary Entomological
work of the Station, such as the determination of species of insects sent for
identification, experiments in the destruction of insect pests, and the
efficiency of various insecticides, has also been done by Mr. Britton". In
this Report, and those of the next few years, the work of the horticulturist
is briefly noted by the Board of Control under the title of "Horticultural
and Entomological Work". Apparently the die was cast, and Dr. Britton
decided to devote much of his time to entomology.
From 1897 to 1901, while still carrying on horticultural investigations.
Dr. Britton gave increasing attention to entomological problems. He
published bulletins and short articles on fruit, garden, greenliouse, and
shade tree pests. The nursery inspection work began in 1898 when
Wilton Everett Britton 217
eleven nui'series were examined and eight certificates issued. Other states
were demanding inspection certificates on nursery stock shipped into
their territory, so inspection of Connecticut nurseries became necessary.
At this time the San Jose scale was a notorious pest of fruit trees, and in
1899 the Station Board of Control formally adopted regulations regarding
nursery inspection. In the Report of the Station for 1900 the following
statement occurs: "More than fifty insects have been sent in by farmers
for identification. These have been in every case named and all available
information given as to their habits and, where necessary, as to the best
way of destroying them The facilities of the department have been
greatly increased by the addition of a microscope and accessories and by
fitting up a new office and laboratory for Mr. Britton.'' In 1900 appeared
Bulletin 131, "Protection of Shade Trees", by Jenkins, Britton, Graves,
and Blake, a report by the committee to the Mayor of New Haven.
At the January Session for 1901, the General Assembly passed "An
Act Concerning Insect Pests" which required the Board of Control of the
Agricultural Experiment Station to appoint a State Entomologist to serve
during the pleasure of the Board and to be responsible to it. He was to
receive no compensation other than his salary as a member of the Station
staff. In July, 1901, Dr. Britton was appointed and received the title of
Entomologist of the Station as well as that of State Entomologist, although
he continued his horticultural work for several years. Apparently this
Act of the General Assembly was the result of the desire of nurserymen
and orchardists to be protected against insect pests. The Connecticut
Pomological Society was particularly active in the matter. The Act
provided for general duties of the State Entomologist, including nursery
inspection, inspection of other premises, investigations, publication of
bulletins, etc., and an appropriation of $3,000 a year for two years. One
of Dr. Britton's first purchases was "an excellent photograpiiic outfit".
This camera is now used by the Entomology Department for making
enlargements, and the lens is still used for regular photographic work.
The State Entomologist undertook his duties with energetic enthu-
siasm. He not only met various situations as they arose, but, prophetically,
anticipated future problems and was prepared for emergencies. The
demands on his office increased as time went on, and the high quality of
service rendered the people of the State engendered confidence in the
work. With the increase of personnel to the stafi" and a multiplication of
tasks, including research, control, quarantine, publication, and the mani-
fold activities involved in keeping track of insect pests and informing the
people of the State about them. Dr. Britton's work gradually shifted in
emphasis from research to administration. In Connecticut the State
Entomologist is also Entomologist of the Agricultural Experiment Station,
and hence directs the research and also administers all regulatory phases
of entomology, an ideal arrangement for a small state.
Some conception of the work carried on by the Entomologist and
his staff may be obtained by briefly reviewing the succession of insect
pests which received attention during Dr. Britton's term of office. The
presence of these pests necessitated a series of investigations of their life
cycles, habits, relations to the environment, economic importance, and
frequently large scale control operations and the enforcement of quarantines
and other regulations.
218 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
During the first few years, tlie San Jos6 scale was a major problem
in orchards and nurseries. In 1903 the salt marsh mosquito nuisance
received some attention, and the investigations conducted gradually led
to the organization of a state-wide marsh drainage program and the
maintenance of such areas free of mosquito breeding centers. The inhab-
itants of shore towns have benefited materially by this work. In 1906 the
gypsy moth was discovered at Stonington, and vigorous measures were
undertaken to suppress it. Gypsy moth suppression is an important part
of the work of the Entomologist today. The remarkably small amount of
injury by this insect to the forests of the State reflects the efficiency of
the gypsy moth control program. In 1909 the General Assembly, as a
result of agitation by the Connecticut Beekeepers' Association, passed an
apiary inspection law and placed the inspection service under the State
Entomologist. European foul brood was then the most important disease
of bees in the State, and the apiary inspection was an attempt to reduce
the infection of this as well as other diseases. In August, 1915, Diprion
simile, a European sawfly injurious to pines, was discovered in New Haven,
its first appearance in the United States. Its biology was investigated at
once and control measures developed. The laws pertaining to gypsy
moth control and mosquito elimination first became eff'ective in 1915.
In 1918 the Oriental fruit moth was found in Connecticut. This insect
became definitely injurious to the peach crop in 1923 and since then has
caused tremendous loss to the peach industry. Efforts to develop a
practical means of controlling it have involved a long series of insecticide
and parasite investigations. The present work in the biological control
of insect pests carried out at the Experiment Station is an outgrowth of
fruit moth investigations.
Two interesting fruit tree pests were discovered in the State in 1920,
the European red mite and the apple and thorn skeletonizer, both im-
migrants from Europe. The red mite is still seriously injurious to apple
and pear orchards unless artificially controlled and has been a subject of
intense study. The skeletonizer was very abundant for a few years but
is not common in orchards at present.
The impetus to the study of insects affecting lawns and similar grass-
lands was furnished by the discovery of the Asiatic beetle in the western
part of New Haven in 1922. This was the first time it had been found in
the United States. A vigorous attempt to eradicate the insect failed, but
in the course of the next few years suitable control measures were developed.
In 1923 the European corn borer was found in Groton and Niantic.
Suppressive measures were undertaken in cooperation with the Federal
Bureau of Entomology, and quarantine fines were drawn. Although the
dispersion of the insect was retarded for a few years, the entire State has
since become well infested. Laws relating to the destruction of borer-
containing material were enacted and are still in force. At present insect i-
cidal control measures are being developed.
Several other pests of more or less importance have appeared in the
State since the corn borer arrived. In 1924 the birch leaf-mining sawfly,
of European origin, was discovered, the first definite record for the country,
although injured birch leaves had been noticed the previous year. A
study of its biology, economic importance, and control was undertaken
Wilton Everett Britton 219
with the result that ornamental birches can be protected. The Japanese
beetle arrived in 1926. In spite of the enforcement of federal and state
quarantine regulations, the insect spread over the State in a few years,
although at present it is injuriously abundant in only a few towns and
cities. Particular attention is being given to the parasites and diseases of
this notorious pest. In 1929 the Mexican bean beetle was found in south-
western Connecticut, and two years later it was everywhere abundant.
Insecticidal and cultural control methods were soon found which were
applicable to Connecticut conditions. The Dutch elm disease had reached
Connecticut in 1933, and investigation of the elm bark beetles transmitting
this disease was begmi at once. The felted beech scale and the European
spruce sawfly, both potentially serious pests of forest trees, were found in
the State in 1934 and 1935 respectively. Neither has caused much injury
to date, but both are being watched.
During all this period the insect collection of the Station was steadily
built up. It now contains about 7,000 species of Connecticut insects, the
total specimens numbering over 100,000. This collection is of inestimable
value to the work of the Entomology Department and is frequently used
by entomologists from all parts of the country.
Dr. Britton's professional interest in entomological work involved
several fields of activity. From 1901 to 1905 he lectured in forest ento-
mology at the School of Forestry of Yale University. From 1910 to 1929
he was Associate Editor of the Journal of Economic Entomology. In 1911
appeared the first of a series of taxonomic bulletins entitled "Guide to the
Insects of Connecticut", prepared under his direction and published by
the Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey. This first
volume contained "Part I, General Introduction" by Dr. Britton, and
"Part II, Euplexoptera and Orthoptera of Connecticut" by B. H. Walden,
a member of his staff". "Part III, The Hymenoptera or Wasp-like Insects
of Connecticut", which appeared in 1916, was compiled by H. L. Viereck,
a member of his staff, in collaboration with other authors. Dr. Britton
wrote the sections on Coccidae and Aleyrodidae in "Part IV, The Hemiptera
or Sucking Insects of Connecticut", published in 1923. Another staff"
member, Dr. Philip Garman, wrote "Part V, The Odonata or Dragonflies
of Connecticut". Dr. Britton wrote the "Check-List of the Insects of
Connecticut", pubUshed in 1920 as Bulletin 31 of the Survey, and its
"First Supplement", published in 1938 as Bulletin 60. The latter bulletin
also contained the "Check-List of the Spiders of Connecticut" by another
of the staff". Dr. B. J. Kaston. At present a continuation of this series, the
Diptera, is being prepared for publication. From 1925 until his death, Dr.
Britton was Superintendent of the Survey, part of the time, during an
economic stringency when the General Assembly efiminated the appropri-
ation for its support, serving without salary.
Dr. Britton served on the Board of Governors of the Crop Protection
Institute from 1922 to 1924. He was for many years a member of the
Eastern Plant Board and its Chairman in 1936. Since the formation of
the Connecticut Tree Protection Examining Board in 1919 he acted as
chairman until his death. The Board held institutes for the instruction
of tree workers for a few years, and this led to the formation of the Con-
necticut Tree Protective Association in 1922. In 1924 a Shade Tree Confer-
220 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
ence, with Dr. Britton as Chairman, was held in Stamford, Connecticut.
This soon became national in scope, and the fifth conference in Brooklyn,
N. Y., in 1929 became the Fifth National Shade Tree Conference. For
many years Dr. Britton also served on the National Malaria Committee.
By his associates in science and in agricultural work, Dr. Britton was
highly esteemed. He was a member of the American Association of
Economic Entomologists and its president in 1909, a fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Entomological
Society of America, a member of the Connecticut Botanical Society, Sigma
Xi and Phi Kappa Phi. In 1930 the University of New Hampshire con-
ferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science. In 1936 the
Connecticut State College awarded him Honorary Recognition as a leader
in agriculture and rural life. He belonged to many agricultural organiza-
tions in the State.
Dr. Britton was interested in civic affairs and an ardent patriot. He
was the first president of the Edgewood Civic Association, in 1908, and
again held this office in 1920. He organized and served as director and
president of the Donald G. Mitchell Library in Westville. From 1912 on
he was a director of the Young Men's Institute of New Haven and from
1925 to 1932 he served on the Board of Directors of the New Haven Public
Library. From April, 1917, to December, 1920, he was a member of the
Second .Company, Governor's Foot Guard. During the World War he
was chairman of the Committee on Food of the New Haven War Bureau.
The list of Dr. Britton's publications is too long to include here. He
wrote about 541 scientific bulletins and shorter articles on horticultural,
botanical and entomological subjects, and over 41 other articles on various
matters. Among his outstanding contributions to entomology, the series
"Guide to the Insects of Connecticut" has been mentioned. His annual
reports of the State Entomologist, 38 in number, are unsurpassed in both
text and illustration. They cover all phases of work in economic ento-
mology in the State. He wrote the "Plant Pest Handbook, I. Insects", an
outstanding experiment station publication. A facile writer, his pubhca-
tions exhibit meticulous care in preparation.
A man's accomplishments depend on his personal qualities. Dr.
Britton adhered to sound principles in his personal affairs and his relations
to members of his staff and other associates in his profession, as well as
to his community. Although inherently conservative and personally
rigidly adherent to an ethical code which demanded honesty, integrity and
candor, he was at the same time liberal in his judgment, tolerant in his
decisions, disinterested and generous. To the members of his staff he
was always stimulating. Interested in every phase of their activities and
demanding intelligent application to the task at hand, faithful performance,
loyalty, and devotion to the public welfare, at the same time he neither
interfered unduly in their work nor evaded responsibility for their acts. He
was excessively careful in giving them credit for whatever they accom-
pHshed. Those outside the Experiment Station with whom the State
Entomologist cooperated in many phases of entomological work found
him an ideal associate, and the community in which he lived benefited by
his presence. In spite of his manifold tasks and remarkable productivity,
he took the oscillations of fortune philosophically, confident of the outcome, *
Wilton Everett Britton 221
unperturbed, saved from fretfulness by a serene disposition and a sense
of humor.
Dr. Britton became ill in the summer of 1938 and before winter it
was obvious that an operation would be necessary. Although he reaUzed
the seriousress of his condition, he calmly kept at his work while following
the advice of his physician. The operation failed to clear up the trouble.
Ultimately, unable to care for himself, he went to a hospital in New Haven.
The members of his staff kept him in touch with affairs at his office,
and his interest in the work continued as long as he was able to
carry on a conversation. Although he must have suffered intensely at
times, he never complained of physical discomfort. His own personal
future did not appear to concern him greatly; the inevitable was beyond
his control. Gradually weakening, he finally sank into a coma and died.
He was buried in Surry, New Hampshire, in the grave beside his wife.
Bertha Madeline Perkins, whom he had married in 1895 and who died in
1938. There were no children.
D
CONNECTICUT STATE ENTOMOLOGIST
THIRTY-NINTH REPORT
1939
R. B. Friend
INTRODUCTION
kOCTOR Wilton Everett Britton, State Entomologist of Connecticut
since the office was established in 1901, died February 15, 1939. A
brief biographical sketch of Dr. Britton is included in this report.
The staff was augmented this year by the appointment of Raimon L.
Beard, who received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Yale
University in June. Doctor Beard has been a temporary employe of the
Station for several summers, giving particular attention to the squash
bug. He will continue to work with vegetable crop pests.
In its research work the staff has continued to devote most of its
time to a group of major insect pests affecting fruit orchards, vegetable
crops, grasslands, and shade and forest trees. The biology of these pests
has been studied and efficient means of controlling them sought by the
use of insecticides, parasites, cultural practices, etc. Among those investi-
gated, particular attention was given to the apple maggot, European red
mite. Oriental fruit moth, red-banded leaf roller, Japanese beetle, a native
scarabaeid (Cyclocephala horealis) affecting lawns, chinch bug, European
corn borer, squash pests, potato flea beetle, white pine weevil, European
pine shoot moth, European elm bark beetle, and rodents. The progress
made in these investigations is indicated in the following pages of this
Report and in the bulletins and scientific papers published by the staff, a
list of which is to be found at the end of this bulletin. The cooperation of
the Federal Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine in various ento-
mological problems, and of the Federal Bureau of Biological Survey in
rodent control, is gratefully acknowledged.
In addition to research work, members of the staff are constantly
requested by citizens of the State to investigate pest outbreaks and injury
on farms, in home vegetable and flower gardens, in forests and on estates,
in homes and public buildings, etc. These requests, which involve any-
thing from rabbits, rats, and mice to insects and organisms in drinking
water, receive immediate attention either by mail or personal visits, and
information on control is given the persons concerned. Most of the pests
are insects affecting plants, household insects and termites. The effect
of the hurricane on trees and shrubs along the shore of the sound has been
investigated and the results summarized in this Report.
The State Entomologist is responsible for the inspection of nurseries
and apiaries, the enforcement of insect quarantines, and the control of
the gypsy moth, all of which are reported in the following pages. Mosquito
Insect Record for 1939 223
control on salt marshes is now carried out under the direction of a Board of
Mosquito Control of which the Director of this Station is at present
Chairman. This work is also reviewed.
INSECT RECORD FOR 1939
/CERTAIN species of insect pests were unusually abundant and injurious in
^ 1939 or deserve mention for some other reason. One of the most
important features of the season was the great increase in abundance and
injuriousness of the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica Newm.). This
insect attained the status of a serious pest of ornamental trees and shrubs
and of grapevines in parts of Fairfield, Hartford and New Haven counties,
and the larvae injured grassland in these as well as in some other parts of
the State. In the vicinity of Windsor, beetles were observed feeding on
tobacco leaves.
The gypsy moth (Porthetria dispar L.) increased in abundance in the
Granby-Simsbury area; trees on 2500 to 3000 acres were completely
defoliated. A small but heavy infestation, in which trees on about one
acre were stripped of leaves, was found on the Southbury-Roxbury line.
The fall webworm {Hyphanlria ciinea Drury) was quite abundant
over most of the State, perhaps more so in Fairfield and New Haven
counties than elsewhere.
The European elm bark beetle (Scolytus miiHistriatus Marsh.) was
more abundant than usual in New Haven County and has spread eastward
somewhat into the towns along the Connecticut River south of Hartford.
The locust leaf miner {Chalepiis dorsalis Tlmnb.) was quite abundant
in Middlesex and New London counties and badly injured the foliage of
many black locust trees.
The walnut caterpillar {Dataua infegerrima G. & R.) stripped the
foliage from many black walnut, butternut, and shagbark hickory trees
late in the summer.
In northwestern Connecticut the elm flea beetle {Altica ulmi Woods)
has been abundant during the last two years. In 1939 the foliage of some
elms in this region was severely injured.
The elm spanworm (Ennomos subsignarius Hiibn.) outbreak in
Monroe, where trees on about 250 acres of forest were defoliated in 1938,
declined noticeably in 1939.
The forest tent caterpillar {Malacosoma disstria Hiibn.) was less
abundant in western Connecticut than in previous years. The outbreak
appears to be definitely declining.
The first generation of the Oriental fruit moth (Grapholitha molesta
Busck) was unusually abundant in June in Fairfield and New Haven
counties and was quite abundant throughout the State. Egg parasitism
by Trichogramma, as well as larval parasitism, was high. The second
generation was less numerous and the fruit in general was less heavily
infested than in 1938.
The plum curculio {Conotrachelus nenuphar Hbst.) was seriously
injurious to apples, peaches, and cherries in New" Haven County. This
insect was more conspicuous than usual.
224 Connecticul Experiment Station Bulletin 434
The apple maggot {Rhagoletis pomonella Walsh) was unusually
abundant over much of the State late in the summer. The European red
mite (Paratetranychus pilosus C. & F.), another pest of apples, was less
injurious than usual in New Haven County.
The rose chafer {Macrodactylus suhspinosus Fabr.), which is a rather
omnivorous feeder, injured peach trees and Siberian elms in New Haven
and Middlesex counties.
The rosy apple aphid (Amiraphis roseus Baker) was not as injurious
as usual in orchards, because of an unfavorable season.
The European corn borer (Pyrausta nuhilalis Hiibn.) reached the
highest population density ever recorded in Connecticut. In early sweet
corn in New Haven County the number of first generation larvae averaged
about 20 per cornstalk. Many fields of sweet corn were a total failure.
Another corn pest, the corn ear worm (Heliothis obsoleta Fabr.) was abun-
dant late in the summer in southern Connecticut. About seven acres of
early sweet corn in Southbury were severely damaged by a species of
thrips. In East Haven a 12-acre field of corn suffered severely from army-
worms (Cirphis unipunda Haw.).
The cabbage maggot {Hylemyia brassicae Bouche) was abundant, the
injury in untreated fields of cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli ranging up
to an almost total loss.
Early potato fields were severely injured by the flea beetle (Epitrix
cucumeris Harr.) and the aphid (Macrosiphum solanifolii Ashm.). The
aphid was particularly injurious in Fairfield County, and, on late potatoes,
in the Connecticut River Valley. The potato leafhopper (Empoasca fabae
Harr.) was more abundant than in 1938 and tipburn was common.
Squash and melons suffered from the attack of the striped cucumber
beetle (Diabrotica vittata Fabr.), and the squash borer (Melittia satyrini-
formis Hiibn.) was locally injurious to squash. |
The spinach leaf miner (Pegomyia hyoscyami Panz.) severely injured
early beets in some fields.
The Mexican bean beetle {Epilachna varivestris Muls.) was not very
serious throughout the State, although a few fields were heavily infested.
The wireworm {Limoniiis agonus Say) was more abundant in tobacco
fields than in 1938, but less abundant in potato fields.
The European earwig {Forficula auricular ia L.) was first found in
Connecticut in the western part of New Haven in 1938. During 1939 it
was discovered in several adjacent yards.
The harlequin cabbage bug (Murgantia histrionica Hahn) was found
at Mt. Carmel where three specimens were collected. This is the first
record of this southern pest in Connecticut since 1910.
Chinch bugs {Blissus hirtus Montcl.) were quite injurious to lawns
late in the summer. The dry weather apparently favored their increase.
The Oriental beetle (Anomala orientalis Waterhouse) caused the
usual amount of injury to untreated lawns in the towns of Greenwich,
Stamford and New Haven.
Conference of Connecticut Entomologists 225
The Asiatic garden beetle (Autoserica caslanea Arr.) was somewhat
more abmidant in grasslands in southwestern Connecticut than usual.
A field of corn in Westport was badly injured.
During the year the office received, by mail or messenger, 568 speci-
mens about which information was requested. They have been grouped
in economic categories and are listed below:
Specimens Receive'd — 1939
Fruit pests 35
Field, vegetable, and truck crop pests 24
Forest and shade tree pests 169
Pests of shrubs and vines 24
Flower and greenhouse pests 34
Household and stored food products pests 78
Timber and wood products pests 61
Soil and grassland inhabiting pests 61
Insects annoying man and domesticated animals 16
Parasitic and predaceous insects 17
Miscellaneous 49
568
This list does not in any way indicate the economic significance of
the groups of pests, but does reflect the importance of a part of the work
of the Department and the value of its collection of Connecticut insects,
to which specimens may be referred for identification. Termites (or mate-
rials injured by them) head the list of insects, with 38 specimens received.
Termites are very mjurious to houses and other wooden structures and
the public's interest in them is keen. The next on the list is the cicada
killer, a wasp which preys on cicadas, 16 specimens. The burrows of this
large, beautiful insect are very conspicuous in lawns in the late summer.
It is an interesting species, but not a serious pest. The carpenter ant,
often mistaken by the public for a termite, holds third place with 11
specimens received. This insect is injurious to structural wood and to
trees. Eight specimens of each of the following were received: fleas,
Oriental beetle grubs, and black carpet beetles. Fleas are pests of both
man and his pets, the dog and cat, and the pets are usually responsible
for infestations. Oriental beetle grubs kill lawn grass. The carpet beetle
injures woolen clothing, rugs, etc. Five or six specimens of each of the
following arrived: the plum curcuHo, a pest of fruit; the elm flea beetle;
the hickory tussock caterpillar; the rose chafer, an omnivorous feeder on
foliage and flowers; the German roach, a household pest; the Indian meal
moth, a pest of cereals, flour, etc.; and the Chinese praying mantid, a
very large insect which preys upon grasshoppers, caterpillars, etc,
CONFERENCE OF CONNECTICUT ENTOMOLOGISTS
A T THE invitation of Professor J. A. Manter, who made all arrangements for
-^ the meeting, the sixteenth annual conference of Connecticut entomolo-
gists was held at the Community House, University of Connecticut, Storrs,
on Friday, October 27, 1939. Doctor R. B. Friend was appointed chair-
man and 90 persons were present. Luncheon was served at the university
grill. Unfortunately President Jorgensen could not be present, but
Professor H. D. Newton, Dean of the Department of Arts and Sciences,
welcomed the group on behalf of the University. Mr. A. F, Burgess was
226 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
unable to attend and Mr. S. S. Grossman from his office took his place.
The program was arranged in three sections: the first, a discussion of
the European corn borer, led by Mr. Neely Turner; the second, a con-
sideration of the Japanese beetle, led by Mr. J. P. Johnson, and the third
on the gypsy moth with Mr. John T. Ashworth leading. The program
planned was as follows:
Greeting, President A. N. Jorgensen, Storrs, Conn.
The European Corn Borer
The Status of the Insect in Connecticut. Neely Turner, New Haven, Conn.
Experiments with Dust Insecticides in 1939. C. H. Batchelder, New Haven,
Conn.
Biological Strains of the European Corn Borer. K. D. Arbuthnot, New
Haven, Conn.
Dr. W. E. Britton. E. P. Felt, Stamford, Conn.
The Japanese Beetle
The Status of the Insect in Connecticut. J. P. Johnson, New Haven, Conn.
Nematode Parasites of the Japanese Beetle. H. B. Girth, White Horse, N. J.
Bacterial Diseases of the Japanese Beetle. C. H. Hadley, Moorestown, N. J.
Moving Pictures of Insect Life. J. A. Manter, Storrs, Conn.
Connecticut Wildlife Problems. R. P. Hunter, Hartford, Conn.
The Gypsy Moth
The Gypsy Moth Problem in Connecticut. J. T. Ashworth, Danielson, Conn.
Federal Gypsy Moth Control Work. A. F. Burgess, Greenfield, Mass.
The Parasites of the Gypsy Moth. R. C. Brown, New Haven, Conn.
^
Inspection of Nurseries 227
INSPECTION OF NURSERIES, 1939
M. P. Zappe
'THE ANNUAL inspection of nurseries started on July 1, 1939, as required
by Section 2136 of the General Statutes. The writer, assisted by
Messrs. A. F. Clark, W. T. Rowe and R. J. Walker, inspected all the
larger nurseries during the months of July and August. The smaller ones
were inspected during September, and all regular work was completed
by the end of that month. Several of the nm'series were inspected a
second time to check on the eradication of pests.
As a whole the nurseries were in better condition than in 1938. The
business had improved slightly, and consequently nurserymen took a
little better care of their stock. A few nurseries, however, are still some-
what neglected.
Altogether, 96 different insect pests and 52 plant diseases were found
in nurseries in 1939, most of them, however, of minor or no importance.
San Jose scale is very scarce at the present time. Spruce gall aphids were
much less abundant than usual, especially in the hurricane area. European
pine shoot moth was a little less abundant than in 1938. Pine leaf scale, on
the contrary, was much more prevalent than last year. Poplar canker is
becoming less abundant, perhaps because some of the nurseries have
ceased growing Lombardy poplars. The presence of "X" disease of peach
in Connecticut has made necessary stringent regulations for the growing
of peach nursery stock. Nurserymen growing peach trees have received
copies of these regulations.
Some of the more important pests that may be carried on nursery
stock, with the number of nurseries infested by each for the past 10 years,
are shown in the following table:
Table 1. Ten-Year Record of Certain Nursery Pests
Pest 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
Oyster-shell scale 86 73 68 78 104 93 87 84 53 49
San Jose scale 8 11 10 13 19 17 11 8 2 1
Spruce gall aphids 1 99 124 141 231 244 285 337 306 312 216
White pine weevU 66 74 70 61 67 98 82 101 97 93
Pine leaf scale 10 20 26 46 66 42 72 60 25 50
European pine shoot moth . . 17 32 77 137 120 121 108 128 130 110
Poplar canker 35 23 40 34 39 28 28 26 20 14
Pine blister rust 7 13 12 11 7 2 0 4 5 3
Nurseries uninfested 18 32 24 22 21 16 26 25 32 19
Number of nurseries 302 327 351 362 381 373 380 377 402 399
' Includes both Adelges abietis and A. rooleyi.
Number and Size of Nurseries
The list of nurserymen for 1939 contains 399 names, a decrease of
three since 1938. A classification of nurseries by size is given in the
following table:
228
Connecticut Experiment Station
Bulletin 434
Area Number Percentage
50 acres or more 18 5
10 acres to 49 acres 44 11
5 acres to 9 acres 33 8
2 acres to 4 acres 96 24
1 acre or less 208 52
399 100
Of the 399 nurseries listed for 1939, 10 new nurseries were registered and
inspected before the spring shipping season and again in late summer.
These are marked "(2)" after the name, because each was inspected twice
and granted two certificates during the year.
Seven nurserymen failed to register before July 1, 1939, and, as
provided in Section 2137 of the General Statutes, were charged for the
cost of inspection, a minimum fee of $5.00 in each case. All but two have
paid, and $25.00 has been turned over to the Treasurer of the Station to
be sent to the State Treasury.
The area of Connecticut nurseries receiving certificates in 1939 is
4,833 acres, a decrease of 198 acres since 1938. Altogether 30 new nurs-
eries have been added, and 33 have discontinued operations either tem-
porarily or permanently since last year. Some of these registered, others
did not ; but only a few notified this office of their change. Consequently
the inspector visited most of them before learning that they were out of
the business. A few nurseries listed in 1938 are on the 1939 fist under
different names, thus changing the alphabetical arrangement. The
nursery firms receiving certificates for 1939 are as follows:
Connecticut Nursery Firms Certified in 1939
Certificate
Name of firm
Address
Acreage
number
Ackerman, H. S.
West Hartford
4
4417
Adamcyk, Frank
Deep River
1
4724
Adamec Evergreen Nursery, George
East Haven
1
4757
Aldrich, Edward
Guilford
1
4489
Aldrich, Miss Inie E.
Plymouth
1
4637
Allara, Dima
Hamden
1
4628
Allen, Henry L.
Pawcatuck
1
4737
Amato, Rose
Cromwell
2
4725
American Nm'sery & Tree Expert Co.
Rockfall
40
4472
Andover Gardens
Andover
1
4446
Anstett Nursery, Louis
Norfolk
2
4480
Artistree Nursery
Branford
3
4490
Austin, Jr., Irving M.
Greenwich
2
4823
Backiel, Adolf
Southport
1
4632
Bailey's Nursery, Ralph
West Cornwall
1
4661
Bakhmeteff, Boris A.
Brookfield
10
4654
Baldwin, Linus
Middletown
1
4747
Banak Nurseries
New Britain
4
4618
Banigan, R. D.
Danielson
4
4502
Barnes Bros. Nursery Co., The
YalesviUe
200
4686
Barton Nursery
Hamden
1
4695
Beach, Roy G.
ForestviUe
1
4652
Beattie, W. H.
New Haven
1
4714
Bedford Gardens
Plainville
1
4549
Bedini, Vincent
Ridgefield
3
4741
Beers, Herbert P.
Southport
1
4801
Inspection of Nurseries
229
Name of firm
Beran Landscape Developers &
Florists (2)
Berg, Fred
Berkshire Gate Nurseries
Bertolf Brothers
Biehler, Mrs. Augusta
Binnenkade's Nursery
Blue Hills Nurseries, Inc.
Boggini Nursery, L.
BoUerer, F. G., Anderson Ave.
Nursery
Bonnie Brook Gardens
Booy, H. W.
Boschen, George E.
Brack Nursery
Brainard Nursery & Seed Co.
Branford Nurseries
Bretschneider, A.
Bridgeport Hydraulic Co.
Brimfield Gardens Nursery
Bristol Nurseries, Inc.
Brooklawn Conservatories
Brooklawn Nursery
Brooks, H. P.
Brookside Nurseries
Brouwer Nursery, Jack
Brouwer's Nurseries
Brouwer's Nurseries, Peter
Buell's Greenhouse
Burke the Florist
Burnett's Corners Farm, The
Burnside Avenue Greenhouse &
Nursery
Burr, Morris L.
Burr & Co., C. R.
Burwell Seed Co., E. E.
Byram Nursery
Candlewood Nursery
Cannavo, Tony
Cardarelli, E. J.
Cascio Nursery, The Peter
Centerbrook Nurserv & Tree Expert
Co. (2) ^
Charlie's Stand
Cherry Hill Nursery, Inc.
Chiapperini & Sons, Michele
Child's Gardens
Chippendale Nurseries, Inc.
Choate School, The
Chudy, Peter
City Line Florist
Clark, Arthur H.
Cleary's Gardens
Clinton Nurseries
Clyne Nursery «& Florist
Coley, H. W. '
Conine Nursery Co., Inc.
Conn. Agr. Expt. Station
(W. O. Filley, Forester)
ris Certified in 1939-
-(Continued)
Certificate
Address
Acreage
number
New London
1
4467
Stamford
4
4418
Danbury
1
4454
Old Greenwich
40
4698
Plainville
1
4552
New London
1
4414
Avon
30
4464
Manchester
1
4588
West Haven
1
4680
Rowayton
2
4807
Yalesville
4
4521
West Haven
1
4797
New Milford
3
4635
Thompsonvilld
14
4655
Branford
6
4766
Danielson
1
4456
Bridgeport
15
4419
Wethersfield
8
4503
Bristol
65
4497
Bridgeport
1
4476
Bridgeport
1
4722
West Haven
1
4562
Darien
5
4670
New London
6
4677
New London
25
4631
New London
4
4479
Guilford
1
4814
Rockville
1
4667
Groton
2
4649
East Hartford
4
4657
Westport
1
4522
Manchester
500
4681
New Haven
1
4794
East Port Chester
1
4738
Danbury
1
4742
AMnsted
1
4457
Cromwell
5
4505
\\'est Hartford
15
4420
Centerbrook
1
4484
East Hartford
1
4511
Rockfall
5
4449
Groton
2
4466
Kent
1
4461
Old Lyme
2
4743
^^'allingford
4
4693
Danbury
1
4592
Bridgeport
1
4530
Yalesville
1
4816
Bethel
1
4770
Clinton
60
4493
Milldale
1
4668
Westport
1
4643
Stratford
75
4610
New Haven
2
4753
230
Name of firm
Connecticut Forestry Nurseries
Conn. State Forestry Department
Conn. State Highway Department
Connecticut Valley Nurseries
Cooke, C. W. (2)
Corrigan's West Haven Nursery
Cronamere Alpine Nurseries, Inc.
Cylkowski, B.
Daisy Hill Gardens
Damen, Peter J.
Daniel, Joseph (2)
Daybreak Nurseries
DeBaise, Pasquale
DeMars Nursery
DesPierre, Lawrence
Dewey, V. E.
Dietrich Nursery, Benjamin
Dillon, Thomas
Dingwall, Joseph N.
Dixon, Harry
Doane, David F.
Donovan, Daniel
Donovan, John N.
Drenckhahn, Ernest J.
Dudley, Grace W.
Dunlap's Dollar Evergreens
Dunn, John
Eager, Edward M.
East Haven Nursery
Edgewood Nurseries
Elfgren Nurseries
Elliott, Jessie M.
Ellmer, Karl
Ellsworth Nursery
Elmgren Nursery
Elm Grove Cemetery Association
Evergreen Nursery Co., The
Fairlawn Nursery
Fairway Gardens
Ferchau, Hugo, Post Road Florist
Ferruci, Joseph (2)
Flower City Rose Co.
FoUett Nursery
Fountain Nurseries
Foxon Park Nursery
Frank & MacArthirr
Eraser's Nurseries & Dahlia Gardens
Frede, Wm. Frederick
Freitag, John G.
Galligan, Clarence W.
Garden of Romance, The
Gardner's Nurseries
Geduldig's Florist & Nurseryman
Georges HiU Nursery
German, Peter B.
Giana, John F.
Giant Valley Nursery
Experiment Station
Bulletin 434
IMS Certified in 19.39-
—(Continued)
Certificate
Address
Acreage
number
Deep River
15
4599
Hartford
8
4688
Hartford
18
4581
Manchester
39
4689
Branford
1
4664
West Haven
1
4627
Greens Farms
7
4496
Simsbury
2
4810
Derby
1
4.598
East Haven
2
4509
Bridgeport
1
4576
Westport
3
4758
Walhngford
2
4648
Winsted
1
4768
Hamden
1
4713
Groton
2
4790
Greenwich
4
4746
Greenwich
1
4525
West Haven
1
4482
Stamford
2
4421
Haddam
1
4719
Talcottville
1
4506
Rocky Hill
3
4775
Cos Cob
10
4625
Guilford
1
4796
Cromwell
3
4751
Danbury
1
4817
Bridgeport
1
4563
East Haven
1
4611
New Haven
1
4777
East Killingly
3
4646
Litchfield
1
4802
Cannondale
5
4460
Newington
1
4514
Cromwell
1
4500
Mystic
1
4453
Wilton
30
4422
West Hartford
2
4508
Woodmont
i
4558
Milford
1
4748
Bridgeport
1
4765
Manchester
23
4684
Westport
10
4673
Farmington
10
4516
East Haven
1
4560
Ansonia
1
4701
Willimantic
3
4520
Danbury
1
4542
New Haven
1
4703
New Haven ■
1
4749
Old Saybrook
3
4633
Rocky Hill
300
4595
Norwich
7
4569
Southbury
1
4609
Fairfield
1
4692
Kensington
1
4473
Mount Carmel
1
4733
Inspection of Nurseries
231
Connecticut Nursery Firms Certified in 1939 — (Continued)
Name of firm
Address
Acreage
Certificate
number
Glastonbury Gardens
Glastonbury
4
4615
Glenbrook Greenhouses
Glenbrook
1
4669
Glen Terrace Nurseries
Hamden
70
4601
Glenwood Nurseries
Clinton
2
4634
Godfrey, George R., Stratfield
Nursery
Bridgeport
50
4736
Godfrey Tree Expert Co. & Garden
Shop
Fairfield
4416
Golden Hill Nurseries
Shelton
4756
Goodwin Nurseries
Bloomfield
4541
Goshen Nurseries
Goshen
4718
Gosnell, Evelyn
Westport
4795
Great Pond Nursery
Simsbury
4423
Green Acre Farms, Inc.
Waterford
4734
GriUo, N.
Milldale
4785
Gunn, Mrs. Charles
Kent
4803
Haas, Florist
Milford
4486
Hall, Henry A. L.
West Haven
4596
Hamden Nursery
Hamden
4507
Hansen's Florist & Nursery
Fairfield
5
4564
Hansen's Garden
Newington
3
4617
Happy Days Farm
Norwalk
10
4510
Hearn, Thomas H.
Washington
3
4597
Heath & Co.
Manchester
15
4682
Henninger, Christ.
New Britain
1
4726
Hettinger, Joseph 0.
Manchester
1
4707
Hildebrand's Nursery
Norwich
1
4580
Hilding Bros.
Amston
1
4715
Hillcrest Gardens
Woodbridge
4
4638
Hilliard, H. J.
Sound View
1
4424
Hilltop Nurseries
Orange
1
4425
Hinckley Hill Nurseries
Stonington
1
4459
Hiti Nurseries
Pomfret Centre
11
4612 .
Hoffmann's Nursery
Hartford
2
4499
Hofmann, WiUiam T.
Cromwell
2
4533
Holcomb's Evergreen Nursery
Winsted
6
4656
Holdridge & Sons, S. E.
Norwich
3
4653
Hope St. Nursery
Springdale
1
4793
Horan, J. F.
Hartford
1
4662
Horan, Kieran W.
West Hartford
1
4784
Horowitz, Ben
East Hampton
1
4621
Hosking, James S.
Watertown
1
4426
Hotchkiss, H. L.
North Haven
1
4526
Hotchkiss, Sr., Wallace M.
Norfolk
1
4427
Houston's Nurseries
Mansfield Depot
5
4608
Hoyt, Charles E.
Bethel
40
4535
Hoyt's Sons Co., Inc., Steplien
New Canaan
500
4513
Hurlburt Nursery
Hamden
1
4729
Hutt, Robert F.
Glastonbury
3
4568
Hyatt, Thaddeus
Stamford
10
4798
lies, Jr., Harry (2)
Ridgefield
1
4781
Isselee's Sons, Inc., Charles
Darien
5
4428
Jennings, Sereno G.
Southport
2
4571
Johnson, Lincoln
Stamford
15
4546
Johnson, Tom
Stratford
1
4788
Joyosa Gardens
Cornwall Bridge
1
4728
232
Name of firm
Kateley, Milton M.
Kauser, Alice
Kelley «& Son, James J.
Kellner, Arthur H.
Kennedy, Wellington
Keser's Sons, Inc., Otto
Key Rock Gardens
Knobling, Edmund
Lanedale Farm Nurseries
Langstroth Nurseries
La Pari, V.
Laviola, Cosmo
Lawrence Greenhouses
Leghorn's Evergreen Nursery
Lemmon, Robert S.
Lewis & Valentine Landscape
Corporation
Lewis Gardening Service
Linley & Case (2)
Lovely Garden (2)
Lowescroft Gardens
Luce, Mrs. Charles L.
Luckey, Ada Mae
Luckner, Jr., William
Lynch, Mrs. John H.
Maplewood Nursery Co.
Marigold Farm
Marlboro Gardens
Mather Homestead
Mayapple Nursery
McCarthy, John P.
McConville's Greenhouses & Nurseries
McDermott, E. F.
Meier, A. R.
Melville Nurseries
Merwin Lane Nursery
Meyer Nursery, Ludwig
Middeleer
Milford Nursery
Millane Nurseries & Tree Experts, Inc.
Mill River Nursery
Millstone Garden
Minge, G. H.
Moore HUl Nurseries
Moraio Brothers
Morgan, Everett E.
Morgan & Sons, Wm. F.
Morrison, George
Mountain Grove Cemetery Assn., The
Mount Airy Gardens
Mount Carmel Nursery
Munro, Edward A.
New England Water Lily Gardens
New Era Seed Company
New Haven Park Commission
New Haven Park Dept., Bureau of
Trees
Experiment Station
Bulletin 434
MS Cebtified in 1939-
-(Continued)
Certificate
Address
Acreage
number
East River
1
4448
Norwalk
1
4791
New Canaan
6
4495
Norwalk
1
4771
Greenwich
20
4813
Portland
1
4732
Newtown
2
4659
Danbury
3
4678
New Csmaan
10
4470
Danbury
6
4469
Trumbull
2
4815
New Haven
1
4616
Branford
1
4780
Cromwell
40
4630
New Canaan
1
4429
Darien
9
4604
Kensington
1
4606
Ridgefield
1
4764
Unionville
1
4570
Manchester
1
4498
Newington
1
4720
Greens Farms
1
4557
Stepney
1
4626
Ridgefield
3
4709
Norwich
2
4786
New Canaan
20
4666
East Hampton
2
4705
Darien
1
4462
Stamford
1
4672
Danbury
2
4575
Manchester
2
4487
Windsor
1
4760
West Hartford
1
4430
Bridgeport
1
4518
East Norwalk
3
4524
Bridgeport
5
4512
Darien
10
4593
Milford
2
4658
Cromwell
100
4431
Fairfield
8
4478
Terryville
4623
Rocky Hill
4534
Waterford
4578
Old Greenwich
4745
Pawcatuck
4809
North Stonington
4702
Yalesville
4819
Bridgeport
4548
Stamford
4577
Mount Carmel
4783
New Haven
4474
Manchester
4566
Clinton
4492
New Haven
10
4614
New Haven
7
4432
Inspection of Nurseries
233
Name of firm
Newington Gardens & Nurseries
New London Cemetery Association
New London County Nurseries
Newton's Nursery
Newtown Gardens
New York, New Haven & Hartford
Railroad
Niantic Bouquet Shop
North-Eastern Forestry Co., The
North Greenwich Nursery
North Street Gardens
Northville Gardens
Norwalk Perennial Garden
Nyveldt's Nursery
Oakland Nurseries
Oldfield Nursery
Old Orchard Nursery
Outpost Nurseries, Inc.
Ouwerkerk, Dirk K.
Over-the-Garden-Wall
Oxoboxo Nursery
Palmieri Nursery & Florist
Park Place Nurseries
Parker, Mrs. Elizabeth
Partrick Nursery
Pendleton's Flower Gardens
Peschko, Robert
Pestretto, Frank
Pestretto, Salvatore
Peterson's Flower Shop
Pflomm, Charles ^^'.
Pierson, Inc., A. N.
Pinchbeck Bros., Inc.
Pine Hirst Gardens
Pine Plains Greenhouses
Piatt, Kenneth M. & Norman E.
Polen, Romuald
Polish Orphanage Farm
Pomeroy Nurseries
Prospect Nurseries, Inc.
Q Gardens Farm
Rahinak Flower Farm
Race Brook Gardens
Reliable Nursery, The
Rengerman's Garden
Reveley Landscaping Service, Tlie
Reynolds' Farms
Richmond, Gordon L.
Ridgewood Nurseries
Riese, F. K.
Riverside Farm
Robinson Estate, Seymour N.
Rockacres Nursery
Rockfall Nurserv Co., The
Rolf, Mrs. Fred'H.
Rose Hill Nursery
Russell Street Perennial Garden
IMS Certified in 1939-
—(Continued)
Certificate
Address
Acreage
number
Newington Junction
1
4463
New London
1
4545
New London
5
4679
West Granby
1
4451
Newtown
1
4763
Stamford
4
4651
Niantic
1
4769
Cheshire
96
4433
Greenwich
1
4584
Milford
1
4694
New Milford
1
4731
Norwalk
4
4613
New London
2
4554
Manchester
20
4683
Stratford
1
4755
Norwalk
2
4485
Ridgefield
700
4434
YalesviUe
10
4435
West Hartford
3
4636
Montville
2
4711
New Haven
1
4536
Marion
2
4723
Bridgeport
3
4821
Sandy Hook
1
4740
Norwich
2
4488
Danbury
1
4586
West Hartford
1
4773
Hartford
1
4792
West Hartford
1
4663
Bridgeport
1
4603
Cromwell
300
4481
Ridgefield
10
4640
Guilford
1
4494
Norwich
2
4629
Milford
1
4455
Southport
2
4550
New Britain
1
4594
New Milford
1
4555
Cromwell
30
4531
Milford
1
4779
Deep River
3
4587
Orange
1
4436
East Hartford
2
4642
Granby
1
4706
Clinton
2
4547
South Norwalk
1
4716
New Milford
15
4515
Milford
1
4754
Watertown
1
4676
Milford
1
4582
West Hartford
2
4691
Stamford
2
4824
Rockfall
4
4447
Guilford
1
4475
Gildersleeve
3
4708
Manchester
1
4645
234
Name of firm
Sage Brothers
Sakson's Nursery
Sandelli Greenhouses
Sasco Hill Nursery
Savanella Brothers Nursery
Scarano Nursery, AJphonse
Schaeffer, Peter
Schleichert Nursery
Schneider, Adolf
Schuller, John
Schulze, Edward E.
Scott's Nurseries
Scotty's Landscape Service
Sears, Roebuck & Company
Seltsam's Pequonnock Gardens
Seymour Gardens, Prudence
Sharon Valley Nursery
Silver City Nursery
Silver Lane Nursery
Simonsen, H. C.
Sipocz Arrowhead Farm
Soltes Nursery, M. J.
Southbury Nursery, The
Southington Nursery
Southport Nursery
South Wilton Nurseries
Spring Nurseries
Stack, Garrett M.
Stafford Conservatories
Standish, Norman S.
Stannard, Julia
State Street Nursery
Steck, Charles A.
Steck Nursery
Steele's Nm-series, Charles
Stocking, Milton C.
Stray er, Paul
Sunny Valley Nursery
Sunridge Nurseries
Sun Rise Nursery
Swendson, Hans
Sylvan Greenhouse & Nursery
Taylor, Walter G.
Tennett, Norman E.
Thomson Co., The W. W.
Tobin, Daniel J.
Tollgate Nursery
Torizzo, P. A.
Tow Path Gardens, Inc.
Tracy, B. Hammond
Triangle Nursery
Twin Pines Gardens
University of Connecticut
(S. P. HoUister)
Valentine, William
Valley View Nursery
van der Bom, Mrs. F.
\ Experiment Station
Bulletin 434
[RMS Certified in 1939-
—(Continued)
Certificate
Address
Acreage
number
Woodbury
1
4556
Greenwich
1
4622
New Britain
1
4710
Southport
1
4674
Torrington
2
4437
Groton
1
4690
Ledyard
1
4787
Bridgeport
4
4517
Milford
1
4583
Higganum
2
4528
Bethel
1
4744
Bloomfield
10
4675
Woodbury
1
4644
Manchester
10
4685
Bridgeport
1
4620
New Milford
1
4468
Sharon
1
4639
Meriden
5
4762
East Hartford
1
4818
Plainville
3
4699
Fairfield
1
4477
Shelton
2
4445
Southbury
4
4523
Southington
15
4532
Southport
35
4491
Wilton
9
4696
Forestville
1
4438
Guilford
1
4782
Stafford Springs
1
4721
Hanover
1
4529
Wilton
2
4799
Hamden
4
4752
Newtown
20
4539
Bethel
4
4647
Greenwich
2
4750
Simsbury
1
4565
Stratford
1
4415
New Milford
15
4551
Greenwich
55
4730
North Haven
1
4624
Cheshire
1
4605
Bridgeport
2
4800
Wallingford
1
4687
Danielson
2
4812
West Hartford
3
4439
Ridgefield
2
4573
Avon
1
4537
West Hartford
5
4660
Hartford
5
4641
Yalesville
1
4590
YalesviUe
2
4440
New Milford
1
4501
StOITS
Pomfret Center
Southington
Bethel
4444
4553
4504
4665
Inspection of Nurseries
235
Connecticut Nursery Firms Certified in 1939 — (Concluded)
Certificate
Name of firm
Address
Acreage
number
Vanderbrook & Son, C. L.
Manchester
50
4441
Van Horn & Harrington
Suffield
1
4700
Van Wilgen, William
Branford
1
4778
Van Wilgen Nurseries
Branford
22
4607
Vasileff Nurseries
Greenwich
5
4671
Verkade's Nurseries
New London
60
458.5
Vernick's Nurseries & Landscape
Service
Bridgeport
2
4774
Wagner, William H.
Woodbury
1
4820
Wallace Nursery
Wallingford
4
4650
Wallingford Nurseries of Barnes
Nursery & Orchard Co.
Wallingford
60
4543
Ward & Son, J. F.
W^indsor
1
4452
Watertown Nurseries
Watertown
1
4739
Wayside Garden (2)
Canton
1
4825
Wayside Nursery
Naugatuck
2
4717
Weinberger, William
Ridgefield
1
4574
West Cornwall Nurseries
West Cornwall
1
4567
Westerly Nurseries
Pawcatuck
3
4465
West Mystic Gardens
W'est Mystic
1
4519
Westover Trading Corp.
Stamford
1
4759
Westville Nurseries
New Haven
2
4761
Wethersfield Nursery
Wethersfield
3
4712
Wheeler, Charles B.
Stonington
1
4591
Whipple, Earle G.
Danielson
1
4544
White Memorial Foundation
Bantam
12
4776
Whittemore Co., J. H.
Naugatuck
3
4442
Wildflower Nursery, The
Brookfield
1
4772
Wild's Nursery, Henry
Norwalk
30
4471
Willow Gardens
Darien
1
4697
Willson, Stewart H
Thompson^ ille
1
4561
Wilridge Nurseries
Ridgefield
5
4589
Wilson, M. L.
Litchfield
5
4704
Wilson Nurseries, C. E.
Manchester
1
4806
Wilson Landscape Co., The
Hartford
1
4811
Woodbourne Cultural Nurseries,
Inc. (2)
Manchester
100
4579
Woodbridge Nurseries
New Haven
12
4540
Woodcrythe Nursery (W'. S. Sloan)
New Canaan
1
4572
Wyllie, David
North Haven
1
4559
Yale University School of Forestry
Nursery
New Haven
1
4443
Yale University Landscape
Department
New Haven
5
4527
Young's Nurseries
Wilton
3
4767
Zack Co., H. J.
Deep River
10
4600
Total 399
nurseries
4,833 acres
The cost of inspecting these nurseries in 1939, including certain
additional visits to make sure that the pests had been eradicated, was
approximately $1,735.76, exclusive of traveling expenses.
Other Kinds of Certificates Issued
During 1939, 135 duplicate certificates were issued to Connecticut
nurserymen, to be filed in other states. Altogether 97 dealers' permits
236
ConnecUcul Experiment Station
Bulletin 434
were issued to registered dealers who do not grow the nursery stock that
they sell. Shippers' permits to the number of 173 were issued to nursery-
men in other states, who wish to ship stock into Connecticut. Also,
1,696 parcels of nursery stock were inspected and certified for shipment
to accommodate individuals.
There were also issued 190 miscellaneous certificates and special
permits, 195 blister rust control area permits, 1,204 corn borer certificates,
and 2,535 certificates for packages of shelled corn and other seeds, many
of which were consigned to foreign countries.
Inspection of Imported Nursery Stock
Foreign nursery stock enters the United States at designated ports of
entry under permits issued by the Federal Bureau of Entomology and
Plant Quarantine and is released for transit to destination points, where
it is examined by state inspectors. Importation permits are granted for
rose stocks only. These ai'e used almost entirely by florists for grafting
purposes. Although the number of shipments of nursery stock entering
Connecticut from foreign countries in 1938-1939 was the same as the
preceding year, the number of cases and plants was smaller, possibly
because of increased domestic production on the West Coast. Thirteen
shipments containing 37 cases and 276,400 rose plants, all of which were
for propagation purposes, were imported. Of these plants 265,600 were
Rosa manetti and 10,800 were Rosa miiltiflora. These plants were all
imported by four commercial rose growers who received 124,100, 91,500,
50,000 and 10,800 respectively. They came from the following sources:
Country
Holland
England
No. shipments
12
No. plants
236,400
40,000
The time required to inspect this rose stock was equivalent to eight days'
work for one man and this, together with the travel (815 miles) and other
necessary expenses, amounted to a cost of approximately $125.75. Reports
of the results of inspection of the 13 shipments were sent to the Federal
Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine.
Results of Inspection
Of the 13 shipments inspected, two, or 15 percent, were found infested
with larvae of a sawfly, Emphyius cinctus Linn., which enter the pith of
the cut stems of the rose plants seeking a place to pupate. Three shipments,
or 23 percent, were infected with crown gall, a bacterial disease.
In addition to the rose stocks mentioned above, the following miscella-
neous plants and seeds entered Connecticut after federal inspection at
ports of entry. These were not inspected in Connecticut:
3,550 pounds of seeds
1,167 rose bushes
234 dahlia plants
20 tubes of orchid seedUngs
4,547 orchid plants
12 Ficus cuttings
5 Primus trees
18,753 gladiolus bulbs
1,495 perennial plants
4 palms
167 miscellaneous bulbs
and rhizomes
3 cactus plants
350 azalea plants
Inspection of Apiaries 237
INSPECTION OF APIARIES, 1939
R. B. Friend
¥N 1939, Mr. H. W. Coley of Westport inspected bees iu Fairfield, New
^ Haven, Middlesex and New London counties, and Mr. W. H. Kelsey
of Bristol inspected in the counties of Litchfield, Hartford, Tolland and
Windham. Only two colonies were found infected with sacbrood, and
the percentage of American foul brood was slightly smaller than in 1938.
Mr. Kelsey reported a heavy winter loss of bees in the four northern
counties.
Altogether, 1,627 apiaries containing 8,936 colonies were inspected.
These averaged 5.5 colonies per apiary as against 6.7 in 1938. There were
147 colonies in 83 apiaries infected with American foul brood ; 20 of these
apiaries were inspected twice.
The total cost of inspection in 1939 was $1,826.60.
Table 2. Thirty Year Record of Apiary Inspection in Connecticut
Average
Average
Number
Number
No. colonies
cost of
inspection
Year
apiaries
colouies
per apiary
per apiary
per colony
1910
208
1,595
7.6
S2.40
.28
1911
162
1,571
9.7
1.99
.21
1912
153
1,431
9.3
1.96
.21
1913
189
1,500
7.9
1.63
.21
1914
463
3,882
8.38
1.62
.19
1915
494
4,241
8.. 58
1.51
.175
1916
467
3,898
8.34
1.61
.19
1917
473
4,506
9.52
1..58
.166
1918
395
3,047
7.8
1.97
.25
1919
723
6,070
11.2
2.45
.29
1920
762
4,797
6.5
2..565
.41
1921
751
6,972
9.2
2.638
.24
1922
797
8,007
10.04
2.60
.257
1923
725
6,802
9.38
2.55
.27
1924
953
8,929
9.4
2.42
.25
1925
766
8,257
10.7
2.45
.22
1926
814
7,923
9.7
2.35
.24
1927
803
8,133
10.1
2.37
.234
1928
852
8,023
9.41
2.12
.225
1929
990
9,559
9.55
2.19
.227
1930
1,059
10,335
9.76
2.01
.206
1931
1,232
10,678
8.66
1.83
.212
1932
1,397
11,459
8.2
1.60
J 95
1933
1,342
10,927
8.1
1.69
.208
1934
1,429
7,128
4.98
1.40
.28
1935
1,333
8,855
6.64
1.556
.234
1936
1,438
9,278
6.45
1.429
.221
1937
1,437
10,253
7.1
1.28
!l8
1938
1,609
10,705
6.7
1.18
.177
1939
1,627
8,936
5.5
1.12
.204
Table 2 shows the number of apiaries and colonies Inspected, the
average number of colonies per apiary and the average cost of inspecting
each apiary and colony for each year since inspection began in 1910.
238 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
In 1939 apiaries were inspected in 156 towns. Inspections were made
in the following nine towns not visited in 1938:
Fairfield County: Easton, Redding, Shelton; New Haven County:
Ansonia, Guilford; Hartford County: Enfield; Tolland County: Union,
Willington; Windham County: Sterling.
In 1939 American foul brood was discovered in the following 48
towns :
Fairfield County: Bethel, Danbury, Fairfield, Greenwich, New
Canaan, Newtown, Shelton, Stamford, Trumbull; New Haven County:
Branford, Meriden, Middlebury, Milford, New Haven, North Branford,
Waterbury, Woodbridge; Middlesex County: Westbrook; New London
County: East Lyme; Litchfield County: Bethlehem, Harwinton, Litch-
field, New Milford, Plymouth, Safisbury, Sharon, Warren, Washington,
Winchester, Woodbury ; Hartford County: Avon, Berlin, Bristol, Burling-
ton, Canton, East Hartford, East Windsor, Granby, Hartford, New Britain,
Plainville, Southington, West Hartford, Windsor; Tolland County: Coven-
try, Mansfield, Vernon; Windham County: Windham.
Statistics of Inspection
The statistics of apiary inspection are shown below.
Table 3. Inspection of Apiakies, 1939
Number of Apiaries Colonies
County towns Inspected Diseased Inspected Diseased
(Am.f.b.) (Am.f.b.)
Fairfieldi 22
New Haven ^^ 21
Middlesex 15
New London' 19
Litchfieldi 24
Hartfordi 29
ToUandi 13
Windham 13
156 1,627 83 8,936 147
' Fairfield County, one apiary inspected twice; New Haven County, one apiary inspected twice;
New London County, one apiary inspected twice; Litchfield County, 17 apiaries inspected twice; Hartford
County, 24 apiaries inspected twice; Tolland County, three apiaries inspected twice.
2 New Haven County, two colonies sacbrood.
Summary of Inspection
Apiaries Colonies
Inspected, 1939
Infected with American foul brood
Percentage infected
Colonies treated
Colonies destroyed
Average number of colonies per apiary 5.5
Average cost of inspection 1.12 .204
Total cost of inspection for 1939 $1,826.60
153
15
1,222
19
115
10
815
20
86
1
840
5
121
1
965
1
318
24
1,570
40
547
27
2,529
56
164
4
515
5
123
1
480
1
1,627
8,936
83
147
5.1
1.6
2]
126
Control of the Gypsy Moth, i938-i939 239
Financial Statement
January 1, 1939— December 31, 1939
Disbursements
January 1 to June 30, 1939:
Salaries S474.00
Travel (outlying investigations) 308.25 $782.25
July 1 to December 31, 1939:
Salaries $618.00
Travel (outlying investigations) 426.35
1,044.35
Total disbursements for 1939 $1,826.60
Registration of Bees
Section 2129 of the General Statutes provides: That each beekeeper
shall register his bees on or before October 1 of each year with the town
clerk of the town in which the bees are kept; and that each town clerk,
on or before December 1, shall report to the State Entomologist whether
or not any bees have been registered, and if so, shall send a list of the names
and number of colonies belonging to each. In 1939, 1,627 apiaries con-
taining 8,936 colonies were inspected. However, only 861 apiaries and
4,881 colonies were registered. After checking the registrations and
inspections, and deducting duplications, the following figures were ob-
tained, showing that at least this number of apiaries and colonies were
kept in Connecticut in 1939:
Apiaries Colonies
Inspected 1,627 8,936.
Registered but not inspected 324 1 ,563
1,951 10,499
REPORT ON CONTROL OF THE GYPSY MOTH, 1938-19391
J. T. AsHWORTH and O. B. Cooke
■pkURiNG the 1938-1939 scouting season, the gypsy moth control work
was carried on as it has been in past years. Trees were examined in
the open and in woodlands during the fall, winter and early spring for
egg-masses, which were creosoted when found. In the spring infestations
were sprayed with a mixture of lead arsenate and water, with fish oil added
when a sticker was required, and during the summer months infested
areas Vv'ere patrolled to detect gypsy moth larvae (caterpillars). Such
work, in one form or another, was performed in 75 towns in Connecticut
with the cooperation of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine
of the United States Department of Agriculture and the Civilian Conser-
vation Corps. This cooperation is greatly appreciated, and the writers
here express their gratitude to Mr. A. F. Burgess, who has general super-
vision of gypsy and brown-tail moth control for the Bureau of Entomology
and Plant Quarantine; Mr. H. L. Blaisdell, in charge of field work under
' This report covers the field work from July 1, 1938, to June 30, 1939, not the calendar year 1939.
240 Connediciil Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Mr. Burgess; Mr. S. S. Grossman, under whose direction gypsy moth
control work was carried on in the various C.C.C. camps in the central
part of Connecticut; and to Mr. A. F. Hawes, State Forester, who has
general supervision of the C.C.C. camps.
New Equipment
In June it was necessary to replace 500 feet of spray hose that was
worn out. The usual number of small wrenches and other tools that had
worn out or broken were also replaced.
Control Operations
Following is a brief report for the past year of gypsy moth control
operations carried on by the different agencies.
Work Performed by State Men
The regular state gypsy moth crews operated in Windham, New
London, Tolland, Hartford and Litchfield counties.
Windham County: Scouting work was performed in the towns of
Brooklyn, Killingly, Pomfret, and Putnam, gypsy moth infestations being
found in all these towns. Infestations in the towns of Brooklyn, Killingly
and Putnam were visited during the larval season and caterpillars were
found at all points. No spraying was carried on in this county.
New London County: Scouting work was performed in the towns of
Bozrah, Colchester, East Lyme, Groton, Lebanon, Lyme, Montville,
Norwich, Preston, Salem, and Stonington. Infestations were found in all
the towns visited with the exception of Bozrah, Lyme, and Salem. During
the larval season the towns of Colchester, East Lyme, Groton, Lebanon,
Montville, New London, North Stonington, Norwich, Preston, Stonington
and Waterford were visited and caterpillars were found at all points
visited except in East Lyme, Norwich, and Waterford.
Tolland County: State crews performed scouting work in the towns
of Andover, Bolton, Columbia, Coventry, and Vernon, all of which were
infested. During the larval season, the towns of Andover, Bolton, Coven-
try, Somers, Stafford, and Union were patrolled and caterpillars were
found at points visited in Somers, Stafford, and Union. No spraying was
done in this county.
Hartford County: The following towns were scouted in this county:
East Granby, Granby, Hartland, Suffield, and Windsor and infestations
were found in all. During the larval season, known infestations in the
towns of BurHngton and Enfield were visited, caterpillars being taken in
each place. It was in Hartford County that, during the 1937-1938 scouting
season, a large gypsy moth infestation was discovered covering an area of
about 600 acres in the southern part of Granby, the northeast corner of
Canton, and the northwest section of Simsbury. During the 1938-1939
scouting season state and C.C.C. crews destroyed 7,236,186 egg-clusters in
this infestation. Because of the size and location of the infested area and
the enormous number of egg-clusters present, we decided to forego spraying
in other sections of the State. By concentrating operations here we made
Control of the Gypsy Moth, 1938-1939 241
an attempt to reduce the gypsy moth population and to prevent the disper-
sion of young larvae by wind as much as possible. Just prior to the spray-
ing season a project was set up and the work placed in charge of Mr,
LaBelle of the state force. A survey of the area indicated that at least
five power spraying machines, operating two shifts a day, would be required
to complete the project in the time available. This called for 75 men each
shift to operate the machines efficiently. The situation was taker care of
through the loan of three power spraying macliines and the necessary spray
hose from the U. S. Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine and the
use of C.C.C. details furnished from Camps Robinson and White, located
in the vicinity of the infestation. On the recommendation of Mr. Hawes,
most of the lead arsenate used on this project was furnished by the C.C.C.
Spraying was started May 27, 1939, and continued through July 1, 1939,
at which time the advanced stage of the larvae made further spraying
impractical. Approximately 1,562 acres of woodland were sprayed,
using 22.5 tons of arsenate of lead.
Litchfield County: State crews performed control work in six towns
in this county, namely: Barkhamsted, Colebrook, Harwinton, New^ Hart-
ford, Torrington, and Winchester. Scouting work was performed in the
towns of Barkhamsted, Harwinton, New Hartford, Torrington, and Win-
chester, and infestations were found in all except Torrington. Dming the
larval season the town of Colebrook was patrolled, and caterpillars were
found at points visited.
State men scouted 374 miles of roadside and 13,595 acres of open
and wooded country, destroyed 426,941 egg-clusters and 19,494 larvae
and pupae.
Work Performed by C.C.C. jVIen
During the past year, details of men from the various C.C.C. camps
located in the central and eastern sections of the State w^ere engaged in
gypsy moth control work in the form of woodland scouting, cleaning and
cutting out infested areas, banding and patrolling for caterpillars. The
details from the C.C.C. camps in the eastern section of the State were
unable to perform the same amount of control work that they had accom-
plished in years past, because, immediately after the hmricane on Septem-
ber 21, 1938, all the gypsy moth crews were put on emergency fire hazard
work. This continued until the end of the year. The details in the camps
in the central part of the State continued with gypsy moth work, with a
greatly curtailed schedule, throughout the entire year. These various
C.C.C. details scouted 5,673 acres of woodland and 21 miles of roadside,
cleaned and removed the underbrush from 551 acres of woodland and
destroyed approximately 7,824,665 egg-clusters. This includes the work
accomplished in the Granby-Canton-Simsbury infestation previously
mentioned. Previous to the larval season, they banded 154,299 trees in
infested areas and during the larval season patrolled these banded trees,
destroying 27,200 larvae and pupae.
WPA Work Performed
The Federal Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, with head-
quarters at Greenfield, Mass., again carried on a gypsy moth control
242 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
project in this State, using funds provided by the Works Progress Adminis-
tration. As usual, the work of this agency was confined to the western
part of Connecticut in what is known as the "Barrier Zone", a strip of land
extending from Long Island Sound to the Canadian Border, with the
eastern boundary passing through the western part of Connecticut. This
Barrier Zone was established in an endeavor to stop the spread of the
gypsy moth to the west. WPA crews worked in 21 towns in Fairfield,
Litchfield, and New Haven counties. During the past season these men
scouted 805 miles of roadside and 185,082 acres of open and wooded coun-
try, and destroyed 9,034 egg-clusters and 6,457 larvae and pupae. They
applied 272,248 bands to trees in and around infested areas previous to
the larval season and during the spraying season sprayed 29 infestations
in 10 towns in Litchfield County, using 106,202 pounds of lead arsenate.
Scouting for Brown- Tail Moth
There was no brown-tail moth scouting project carried on in Con-
necticut during the 1938-1939 season.
Financial Statement
July 1, 1938— June 30, 1939
RECEIPTS
Appropriation year ending June 30, 1939 $44,880.00
DISBURSEMENTS
Personal Services:
Salaries $39,011.55
Supplies and Materials :
Stationery and office supplies 2.62
Insecticides 156.00
Gasoline 1,022.98
Auto oil and grease 45.67
Chemicals -50
Lumber and small hardware 2.99
Other supplies (miscellaneous) 22.28
Communication Service:
Telephone 47.81
Postage 15.00
Transportation of Materials :
Freight, express and parcel post -67
Heat and Light:
Fuel 21.86
Electricity 15.36
Contingent Expenses:
Insurance 409.83
Equipment :
Tools, machinery and apphances (new) 385.89
Tools, machinery and apphances (repairs) .' 53.25
Automobiles (repairs) 488.85
Buildings and Land:
Rent of storehouse and office space ^ ■ ■ ■ 420.00
Total Disbursements $42,123.11
Balance on hand, July 1, 1939 2,756.89^
$44,880.00
1 Reverted to State Treasury.
Control of the Gypsy Moth, 1938-1939
243
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THE JAPANESE BEETLE, 1939
J. Peter Johnson
Quarantine Activities
CiNCE 1926, when the Japanese beetle was first found in Connecticut at
■^ Stamford, the Department of Entomology of the Connecticut Agricul-
tural Experiment Station has cooperated with the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, in
conducting the Japanese beetle quarantine in this State. This includes
seasonal scouting of certain nursery and greenhouse properties and their
sources of sand, soil and manure for classification purposes; the inspection
and certification of all articles included in the quarantine regulations;
and miscellaneous tasks necessary to the quarantine.
Mr. H. N. Bartley, in charge of the federal Japanese beetle office,
Boston, Massachusetts, supervises all the Japanese beetle quarantine
activities in areas coinciding with the gypsy moth quarantine area. In
Connecticut this comprises Hartford, Middlesex, New London, Tolland,
Windham counties and a few towns in the eastern parts of Litchfield and
New Haven counties, while the remaining portions of the State are super-
vised from the New Haven office at the Experiment Station.
Scouting
Scouting has been conducted yearly and the procedure followed during
the summer of 1939 to determine whether or not adult beetles were present
on classified properties was similar to that of preceding years. Four
crews, each consisting of one foreman and two scouts, reported for work
on July 10. Three of them received one day of schooling in the methods
of scouting in addition to general instructions. The fourth crew, made
up of experienced men, was given instructions and immediately assigned
to its territory. The crews followed a prepared itinerary and were stationed
at Derby, Hartford, Middletown and Storrs, central locations in their
respective districts.
They scouted 56 nursery, greenhouse, or other similar establishments,
and their subdivisions, a total of 110 units, three to five times. The
minimum distance examined around each establishment was 500 feet,
A total of 663 adult beetles was found on 34 of the 65 nursery and green-
house properties scouted. The crews also scouted the premises of 116
dealers in sand, soil and manure and found 448 beetles on 37 of these. A
total of 1,111 beetles were found on the property of scouted establishments,
resulting in 11 changes in classification and 24 dropping their classified
status under the quarantine regulations.
Inspection and Certification
The district inspectors responsible for inspection and certification of
quarantined materials were located as follows :
<
The Japanese Beetle, 1939 249
Location No. of Inspectors
New Haven 2
^Manchester 1
iMiddletown 1
iWesterly, R 1 1
Total 5
The total number of plants inspected and certified for shipment to
other states and foreign countries was 6,334,633.
The number and kinds of certificates issued are shown in the following
table :
Table 5. Certificates Issued*
Kind
Farm Products
Cut Flowers
Nursery and
Ornamental Stock.
Sand
Soil
Manure
Total
"A"
"B"
Total
16
0
16
12
0
12
36,780
6,799
0
4
4
0
13
13
36,808
6,816
43,579
43,624
* For the calendar year 1939.
As in past seasons, the district inspectors were able to make the
necessary farm products quarantine inspections in addition to their regular
duties. These were few in number and consisted of the following packages:
apples 1, beans 15, corn 6, cut flowers 12.
Control Activities
The control activities in Connecticut ai'e confined to a general survey of
the beetle conditions over the entire State, investigation of insecticides
for controlling the insect and natural control by use of parasites. The
parasite work is carried on in cooperation with the Japanese beetle research
laboratories of the United States Department of Agriculture.
Adult Japanese beetles were found in Berlin, Bolton, Cheshire, Crom-
well, East Windsor, Elfington and Newington for the first time. Eighty
towns are now known to be infested and there are probably many others
that have not come to our attention.
Prevailing dry weather in late June and July delayed the emergence
of the adult beetles from the soil. The first one was found on June 22,
Usually great numbers appear near the end of the first week in July but
in 1939 the hard, dry soil held them back a week or more. Then, instead
of a general emergence over a short period of two or three weeks, beetles
continued to appear until early in August. The adult population was
more uniform than usual over the entire season, from the second week m
July until the middle of August, although there were exceptions to this in
' The district inspectors in Manchester, Middletown and Westerly, R. I., were under the supervision
of the Federal Japanese Beetle Office, Boston, Mass.
250 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
localized areas. A general increase in population was noted in all areas of
infestation. Natural spread from local centers of infestation was more
noticeable and apparently general. Scouts reported more beetles found
in suburban and rural sections than in previous years. The last adult
beetle in the season of 1939 was found on October 10.
Adult beetle feeding occurred on apple, cherry, elm, horsechestnut,
linden, mountain ash, Norway maple, pin oak, plum, sassafras, and Schwed-
leri maple trees as well as grapevines and many ornamental shrubs, vines
and plants. The skeletonized foliage was more apparent in the late season
than in midseason. General feeding took place in Branford, Bridgeport,
Darien, D anbury. East Haven, Fairfield, Greenwich, Hamden, Hartford,
New Canaan, New Haven, New London, Norwalk, Putnam, Ridgefield,
Stamford and Stratford. In some towns it was confined to localized areas
and in others was very general. Restricted feeding occurred on some of
the more favorite host plants in a few of the towns adjoining those already
mentioned.
The grubs of this insect damaged or destroyed upwards of 2,000 or
more acres of turf in parks, golf courses and lawns. This estimate, in the
opinion of the writer, is very conservative. Many acres of turf have been
protected by the application of lead arsenate during the past season.
The checking of recommended sprays and the development of new
materials is carried on with the cooperation of Dr. Philip Garman. Among
the sprays tested, lead arsenate is the most satisfactory from a general
standpoint. It should be used with a good sticking agent such as wheat
flour, fish oil or any of the desirable proprietary agents. Derris (containing
at least 4 percent rotenone) with rosin residue must be used weekly to give
protection to the foUage. Tetramethyl thiuram disulfide and rosin residue
gave promise as a repellent. Derris and tetramethyl thiuram disulfide
leave very little visual spray residue and may be used where white dis-
coloration is undesirable. Two proprietary sprays containing 4 percent
rotenone were used and compared favorably with the derris spray men-
tioned above.
During May, 1939, twenty-five colonies of Tiphia vernalis Roh., a
parasite of the larvae of the Japanese beetle, were released in infested
areas in Bridgeport, Devon, East Hartford, East Portchester, Fairfield,
Fair Haven, Greenwich, Hartford, Meriden, Montowese, New London,
Ridgefield, Waterbury, West Haven and Wilson. Since 1937, 75 colonies
of parasites have been released in the State, including releases in Branford,
Danbury, New Haven, Norwalk, Norwich, Putnam, Stamford and West-
port.
The causal organism of a bacterial disease, known as the milky disease,
of the Japanese beetle larvae was isolated in 1-933 by workers in the United
States Department of Agriculture after considerable study and effort. The
bacterium appears to be effective when distributed in areas of heavy grub
infestation in New Jersey, reducing the number of grubs appreciably
after two feeding seasons, but experimental results to date do not warrant
general use by the public. A laboratory method has been devised to
propagate the bacterium in quantity. Experimental plots have been
established in Bridgeport and New Haven to observe its true value in
relation to the control of the Japanese beetle in Connecticut.
Mosquito Control in Connecticut, 1939 251
MOSQUITO CONTROL WORK IN CONNECTICUT, 1939
R. C. BOTSFORD
A s IN PAST years maintenance of state-accepted salt marsh areas for
■^ mosquito control continued from about April 1 to the middle of Sep-
tember. The state appropriation for this work for the fiscal year was
$12,000,00. The regular average crew of nine men patrolled the areas as
rapidly as possible in order to discover any potential breeding places
which might have developed during the previous winter. As soon as
discovered, the worst of these were corrected, while those in fair condition
were passed by until time permitted attending to them.
Many small broods of mosquitoes developed in scattered areas, and
a limited quantity of light fuel oil was sprayed on the surface of the water
to destroy the larvae and pupae. At Grove Beach in Clinton a large
brood had developed to the pupal stage in the ditches which had become
stagnant due to lack of water circulation. These ditches were oiled
immediately to prevent emergence, and the tide gates were opened to
create a circulation of water. Although this occurred twice during the
season, no mosquito nuisance was evident. Since this experience, all tide
gates have been equipped with an adjustment so that they can be kept from
closing tightly. Enough water is permitted to pass through to create the
necessary circulation to prevent mosquito breeding.
Mosquito control work under the Work Projects Administration con-
tinued in cooperation with towns where labor and materials were made
available. Although the Station sponsored many projects in name, no
actual Station funds were available to cover their obligation as sponsor.
In all cases the local town became co-sponsor and provided the stipulated
requirements.
All federal aid mosquito projects on state-maintained areas were
carried on in complete cooperation and with the approval of the Station.
Projects on salt marsh areas which in the future may be accepted for
state maintenance were given attention. All completed projects have so
far functioned to the satisfaction of the Station.
The following resume of W.P.A. federal aid mosquito control projects
is a continuation of last year's report showing work completed and new
work in progress. Many of these projects are town sponsored and may
be rated as flood control and sanitation projects with mosquito control
as secondary:
Ansonla: Cleaniag Beaver Brook; completed.
Colony Street, draining swamp and walling up ditch. Town sponsored.
Branford: Stony Creek Dike; completed. Here an old stone dike needing frequent
and expensive repairs was replaced by a modem earthen dike and concrete tide
gate emplacement. Station sponsored.
East Hartford: Pewter Pot Brook; Station sponsored by request; completed.
Panzy's Pond, correcting drainage. Station sponsored by request.
||, Fairfield: Ash Creek Park and Meadowbrook drainage; completed.
Pine Creek Bridge. All town sponsored.
Groton: Benham Road and Warren Street, draining swamp. Town sponsored.
252 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Guilford: Great Harbor Dike, rebuilding dike damaged by hurricane. Station
sponsored.
Hamden: Fairview Avenue, draining swamp and laying pipe. Town sponsored.
Madison: Madison Yacht Club Marsh, outlet under construction. Town sponsored.
Tuxis Pond, improving drainage. Town sponsored.
New Britain: Piper Brook and Bass Brook, corrective work. Town sponsored.
New Haven: West River, Wilmot Brook and Lawncrest Brook; corrective work.
Town sponsored.
East Shore Meadows, improving outlet. Town sponsored.
North Haven: Blakeslee Road, swamp drainage. Station sponsored, by request.
Norwalk: Lockwood Lane, swamp drainage. Town sponsored.
Plymouth: Pequabuck River, corrective work. Town sponsored.
Southington: Holcomb School Swamp; completed. Town sponsored.
Stratford: Great Dike repairs abandoned.
Sniffens Meadow, new outlet. Town sponsored.
Bruce Brook, new bridge and corrective work. Town sponsored.
West Haven: Berkshire Division, swamp drainage. Town sponsored.
Westport: Town Dump Swamp, swamp drainage. Town sponsored.
Following is a complete list of proposed projects included in a 1939
state-wide application by the Experiment Station. These have been
approved by the U. S. Biological Survey and federal funds have been
designated to cover the share of cost borne by the W.P.A. Some of these
are already in various stages of operation and many incorporate important
improvements to state-maintained areas. This list is subject to change.
List of Project Sites Included Under the 1939 Project Application
Branford Branford River Repair tide gate
Sunset Beach Install tide gate
BuUard's Meadow Install tide gate
Oppel's Creek Install tide gate
^Stony Creek Complete present project
^Stony Creek Center Clean culverts
Sybil Creek Rebuild tide gate
Clinton Indian River Install tide gate
Point Beach Dig outlet through dunes
^East Hartford. . iPitkin Street Install outlet
East Haven Caroline Creek .'.... Install tide gate and jetties
Meadow Mere Install tide gate
Fairfield Casco Brook Install timber jetties : replace
stone culvert with pipe.
^Glastonbury .... Hubbard Brook & Sycamore Street . . Install culverts and correct
stream bed.
Glastonbury Meadows Install outlet
Groton Route No. 215 Install tide gate and outlet
Groton Long Point Lower cidverts ; correct drainage
Mosquito Control in Connecticut, 1939 253
Guilford iQreat Harbor Repair dike ; install jetties
Guilford Sluice Tide Gate Install tide gate
Leete's Island Quarry Install tide gate
Vineyard Point Install tide gate
^Hamden Church Street Drain pond
Oregon Avenue Dump Low spot to be filled
Pot Hole North of Skiff Street Low area to be filled
Whitney Ridge Manor Stream correction
Waite Street Stream correction
Mill River — North of Skiff Street . . . Drain low area
Treadwell Street FUl low area
Waite & Mather Street Fill low area
Morse Street Ditch low area
Winchester Dump and Powder
Farm Stream correction
South of Skiff Street Drain low area
Madison Canoe Harbor Install tide gate
^Country Club Extension Stream correction
Hotchkiss Meadow Install tide gate
Foot of Harbor Street Install tide gate
East of Norma Dee Cottage Install tide gate
Overshore Install tide gate
^Scotland Avenue Lower culvert
Foot of Waterbury Avenue Install tide gate
New Haven .... ^Little River Install tide gate
Hemingway Pond Install tide gate
Pardee Street Fill low area
^Parker's Pond Drain pond
Strong Street Install pipe line
New London . . . ^Briggs Brook Stream coriection
^Coleman Street Stream correction
^Dell Avenue & Mahan Street to
Sound Stream correction
Fort Trumbull & Cotton Gin Correct drainage
Ocean Beach Ditch small salt marsh
Old ToAvn Mill Drain low area
Shaws Cove Ditching
Winthrop Cove Project Drain low area
^North Haven . . . Overbrook Road Stream correction
Rear of Germains Correct drainage
Norwalk Gulf Oil Co Install pipe line
Old Lyme ..... ^Appleby's Pond Correct drainage
Sound View Install tide gate
Scott's Pond Install tide gate
Old Saybrook . . . Plum Bank Correct drainage
Stonington Lord's Point Install tide gates, outlets, and
ditch areas known as 1, 2, 3
and 4.
Stratford Common Meadows Install tide gate
Lighthouse Meadow Install tide gate
Lordship Road Install tide
Westbrook Pochaug River Fill low area
Lewis Salt Marsh Install culvert
^Lewis Swamp Install tide gate
Stannard's Beach Correct drainage
^Westbrook Center Install culvert and ditch low
254 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
West Haven Oyster River Install tide gate
^Anawan Avenue Correct drainage
Cove River Install tide gate
Westport ^Methodist Church Project Drain low area
2Post Road East of Stage Door Inn . . Correct drainage
Saugatuck Shores Install outlet
^West Parish & Center Street Lower culvert
^Peat Swamp Correct drainage
1 In operation.
2 Fresh water work.
^ Subject to inspection and approval of the U. S. Bureau of Biological Survey.
The following legislation passed the January, 1939, session of the
General Assembly and places all state mosquito work under the new
Board of Mosquito Control :
"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly con-
vened :
"The director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, the director of the
state water commission, the superintendent of the state board of fisheries and game,
the commissioner of health emd one person appointed for a term of four years by the
governor, shall act as a board of mosquito control and shall administer the provisions
of sections 2415 and 2416 of the general statutes.
"Sections 2415 and 2416 of the general statutes are amended by striking out the words
'director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station' wherever they occur and
inserting in lieu thereof the words 'board of mosquito control'; by striking out the
word 'director' wherever it occurs and inserting in lieu thereof the word 'board' and by
striking out the word 'deputies" wherever it occurs and inserting in lieu thereof the
word 'agents."
RODENT CONTROL!
Howard A. Merrill*
Mouse Control
T\URiNG the past year (1939) extensive mouse control work has been
■*^ conducted with satisfactory results in Connecticut with a rodenticide
in which zinc phosphide is incorporated. The work was carried out in
orchards, nurseries, watershed plantings and other reforestation projects.
More than 400 growers in the State cooperated in applying poison baits to
control the mice on approximately 18,000 acres. The meadow mouse
{Microtus pennsylvanicus) control method has been developed to a point
at which 90 to 100 percent efficiency may be expected.
As a further help to growers, semi-annual population counts of
meadow mice are being made. One is made in the spring about apple
blossom time and the other during the early p^art of September, by trapping
all the mice on numerous plots of one acre each. The areas selected are
favorable habitats of Microtus and comprise those that appear to have a
relatively high population judging from observations of trails, nests, and
feeding signs. Similar work is being carried on in each of the northeastern
states, and by correlating the data we expect to be able to forecast what
the population will be and to what extent control measures will be neces-
sary.
1 U. S. Biological Survey and Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station co-operating.
* Ass't District Agent, Bureau of Biol. Surv., U. S. D. I.
Rodent Control 255
During the fall of 1938 the meadow mouse population in orchards
under observation was very high, about 100 Microtus per acre. That
probably represented the peak of the mouse fluctuation. In several news
letters sent out to the fruit growers and at all meetings the point was
emphasized that extensive damage could be expected if control measures
were not undertaken. It happened that many growers did not complete
poison operations until early winter because of the added work resulting
from the hurricane. In those cases a great deal of damage was done prior
to poisoning.
Nurserymen and foresters suffered severe losses of conifers and various
deciduous trees and shrubs. Mouse damage in these plantings is not
usually an annual occurrence. During the peak years of the Microtus
population fluctuations, however, damage may be expected. It is during
such years that we hope to be able to forewarn the growers that added
precautions may be necessary, for at such times more than one poisoning
may be required, because of the "drift", or reinfestation, of the mice.
The spring population estimation in Connecticut in 1939, made on
four well-distributed areas, showed a marked reduction in mouse popula-
tions. The counts ranged from 2 to 24 mice per acre in impoisoned orchard
cover. This reduction was noted throughout the northeastern states.
The reason for it has not been definitely determined; but, it is felt that
climatic conditions may have been an important factor.
In September, 1939, thirty-six Microtus were caught in a one-acre
orchard plot. Examination of several other orchards had previously
been made, and this area gave all appearance of having the highest popula-
tion.
Pine Mouse Control
Pine mouse (Pitymys pinetorum) control is still in the research stage.
Results have been effective in certain instances, but have varied with the
type of soil, vegetative cover, and the time of poisoning operations.
Because pine mice feed both on the surface and underground, the problem
is complicated. Areas will be treated during the spring and summer to
determine whether or not better results can be obtained at these seasons
of the year than in the fall. Different methods of bait application are also
being tried. Owing to the heavy sod and soil conditions found in many of
the orchards, the probe method has not proved entirely satisfactory, and
it is felt necessary to try other means. To determine the rate of drift, or
reinfestation, of pine mice into an orchard, a study area has been established
in the Hoffmeister orchard at Hamden, Conn., and periodic observations
are being made there.
Woodchuck Control
Many fruit growers annually sustain considerable damage to young
orchards from woodchucks (Marmota monax). Much of this damage is
done in the spring, when the woodchucks claw the trunks of the young
trees and remove the bark. The woodchucks also burrow under the trees
and thus cause excessive aeration of the roots and often upset the tree.
(See Figure 1). Mowing machines are frequently damaged when they
strike the woodchuck mounds.
256
Connecticut Experiment Station
Bulletin 434
J^^lISi!
""St^-
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X. -"r^^^
Rodent Control 257
Commercial vegetable growers may also suffer serious injury to their
crops through the activities of woodchucks.
In woodchuck control it has been the policy not to conduct state or
county campaigns. It should be remembered that these animals play an
important part in the general wildlife scheme, and usually do not conflict
with man's interests. Where they are causing damage, however, they
should be controlled. During the past two years research has been con-
ducted to develop a gas cartridge that can be easily handled, is reasonable
in cost, and will give effective control. In the spring of 1939, approximately
2,000 of these gas cartridges or "bombs" were used by 50 growers. The
results were excellent, and many requests were received from other growers
who had learned of their effectiveness. During the coming year we hope
to have a larger supply and make them available to all growers upon
request,
A Survey of Mammal Damage in Connecticut Nurseries
Numerous complaints pertaining to damage by mice, rabbits, and
deer have been received from nurserymen throughout the State. A
survey was made to determine the extent of this damage and a considerable
amount was discovered in the largest nurseries. In many cases the owners
or managers were unaware of the injury until many dollars' worth of
valuable stock had been destroyed. The survey was made in 21 of the
State's nurseries, including about 3,310 acres, or approximately 65 percent
of the total nursery area of Connecticut. Extensive damage, mainly by
mice and rabbits, was found in 13 of the 21.
Most of the rabbit injury was caused by the eastern cottontail (Sylvi-
lagus floridanus mallurus) and the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus
trans itionalis). However, some damage in the western part of the State
was done by the European hare (Lepus europaeus hybridus). The greatest
amount of rabbit damage was found in nurseries where fruit trees were
grown. In seven, a total of 15,750 young fruit trees, valued at $.75 to
$1.25 each, were injured, with a loss of approximately $15,000. (See
Figure 1). In the 21 nm-series inspected, rabbit damage was found in 11
and the total loss amounted to approximately $30,000. Plants frequently
damaged were: apple (Mains v.), pear (Pyrns v.), euonymus (deciduous
and evergreen), magnoUa, Taxus, maples (Norway and sugar), and elms
(American and Chinese). Hunting, trapping, and wire guards were used
as means of protection but the results were not satisfactory. In many
cases the damage occurred within a very short period of time, and no
effective control method was available.
It was after this injury was observed and the problems of control
discussed with the nurserymen that our interest in the use of repellents
was aroused. During the coming year a few experimental tests will be
made to determine the feasibiKty of their use. It will not only be necessary
to find a good repellent, but this must be reasonable in cost, easy to apply,
and most important of all, it must not in itself injure the tender bark of
the nursery stock.
IMouse Injury
Meadow mouse {Microtus pennsylvanicus) damage in nurseries is
practically as severe as that caused by rabbits. However, unlike the
258 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
rabbit situation, it is possible to control these pests by methods now
available. Insufficient knowledge of control methods on the part of the
nurserymen is the main reason for the difficulty.
Clean cultivation is one of the best means of control, but where sod
or mulch is used, trail baiting with the Biological Survey Rodenticide
gives excellent results. Of the 21 nurseries inspected, mouse damage
amounting to approximately $35,000 was found in seven. The principal
plants injured were: dogwood (Cornus v.), Canadian hemlock (Tsuga
canadensis), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia), Austrian pine (Pinus
nigra), mugho pine (Pinus mughus), yew (Taxus v.), Carolina hemlock
(Tsuga caroliniana), Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens glauca), and
Alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa).
Deer Injury
The white-tail deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is found to prefer fruit
trees in the nurseries as well as in the young orchards. Although other
varieties were damaged to a slight extent, fruit trees were most severely
attacked. Only one nursery out of the 21 inspected sustained any appre-
ciable damage from deer. In this one, 5,000 apple trees, 400 plum trees,
and 50 Ginkgo trees were injured. This amounted to approximately $4,500.
The amount of deer damage in nurseries is relatively minor compared to
that done in newly developed orchards.
REPORT ON PARASITE WORK FOR 1939
Philip Garman, J. C. Schkead, W. T. Brigham and G. R. Smith
Oriental Fruit Moth Parasites
■jr|isTRiBUTiON of parasitcs and careful parasite studies were continued
■"-^ in 1939. In order to increase om' stock and meet demands from
peach growers, some parasites were purchased in New Jersey and additional
collections were made by Mr. DeCaprio. We received 115 orders and
distributed 6,175,000 Trichogramma, 18,944 Macrocentrus ancylivorus,
2,087 Diodes molesiae and 1,241 Bassus diversus. A few native species
were reared from general collections and- placed in orchards where they
had not been found previously.
Recovery collections were made in a large number of orchards and
careful studies of parasite and fruit moth populations were begun in four.
Because of additional help in the laboratory during the summer, much
time was spent in peach orchards and considerable data assembled. Con-
densed results of the first year's work are shown in Table 6. The fruit
moth populations are based on egg and twig counts collected on an hourly
basis. Survival rates are calculated from the population study to which
was applied the reduction brought about by egg, larval and pupal para-
sitism. In two cases, the "estimated" population was based on com-
parative records from other orchards but no actual counts were made there.
As in previous years, low fruit infestation at harvest seemed to be corre-
lated with the amount of larval parasitism in July, but there were some
exceptions noted this year for the first time. Evidently other factors may
influence the end results, and it appears probable that population densities
Report on Parasite Work, 1939
259
of the fruit moth may afford an answer. Thus, if we have a population
density of 100 units and parasitism amounting to 90 percent, 10 units of
fruit moths will remain, whereas if the population rating is only 20, a
parasitism of 50 percent will produce the same result, namely a survival
of 10 units.
Table 6. Condensed Results of Studies on the
Oriental Fruit Moth, 1939
Orchard
Fruit moth
population
estimates
Relative July
survival of
fruit moth
Elberta
infestation
at harvest, %
Bishop 1939
Rogers
Bussa
Peters
Andrews
Hanford
Piatt
Hurlbutt
Musante
Bishop 1938
49
2.4
6.0
30
2.7
1.0
36
4.5
11.2
18
6.0
8.0
89
11.7
22.5
200 (est)
. 23.7
30.3
125
26.0
31.9
100
67.5
25.2
150
83.9
42.4
200 (est)
117
63.4
Recoveries of introduced species were continued and the following
were reared from orchard collected twigs.
Species
Bassus diversus
Diodes moleslae
Orgilus longiceps
Maximum survival Number of orchards
years wheie recovered
6
14
1
Bassus diversus continues to survive in various orchards, but Diodes
molestae apparently does not live more than a year in this State. Orgilus
longiceps was recovered for the first time in New London County.
Japanese Beetle Parasites
Cooperation with the U. S. Bureau of Entomology was continued and
assistance was rendered in locating points for liberation of Tiphia vernalis
colonies throughout the infested area. Twenty-five colonies of this species,
each consisting of 100 mated females, were placed in the following towns:
East Portchester 1
Greenwich 4
Ridgefield 1
Fairfield 2
Bridgeport 4
Devon 1
West Haven 1
Waterbtiry
1
Fair Haven
3
Montowese
Meriden
1
1
Hartford
3
East Hartford
1
New London
1
Total 25
260 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Tiphia popilliavora recoveries were made at six different localities through-
out the State where they had been released in 1937 and 1938. Since there
have been 23 liberations of this species in Connecticut, the recoveries
indicate that at least 26 percent of them have become established. Twenty-
one of the 23 colonizations were scouted this year. Recoveries of Tiphia
vernalis continue to be made in Bridgeport and New Haven and there are
indications that parasitism by the species mentioned is building up rapidly.
No systematic scouting program for vernalis was carried out in 1939,
however.
TESTS OF APPLE SPRAYS
M. P. Zappe and E. M. Stoddard
fyESTS of various sprays for control of apple pests, both insects and
-■■ fungous diseases, have been continued as a cooperative project between
the departments of Botany and Entomology. The tests were conducted
in the Experiment Station orchard at Mount Carmel. The largest number
of trees treated were Mcintosh and Baldwin, but several Fall Pippin,
Wealthy, Gravenstein, Greening, Northern Spy, King, Sutton and Stark
were included.
Two types of sprays were used. Those containing sulfurs were applied
to scab susceptible varieties and those without sulfur to varieties not
particularly susceptible to apple scab. On the scab-resistant varieties
the arsenate of lead-lime-fish oil mixture, which has been used several
years, again produced a high percentage of good fruit with an excellent
finish. No dormant or nicotine sprays have been appHed to this plot for
several years. The absence of sulfur in these sprays has allowed the red
mite and aphid enemies to increase so that it has been unnecessary to
apply any special sprays for these pests. Sooty blotch and fruit speck
have been satisfactorily controlled with this mixture.
The materials used in these tests and the timing of the applications
were selected to give the greatest amount of protection at the least cost.
These tests should be of great practical value to fruit growers when there
is a surplus of apples and the market price of the fruit is relatively low.
Sulfur Plots
Three different kinds of sulfur sprays were used on plots of Mcintosh
and Fall Pippin, both of which are susceptible to scab. Applications began
with the pink spray May 10, followed by the calyx, 7-day, 14-day and
mid-July cover spray. The following materials were used:
1. Dry lime-sulfur 6 lbs. .
Arsenate of lead 3 ' '
Water 100 gals.
Dry flotation sulfur (with and without spreader)
Arsenate of lead
.5 lbs.
3 "
Water
100 gals.
Magnetic sulfur (with and without spreader)
Preblossom
Tibs.
Post-blossom
5 "
Arsenate of lead
3 "
Water 100 gals.
All the fruit on all plots was examined for insect and fungous injury at
harvest time, and all injuries, however slight, were recorded. The per-
centages of perfect and injured fruit are given in the following table.
Tests of Apple Sprays
261
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262
Connecticut Experiment Station
Bulletin 434
The spreader used in the above plots was an oil emulsion and its
inclusion did not result in any better control of insects and diseases. Both
flotation and magnetic sulfur gave satisfactory control of apple scab. The
dry lime-sulfur plot had a little more scab than either of the other sulfur
plots but the difference was not enough to be significant. Curculio injury
was too high in all the plots and accounts for the low percentage of perfect
fruit. Conditions for curcuUo damage are very good in our experimental
orchard, as adult curculios come from a peach orchard near the apple
trees. Weather conditions favored curculios this season and they were
more abundant and caused more injury than usual in all orchard sections
of Connecticut.
Arsenate of Lead-Lime-Fish Oil Plots
The rest of the orchard, except for the variety Wealthy, was sprayed
with the following mixture:
Arsenate of lead
Hydrated lime
Fish on
Water
3 lbs.
10 "
1 qt.
100 gals.
The same number of applications were made as in the sulfur plots. Fish
oil was omitted from the last application, July 12, because of the danger
of excessive spray residue on the fruit at harvest. In order to determine
the value of copper sulfate in controlling fruit speck and sooty blotch, two
pounds of this material were added to the above mixture in the last applica-
tion to half the Baldwin and Greening plots.
Table 8. Lead Arsenate-Lime-Fish Oil Plots
e8J=
oo
Good
86.14%
3.65%
86.86%
3.35%
83.75%
90.33%
82.64%
Curculio
12.22
67.1
9.38
80.88
11.47
5.57
10.85
Codling moth
Other chewing
insects
.006
1.16
13.84
14.88
0
2.35
3.45
13.29
0
1.79
0
1.01
.01
2.72
Scab
.31
.78
.93
8.86
.56
1.53
.21
Blotch
.33
62.66
.67
76.12
0
1.82
.12
Cedar rust
2.76
4.
This mixture produced a high percentage of good fruit according to our
method of scoring. We count all insect or disease blemishes as injured
Tests of Apple Sprays
263
fruit, even though such injury is very shght and would easily pass a com-
mercial grade. Curculio injury was higher than usual. Some of the fruit
was scarred but not seriously injured. A mixture of lead arsenate, lime
and fish oil has always been a very effective spray on non-scabbing varieties,
and this year was no exception. The finish on the harvested fruit from
these plots was much better than on the fruit from the lime-sulfur plots.
Codling moth damage was hardly noticeable. Although fruit growers in
nearby states experience considerable trouble with this pest, Connecticut
orchards in general have had no difficulty with the insect in the past.
However, we may have an outbreak some time in the future.
Lead Arsenate-Lime-Fish Oil With and Without Copper Sulfate
The following table indicates the effect of adding two pounds of
copper sulfate to the last spray, July 12, in reducing fruit speck and sooty
blotch (fish oil was omitted from the mixture on this date). Sooty blotch
is usually negligible on fruit from trees sprayed throughout the season
with a lead arsenate-Ume-fish oil mixture, and the addition of copper
sulfate did not reduce its incidence enough to pay for the cost of the
material.
Table 9. Copper Sulfate Plots
Baldwin —
no copper
sulfate
Baldwin —
with copper
sulfate
Greening —
no copper
sulfate
Greenings
with copper
sulfate
Good
82.75%
90.66%
89.62%
85.24%
Curculio
15.05
8.45
6.32
11.21
Codling moth
Other chewing
insects
.01
1.58
0
.6
0
2.32
0
2.37
Scab
.41
.2
1.20
.78
Sooty blotch
.45
.16
.76
.63
Wealthy Plots
The variety Wealthy was sprayed with the following mixture, the
application dates being the same as in the other plots :
Dry lime-sulfur
Lead arsenate
iQlue
Water
6 lbs.
3 "
4 oz.
100 gals.
The results are given in the following table.
1 "Casco" waterproof glue.
264 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Table 10. Wealthy Plots
Sprayed
Check (no treatment)
Good
72.96%
24.92%
Curculio
12.80
47.65
Codling moth
.07
.56
Other chewing insects
.33
3.05
Scab
.31
3.19
Cedar rust
16.18
42.73
The treatment gave a significant control of cedar rust on the fruit
and very satisfactory control on the foliage. The 16 percent of infected
apples was not of great importance from the standpoint of the production
of a commercial crop, as over 16 percent of the fruit was removed in
thinning and the thinnings included a large part of the rusted fruit. The
above data include all fruit, that removed in thinning as well as that
harvested,
CONTINUED EXPERIMENTS ON CONTROL
OF THE APPLE MAGGOT
Philip Garman and J. F. Townsend
T\URiNG 1939 a series of experiments was begun in an attempt to learn
-^ whether or not there are any means of improving rotenone mixtures
for use in killing the adult fly. Experiments covering the effect of light,
heat and moisture indicated that high temperatures (100 to 105° F.)
for three to five days have little effect in reducing the kill (Table 11).
Similarly, high humidity had little effect in these tests. Light evidently
plays a more important role, and the active principles are destroyed in a
few days by strong sunlight. It seems probable that ultraviolet rays are
not the only ones involved, although they are evidently the most potent,
since material exposed under window glass eliminating short waves below
3100 Angstrom units was destroyed. The period necessary for this destruc-
tion, however, is much greater than for strong ultraviolet radiation. In
view of the efficient behaviour of oil-pyrophyllite dusts containing rotenone
during 1938 and 1939, it was decided to try them in the orchard. The
main advantage afforded by this combination seems to lie in stability
against breakdown in storage and rapid settling on the trees which allows
one to make heavy applications without excessive drift away from the
point of application. Six months after preparation the dust killed just
as rapidly as when freshly prepared. Stabilization against breakdown in
strong ultraviolet light, however, appears to be non-existent.
In the course of these tests we also investigated quebracho-fixed
nicotine and Genicide dusts, both of which were without effect in killing
the fly.
For field work Apothecaries Hall Company of Waterbury prepared
400 pounds of .5 percent rotenone dust (derris containing 4 percent, used
Control of the Apple Maggot 265
as a soui'ce of rotenone), to which was added 4 percent white lubricating
oil. The carrier was aluminum silicate, known as pyrophyllite. This
combination, exposed to bright sunhght (Table 12) in midsummer, retained
its effectiveness for 3 hours and for 5.5 hours during an overcast period.
Under shaded conditions it was also effective for that length of time. Just
how long it remains effective under orchard conditions, especially in the
shade, is uncertain.
Table 11. Laboratory Cage Tests With Rotenone Dusts to Show
Effect of Heat and Moisture in Destroying the
Rotenone or Other Active Principle
Egg punctures
Materials used Treatment after dusting Mortality per female
.5% rotenone 4% oU 3 days at 105° F. 30% RH.
.5% " 4% " 3 days at 105° F. 80% R.H.
.5%, " 4% " 3 days at 104-5° F. 70-80% R.H.
.6% " no " 5 days at 104-5° F. 70-80%, R.H.
.6% " no oili
.6% rotenone no oil
■6% " " "
.5% " —oil
.5% " —oil
Check — no treatment
' Sprayed lightly with water after dusting.
In the laboratory tests outlined in tables and text, apples were
dusted lightly with the insecticide, after which they were ex-posed to light
and hung in the cages with the adult flies. Apples unexposed to Hght
were hung in the cages directly after treatment. All cages were kept at
controlled temperatures and humidity (76° F. and 60 — 70% R. H.). FHes
of both sexes were used in each experiment, the number varying from 20
to 40 individuals.
In addition to laboratory test work, a careful field experiment was
made with the oil-impregnated dust mentioned above. The mixture was
applied with a power duster to Gravenstein, Delicious, and several other
varieties. Results were taken from Gravenstein only. Observations made
at frequent intervals after applications indicated rapid destruction of the
flies at first but their reappearance was noted after four or five days. The
same trees were treated with a similar dust in 1938 but, as already reported
(Conn. Agr. Expt. Sta. Rul. 428, p. 72), control was not entirely satisfactory
theu because of heavy rainfall at critical periods. The rotenone dust used
this year is believed to be superior to that used in 1938 because of its
property of settling rapidly on the trees and the fact that applications
could be made without excessive drift out of the orchard.
Samples were taken of drops and picked apples and both were held for
some time before cutting open in order to allow maggot eggs to hatch.
100%, in 3 days
0
100% in 3 days
0
100 %o in 4 days
0
100% in 7-8 days
0
100% in 6-7 days
0
100%o in 8 days
0
100%o in 4 days
0
100% in 3 days
0
100%, in 5 days
0
26% in 20 days
26
266
Connecticut Experiment Station
Bulletin 434
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Control of the Apple Maggot
267
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268 Conneclicut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
While the average for drops in this experiment is fairly high, it does not
appear to be higher than for Gravenstein fruit from nearby orchards
where trees were sprayed heavily with lead arsenate. Here the drop
fruits averaged 28 percent infested and the picked fruit 3 percent, indicating
about the same degree of control as obtained with rotenone dust. One
to two pounds of dust per tree per application was used, and the trees
were dusted each time from both sides. The program for dusted trees
is as follows:
(1) Dormant oils for aphis April 6 and 11
(2) Pink: Lime sulfur and 3 pounds lead arsenate plus spreader and
safener in 100 gallons May 8
(3) Calyx: Same as pink May 23
(4) First cover: Same as pink June 2
(5) First maggot: .5% rotenone-oil-pyiophyllite July 3
(6) 2nd maggot: " " " " July 11
(7) 3rd maggot: " " " " July 21
(8) 4th maggot: " " " " Aug. 2
The apples handled in this experiment were of especially fine quality,
beirig smooth, uniform, and of good color. The treatment did not control
European red mite and there was a bad infestation on some of the trees
included in the experiment. Results of the count at harvest are given in
Table 14. The samples of picked fruit were taken at random to a height
of about 9 feet from the ground. Drops were carefully sampled at random.
The crop was about the same size as last year.
Progress of the infestation in the test plots during two years of treat-
ment with rotenone dusts is shown in Table 15.
Conclusions
While it appears too early to make specific recommendations concern-
ing the use of rotenone insecticides for control of the apple maggot, it
would seem that such materials may have a place late in the season when
it is desirable to avoid poisonous residues. They will doubtless be more
successful in dry than in wet seasons, and it should be kept in mind that
combinations so far prepared lose their potency even in dry weather. They
are not known to last more than four or five days on the trees. The
extreme rapidity of kilhng action is in favor of rotenone dusts, as shown
by cage tests which frequently give 100 percent knockdowns in 24 hours.
Field observations indicate the same rapid destruction of flies in the
orchard. Flies coming from unsprayed trees outside the orchard still
remain a problem, but there is reason to beheve that the chance of elim-
inating late-comers with rotenone dusts is very good.
stickers for Standard Spray Mixtures
269
Table 14. Apple Maggot Control, 1939
Variety Gravenstein
No. apples
Number injured
Number
Percent
Tree
cut open
by maggots
questionable'
infested
PICKED
1
100
1 ■
4
2
100
2
2
3
100
0
3
4
181
2
1
5
100
3
0
6
100
2
0
7
100
6
0
781
16
DROPS
10
3.3
1
120
10
6
2
200
15
2
3
200
11
6
4
200
15
12
5
200
44
22
6
200
32
26
7
200
58
23
1,320
185
97
21.4
'Tunnels few and obscure, doubtfully produced by apple maggots.
T.\ble 15. Apple M.\ggot Control, 1938-1939
Variety Gravenstein
Treatment
Year
Kind of
fruit
Percent injured
by maggots
.5% rotenone dust 1938 Drops
4 applications 1938 Picked
.5% rotenone-oil- 1939 Drops
p^Tophyllite dust 1939 Picked
4 applications
37
16
21
3
CONTINUED STUDY OF STICKERS FOR
STANDARD SPRAY MIXTURES
Philip Gakman and C. E. Shepard
W/'ORK with Stickers for orchard sprays was continued in 1939. A series
" of plots was used in the Burton Orchard at Mount Carmel as well
as several rows at the Experiment Station farm. Work with "dynamite"
sticker was continued and a new material consisting of bentonite and
aluminum acetate was used for the first time. Aluminum acetate has
the property of waterproofing spray mixtures and seems to serve as a
safener as well as a sticker. Trees sprayed with aluminum acetate-lead
270 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
arsenate mixture retained practically all their foliage throughout the season.
Analysis of fruit at harvest showed considerable residue, especially where
July treatments were made, indicating good adhesion. No lime is required
in the mixture, aluminum acetate being safe on apple foliage. Further
work is planned with this material.
A series of oils, including soybean, Perilla, and fish oil, was compared
with aluminum sulfate and a commercial spreader and sticker. In these
tests, Table 16, the oils compared favorably, with a slight though probably
not significant advantage for Perilla oil. Aluminum sulfate, however,
equalled the adhesiveness of the oils for lime-lead arsenate combinations
and field observations indicated that it gives less foHage burn in hot
weather. A Perilla oil-wettable sulfur combination was also tried with
success on Delicious and Astrachan varieties but showed some tendency
to drop the foliage of Yellow Transparent. No russetting occurred on
apples sprayed with this combination.
A series of oil-sulfur combinations was tried on beans under glass,
and it was found that Perilla oil gave less injury than most others.
Table 16. Loss of Aksenic with Different Stickers
Dates of
Percentage lost
Sticker
experiment
AS2O3
Pb.
RainfaU
Perilla oil
June 8-
-Julys
72
62
4.09 inches
Fish oil
"
78
62
Soybean oil
"
79
69
Commercial spreader & sticker
"
83
74
Aliiminum sulfate
"
75
67
No sticker
"
86
75
Perilla oil
July 11-
-Aug. 11
35
39
2.14 inches
Fish oil
"
"
49
31
Soybean oil
"
"
40
43
Conmaercial spreader & sticker
"
"
62
51
Aluminum sulfate
"
"
39
28
No sticker
"
"
65
42
Spray formulae for 100 gallons:
Lime 10 lbs., lead arsenate 3 Ubs., plus one of the following stickers
Soybean oil 1 quart
Perilla oil
1 quart
Fish oil
1 quart
Aluminum sulfate
3 lbs.
Commercial spreader & sticker
1 pint
In this series other materials were also added in an attempt to reduce
injury, but without success. The quick-drying oils, such as hnseed oil
and Perilla oil, when combined with sulfur can apparently be used with
less danger of foliage burn than non-drying or semi-drying oils. Mineral
oils are especially bad in these combinations.
In the field tests, analyses by Mr. Shepard indicated that the arsenate
weathered from "dynamite"-sprayed trees at a somewhat slower rate
than lime-lead arsenate and Perilla oil, and it appeared possible to place
Stickers for Standard Spray Mixtures
271
a much heavier load of poison on the foliage and fruit at the time of
spraying.
Table 17 shows some of the results outUned above.
In these tests, moderately large Baldwin trees were sprayed with a
power sprayer, using about 450 pounds pressure and multiple nozzle rods.
Samples were taken at random by punching out 1 square centimeter discs
immediately after the spray apphcation. A similar sample was taken one
month later, the discs being taken from the same leaves and alongside the
holes punched when the first samples were taken.
A comparison of Perilla oil and "dynamite" stickers, as already
mentioned, was made on four Baldwin trees at the Experiment Station
Farm. The comparative losses at two different periods is as follows.
Table 17. Showing Loss of Arsenic Tbioxide and Lead From Trees
Sprayed with Lead Arsenate Plus "Dinaaute" Sticker,
AND Lead Arsenate, Lime and Perilla Oil
Figures are micrograms per 100 sq. cm. discs
Sticker
May 261
June 10'
Loss
% Loss
Rainfall
' Dynamite'
Loss of AsnOg in first experiment
Amount per 100 discs
1,649 1,195 454 27.5
1,482 932 550 37.1
.32 in.
Lime-Perilla oil
932
980
741
574
191
406
20.4
41.4
"Dynamite"
Loss of lead in
3,080 2,080
2,800 1,700
first experiment
1,000
1,100
32.1
39.2
.32 in.
Lime-PeriUa oil
1,860
1,760
1,200
800
660
400
35.4
22.7
Sticker
June 231
Aug. 31
Loss
% Loss
Rainfall
"Dynamite"
1,840
1,625
1,171
979
669
646
36.3
39.7
3.83 in.
Lime-PeriUa oil
1,028
884
550
478
478
406
46.4
45.9
"Dynamite"
Loss of lead in
3,720 2,390
3,310 1,955
second experiment
1,330 35.7
1,355 40.9
3.83 in.
Lime-PeriUa oil
1,028
884
550
478
478
406
46.5
45.9
' Dates of Etnalyses.
272 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
The figures above indicate fairly consistent losses both of lead and
arsenic in the second experiment but lack uniformity in the case of earlier
ones. This may be due to inability to obtain an even cover with the earlier
treatment. In the second experiment 10 days elapsed between the spray
application and first sampling. This probably produced a more even
coating than would have been obtained had the sample been taken imme-
diately. It will be noted that the amount of both arsenic and lead was
much heavier throughout the season on the "dynamite" trees and also
the percentage lost between June 23 and August 3 was appreciably less.
These facts are reflected in the amount of good fruit at harvest which
was nearly 12 percent more on the "dynamite" trees. However, curculio
control, Table; 18, was only slightly better than on the lime-oil trees, and
the difference cannot be considered significant. The main advantage
apparently lies in control of such insects as the red-banded leaf roller
and others, which accounted for a large part of the difference between the
two. As outlined in the 1938 report, better than 90 percent clean fruit
was obtained with two sprays of lime-lead arsenate and two of "dynamite"-
lead arsenate. The amount of lead arsenate on the fruit in 1938 was con-
sidered high, even with the last application as early as June 13. This year,
with only three lead arsenate sprays (pink, lead arsenate-oil ; calyx and
first cover, "dynamite"-lead arsenate) and the last application June 10,
there appeared to be no residue problem on Baldwins at harvest. The
gap between calyx and first cover sprays was probably too great this year
for successful curculio control, though similar conditions prevailed in other
orchards where a closer schedule was followed.
Table 18. Harvest Examination of Fruit Sprayed with " Dynamite"
Sticker and Lime-Lead Arsenate-Perilla Oil
Total exam. % good % curculio
Lead arsenate and " dynamite " Sticker 1,225 75.8 16.3
Lead arsenate, lime, and Perilla oil 758 63.9 17.1
EXPERIMENTS WITH MANGANESE SULFATE AS SAFENER FOR
LIME SULFUR-LEAD ARSENATE SPRAY MIXTURES
Philip Garman
'C'OLLGwiNG the introduction of "catalytic" safeners for preventing the
well known reaction between lime sulfur and arsenate of lead, experi-
ments were begmi in 1937 to determine the possibilities of obtaining a
cheap and efficient fungicide-insecticide for summer use on apples — ^and
one reasonably free of spray burn. It is understood that the fungicide
requirements of some varieties or strains are much less than of others.
Mere reduction of lime sulfur content of the spray, however, does not
always reduce spray burn but may even increase it.
The original catalytic safeners contained manganese sulfate, a buffer
agent, and some sulfur. Laboratory work with a number of products indicat-
ed that one-half pound of soybean flour in 100 gallons was sufficient to
Com Borer Insecticide Investigations 273
afford ample buffer action. Among manganese sulfates used were a
number of fertilizer grades as well as the anhydrous products. Some of
the fertilizer grades were entirely satisfactory, while one grade containing
10 percent ammonium nitrate served fairly well in orchard tests. The
problem then considered was exactly how much manganese sulfate was
needed. In the original products, the amount of the manganese sulfate
recommended per 100 gallons varied from 4 to 6 ounces. This amount
apparently so reduces the fungicidal value of lime sulfur that additional
sulfur is needed. It was believed that the manganese sulfate could be
cut down to a point where the fungicidal value of lime sulfui' would not
be impaired and at the same time provide protection from spray bm'n.
Experiments in 1938 on orchard trees indicated that homemade mixtures
of soybean flour and manganese sulfate were equal to commercial products.
Hence, in 1939, reduction of manganese sulfate was begun, using 2 ounces
per 100 gallons with 2 gallons of hme sulfur, and 1 ounce per 100 where 1
gallon was used. These tests were satisfactory on Mcintosh during 1939,
where the trees were heavily sprayed from both sides. They were also
satisfactory for Gravensteins. During 1938, with a more difficult situation
from the disease standpoint and larger amounts of manganese sulfate in
the mixtures, results were not satisfactory. It is believed that a cheap
and suitable spray can be devised containing lime sulfur, manganese
sulfate and the usual amount of lead arsenate, but further tests are neces-
sary to demonstrate its efficiency in moist weather. Apparently these
sprays must be heavily applied both inside and outside the tree.
CORN BORER INSECTICIDE INVESTIGATIONS ^
Neely Turner
"poR the second successive year insecticidal experiments for control of
■*■ the Emopean corn borer in Connecticut were made to determine the
possibility of modifying the standard schedule by eliminating at least one
treatment. Marcross corn was planted April 24; corn borer eggs were
fomid May 31 and larvae hatched on June 5. The standard schedule was
staited June 7, with further applications June 12, 17 and 22. Commercial
dual-fixed nicotine dust (3.75 percent nicotine) was used in hand dusters.
The plots were four rows wide and 20 feet long, with each treatment
applied on six plots repHcated at random. The season was dry and only
one rain, on June 14, interfered with the schedule. Results were obtained
on July 17 by dissecting 10 stalks taken at random from each plot. One
hundred plants from mitreated plots contained 1,033 larvae. The results
are summarized in Table 19.
Applications three days apart were more effective than at longer
intervals. There was little difference between dusts applied at four-,
five- and six-day intervals. Treatment at weekly intervals was less
effective, however. The modified schedules of two and three treatments
were not as effective as the standard.
' Tests conducted in cc-operation with the Federal Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine,
Division of Cereal and Forage Insects.
274
Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Table 19. Schedule Tests, First Generation
Applications
Dates (June
!)
% reduction
of borers
% No. 1 borer-
free ears
1.
Three-day intervals
7, 10, 13, 16,
19,22
75.3
52.6
2.
Four-day intervals
7, 11, 15, 19,
23
65.7
46.0
3.
Five-day intervals
(standard)
7, 12, 17, 22
62.4
48.5
4.
Six-day intervals
7, 13, 19, 26
62.4
49.6
5.
Seven-day intervals
7, 14, 21
61.5
41.1
6.
Three treatments, starting
later than standard
9, 14, 19
49.2
31.1
7.
Three — ^first standard
omitted
12, 17, 22
54.7
35.4
8.
Two treatments — early
7, 14
45.2
26.8
9.
Two treatments — late
12, 19
43.9
27.4
10.
No treatment
13.2
Second generation tests were made on Golden Cross Bantam corn
planted June 21 and maturing September 6. The plot layout was similar
to that used in the first generation. The standard schedule was determined
as August 7, 12, 17, 22 and 27. Rainfall was below normal during the
month and did not interfere seriously with the schedule. However, the
three applications were subjected to 1.05 inches of rain in six showers
between the time the schedule was completed and samples were taken.
The results are given in Table 20. There were 932 larvae in 100 plants
from untreated plots.
Table 20. Schedule Tests, Second Generation
Applications
Dates (August)
% reduction
of borers
% No. 1 borer-
free ears
1.
Standard
7, 12, 17, 22, 27
58.5
48.5
2.
Fom- — 7-day intervals
7, 14, 21, 28
56.7
45.9
3.
Four — first standard
omitted
12, 17, 22, 27
54.9
42.4
4.
Fom- at weekly intervals
starting late
12, 19, 26, Sept. 2
47.9
46.7
5.
Three at weekly intervals
starting early
7, 14, 21
49.5
35.2
6.
No treatment
19.3
None of the modified schedules was as effective as the standard. This
type of test has now been made on four generations in two seasons. The
58.5
53.8
48.9
40.0
16.7
Corn Borers and Potato Yield 275
only modification that seems promising is the use of treatments at seven-
day intervals, thereby eliminating one application from the standard
schedule.
Two tests were made comparing a dual-fixed nicotine dust in which
quebracho tannin replaced gallo-tannin, with the standard dust containing
gallo-tannin. In both tests the materials were equally effective.
In one test, hand application of dual-fixed nicotine dust was compared
with machine appUcation. The power duster was a commercial machine
pushed by hand and fitted with four nozzles. Two of these were directed
on each row of corn. The results are summarized below, and show
that hand dusting was more effective than machine applications.
Comparison of Hand and Machine Dusting
% reduction % No. 1 borer-
Treatment of borers free ears
Hand
Machine
No treatment
The 1939 tests were substantially Icls effective than similar treatments
made in 1938. Two facts may contribute to the differences: (1) The
1939 season was dry and in general unfavorable for dusting; and (2) the
infestation was heavier in 1939. Regardless of the reasons, the decrease
in effectiveness was serious, averaging about 20 percent on the basis of
No. 1 borer-free ears.
Three tests were made in commercial cornfields. Two of these were
reasonably successful but the third was not satisfactory because many
borers had hatched before dusting was started.
EFFECT OF CORN BORERS ON POTATO YIELD
R. L. Beard
TN AN effort to determine the economic loss incurred by infestation of
■*■ the European corn borer on potatoes, crop yields for infested and non-
infested plants were considered.
Two rows of early market (Irish Cobbler) potatoes were grown for
this experiment. To insure as near uniform cultural conditions as possible,
paired seed pieces were used, that is, for each hill in one row, a correspond-
ing hill in the other row was planted with seed cut from the same potato.
Although the Colorado potato beetle caused injury in both rows, no
definite control measures were employed against it. Feeding practically
ceased, however, when the first application of Bordeaux mixture was
applied. The usual practice of keeping the plants covered with Bordeaux
was followed, requiring four treatments. As far as could be observed, fhe
presence of Bordeaux had no effect on the corn borer infestation.
276 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
To prevent a natural infestation of corn borers in one row of the
potatoes, all plants were examined five times at five-day intervals during
the oviposition period of the moth. Wherever found, corn borer eggs
were removed. Since the natural infestation was not heavy, it was artifi-
cially increased on the second row. This was done by placing on each hill
a total of four egg-masses in addition to those already present. Although
counts were not made of the eggs placed on each plant, the number approx-
imated 100. Since these were almost on the point of hatching, a maximum
infestation should have been attained. Larval mortality is known to be
high, however, and the number reaching maturity in the potato stalks
was small. Dissections of the plants were not made until the potatoes
were dug and by that time the dried condition of the stems and the migra-
tion of the larvae made an accurate count of the population of mature
larvae impossible. Nevertheless, the maximum number of larvae and/or
pupae observed per hill was nine, the average number being 2.4.
The egg-masses on half of the plants were placed at a low level, near
the base, whereas the others were placed on the terminal stems of the
plants. No difference in infestation was observed which could be attributed
to the position of the egg-masses.
A certain amount of migration of corn borer larvae occurred from
the infested row to the non-infested row, but not enough to invalidate the
experiment.
The potatoes were dug on August 11, the yield being as follows:
Infested row 164 potatoes weighing 55 lbs. 7 oz.
Non-infested row 191 potatoes weighing 54 lbs. 11 oz.
These figures indicate that the non-infested row produced more
potatoes, but they were smaller judging by weight. Both rows gave yields
of almost identically the same weight, which should be the basis of com-
parison. The size of the plots was much too small to consider the yield
in terms of bushels per acre.
The same procedure was followed on two rows of late (Green Moun-
tain) potatoes, which are susceptible to attack by the second generation of
the corn borer. But in spite of the fact that, as before, four egg-masses
were placed on each hill in one row, in addition to the natural infestation,
so few of the larvae penetrated the plant tissues that the "infested" row
contained no more borers than the non-infested row.
The conclusion to be drawn from the experiment on the early potatoes
is that an infestation of the European corn borer has no signiticant effect
on yield. This is in line with observations made at the Station's experi-
mental farm at Mount Carmel in 1937 by K. D. Arbuthnot, of the Bu-
reau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, of the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture. It is not possible to confirm these experimental results by observa-
tions in commercial potato fields because of the absence of borer-free
check areas witliin an infested field. It has been observed, howcA^er, that
very good yields of potatoes have beenjobtained from fields with infestations
which would be considered severe.
Experiments on the Potato Flea Beetle 277
BIOLOGY AND CONTROL OF THE POTATO FLEA BEETLE
Neely Turner
'T'HE potato flea beetle (Epitrix cucumeris Harris) has been a serious pest
•*■ of potatoes in Connecticut for many years. It also damages newly set
plants of tomatoes and eggplants, and has been seen in injurious numbers
on cucumbers and garden beans. As a rule feeding on these plants and
seedlings ceases early in the season. Potatoes, however, suff"er throughout
the season from feeding on the foliage, and in addition the larvae occa-
sionally infest the tubers. In Connecticut "pimply" tubers occur chiefly
on early (Irish Cobbler) crops. In 1933, 60 acres of Irish Cobblers growing
on light, sandy soil were seriously damaged by larvae.
The biology and control of the potato flea beetle was studied during
the period 1931-1937 inclusive. Most of the work on control was done
on potatoes, with a few tests on newly set tomato plants.
Seasonal Life History
Over-wintering adults have appeared usually during the last week in
May. At that time they have been found feeding on weeds, but as soon
as potatoes sprout and tomatoes are set in the field, they migrate to these
crops. Eggs are deposited on the surface of the ground around potato
plants from late in May until early in July. The larvae feed on the roots of
the host plant and sometimes on the yonng tubers. Pupation occurs from
late in June until late in Angust and emergence from July until late August.
Lacroix (5) found that the peak of emergence of adults in Windsor was
about the middle of July.
Life History Studies
Eggs obtained in oviposition cages in the insectary hatched in from
six to nine days, the majority hatching in se\ endays. The pupal period was
also from six to nine days. On potted plants in an open insectary the
total period of development from egg to adult was from 38 to 81 days,
with 95 percent requiring from 41 to 55 days.
All the data obtained in both seasonal and life history studies indicate
that there is only one complete generation of the potato flea beetle in
Connecticut.
Control
Fitch (2) in 1867 suggested the use of inert dusts, such as road dust
and lime, as repellents for the potato flea beetle. In 1894 Jones (4) dis-
covered that Bordeaux mixture was an excellent repellent, and since his
work was published this material has been the standard. In recent years
various workers have conducted experiments in which arsenicals were
added to Bordeaux mixture.
In Connecticut there are really four problems involved in controlhng
the potato flea beetle: (a) prevention of damage to tobacco, (b) protec-
tion of seedling vegetables and newly set vegetable plants, (c) control of
both adults and larvae on early potatoes, and (d) protection of late pota-
toes from feeding by adults. Lacroix (6) has reported on the results of
experiments on tobacco.
278 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Experiments on vegetable plants. Britton (1) found that tobacco
plants could be protected from flea beetles by dipping them in a sus-
pension of arsenate of lead at the rate of one pound in 10 gallons of water.
In 1932 tomato plants were dipped in such a mixture, and a second lot
dipped in a suspension of one pound barium fluosilicate in 20 gallons of
water. Neither treatment was satisfactory. In 1934 a dust of barium
fluosilicate, one pound, and lime, 3 pounds, was applied to tomato plants
three times at weekly intervals starting June 6. There was much less
injury to dusted foliage than to untreated plants. In 1936 and 1937 dust
containing .75 percent rotenone (pure ground cube root mixed with a clay
carrier) was used in the same manner. It was moderately effective.
Experiments on early potatoes. Experiments conducted by
R. B. Friend in 1928 had shown that arsenate of lead at the rate of 1.5
pounds in 50 gallons of water with one pint of fish oil, was effective in
preventing damage by potato flea beetles (unpublished data). Accordingly
this material was used in comparison with 4-4-50 Bordeaux mixture in
both laboratory and field tests. The following season a dust containing
barium fluosilicate, one pound, and hydrated lime, 5 pounds, was tested
in the laboratory. The laboratory tests were made by spraying or dusting
potted potato plants and caging them with a counted number of flea
beetle adults. Results were taken in six days. The tests are summarized
in Table 21, and show that Bordeaux mixture protected the foliage but
did not kill many flea beetles.
Table 21. Laboratory Tests- — Potato Flea Beetle
Percent No. feeding
Year Material beetles dead marks on one leaf
1932 Lead arsenate 1.5 lbs., fish oil 1 pint, water
50 gals.
Calcium arsenate 1.5 lbs., fish oil 1 pint,
water 50 gals.
Barium fluosilicate 1.5 lbs., fish oil 1 pint,
water 50 gals.
Bordeaux mixture 4-4-50
No treatment
1933 Lead arsenate 1.5 lbs., fish oil 1 pint, water
50 gals.
Bordeaux mixture 5-6-50
Barium fluosilicate 1 lb., lime 5 lbs. (dust)
Field tests on Irish Cobbler potatoes were made in 1932, 1933 and
1934. All tests were made on latin square blocks of plots, each plot being
5 rows wide and 16 feet long. The following is the record of the experi-
ments:
33
183
27
141
74
49
0
50
0
510
15
26
89
Experiments on the Potato Flea Beetle 279
Year Date planted Dates sprayed Dates harvested
1932 May 2 June 2, 10 & 20 Aug. 8 & 9
1933 May 1 May 26, June 5 & 14, July 1 Aug. 3 & 4
1934 May 2 June 5, 11 & 28, July 9 ' Aug. 6 & 7
The materials used are given in Table 22. The barium fluosilicate
was a commercial preparation {Duiox) said to contain 80 percent barium
fluosilicate.
Table 22. Materials Used — Field Tests on E.vrly Potatoes
Materials Years applied
1. Lead arsenate 1.5 lbs., fish oil 1 pint, water 50 gals. 1932, 1933, 1934
2. Calcium arsenate 1.5 lbs., fish oil 1 pint*, water 50 gals. 1932, 1933
3. Barium fluosilicate 1.5 lbs., fish oil 1 pint*, water 50 gals. 1932, 1933
4. Bordeaux mixture 4-4-50 1932, 1933, 1934
5. Barium fluosilicate 1 lb., Ume 3 lbs. (dust) 1934
* Fish oil omitted in 1933.
Notes on the condition of plants treated with the various materials
were made from time to time during the season. As a rule there was not
a great deal of difference in the appearance of the plants until leaf hoppers
appeared and caused tipburn. When this occurred those sprayed with
Bordeaux mixture were in the best condition, with lead arsenate and fish
oil a close second. Plants treated with barium fluosiUcate as a spray
looked much like the untreated plants, and calcium arsenate produced
results intermediate between untreated and Bordeaux-treated plants.
Likewise those plants treated with barium fluosilicate and calcium arsenate
died at the same time as the untreated plants, those sprayed with lead
arsenate a few days later, and finally those treated with Bordeaux mixture.
In all three seasons the plants treated with Bordeaux mixture died at least
10 days after those sprayed with lead arsenate and fish oil.
The final criterion of results, the yield of potatoes, was obtained by
weighing the marketable tubers by rows or plots at digging time. These
results are given in Table 23, in which the average yield per 16-foot row
is the miit.
Table 23.
Average Yield
PER
16-
■FOOT
Row-
— Potato Flea Beetle Control
lent
Year
Treatn
1932
1933
1934
Sprays
Lead arsenate— fish oil 9.26 17.38 14.75
Bordeaux mixture 8.10 16.97 14.28
Calcium arsenate 7.28 14.52
Bariiun fluosihcate 7.04 13.67 ....
Untreated check 7.06 14.79 9.77
Dust
Barium fluosilicate 12.44
280 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
The dilTerence between both lead arsenate and Bordeaux mixture
yields and the untreated check is significant statistically. However, the
slight difference in favor of lead arsenate and fish oil over Bordeaux
mixture is not significant. Barium fluosilicate dust was used only one
season and was not as effective as the two best spray materials.
Irish Cobbler potatoes are grown in two different sections of Con-
necticut. In the southern part of the State they are planted early on light,
sandy soil and are harvested as early as possible. In the northern section
they are grown on heavier soil as an early fall crop, with no particular
effort to sell on the early market. As a rule the southern growers dust the
crop and the others spray. After completion of these tests one grower
in Milford used the barium fluosilicate dust compared with copper-lime
dust which had been his standard treatment. The barium fluosilicate
dust produced such excellent results that he has adopted it for his entire
crop of early potatoes.
As was noted above, vines sprayed with lead arsenate and fish oil
matured much earlier than those sprayed with Bordeaux mixture, and
the yields were about equal. As a rule, the price of potatoes declines
steadily from July 1 until late potatoes are harvested. Early maturity
is an. advantage in this case and therefore lead arsenate and fish oil should
be a more satisfactory spray material than standard Bordeaux mixture.
Experiments on late potatoes. Green Mountain potatoes planted
about May 15 and harvested late in September were used in tests in 1933,
1934 and 1936. The plots were random replicates of various sizes. The
materials and results of the 1933 tests are listed in Table 24. It was evident
that the materials which were so effective on early potatoes were not
satisfactory on the late crop. This was due to the fact that neither of the
new materials controlled leafhoppers. Bordeaux mixture did control leaf-
hoppers, and was also repellent to flea beetles.
In the same year another test, similar in nature, was made at the
Windsor Substation. The results are summarized in Table 25. Here the
application of both lead arsenate and fish oil and barium fluosilicate dust
increased the yield, but neither was as satisfactory as Bordeaux mixture.
Since Bordeaux mixture was a repellent, it was believed necessary to
supplement it with some insecticide which would actually kill the flea
beetles. The work of Gui (3) had shown that calcium arsenate added to
Bordeaux mixture increased its effectiveness in preventing damage by
the potato flea beetle. Therefore this combination was included in the
1934 tests.
Table 24. 1933 Tests on Late Potatoes
Material
Applied
Yield per plot
Bordeaux mixture 4-4-50
June 5, 14
July 19, 29
Aug. 7, 15
135.5 lbs.
Lead arsenate 1.5 lbs., fish oil 1 pint, water 50
gals.
Same
59.0 lbs.
Barium fluosilicate 1 lb., hydrated Ume 3 lbs.
(dust)
June 5, 14
July 22, 31
Aug. 8, 15
77.7 lbs.
No treatment
60.5 lbs.
Experiments on the Potato Flea Beetle
Table 25. 1933 Tests on Potatoes — Windsor
281
Material
Applied
Yield per 100
feet of row
Bordeaux mixture 8-8-50
May 29
June 8, 19, 30
July 8, 18
Aug. 18
175.5 lbs.
Bordeaux mixture 4-4-50
Same
165.0 lbs.
Lead arsenate 1.5 lbs., fish oil 1 pint, water 50
gals.
Same — except
Aug. 18
98.0 lbs.
Barium fluosiUcate 1 lb., lime 3 lbs. (dust)
Same — except
Aug. 18
94.0 lbs.
No treatment
76.5 lbs.
At the same time barium fluosilicate dust was used for two June applica-
tions and followed by Bordeaux mixture during July, August and Sep-
tember. The results are given in Table 26.
Table 26. 1934 Tests on Green Mountain Potatoes
Material
Applied
Total yield
of plots
Bordeaux mixture 6-6-50
Bordeaux mixture 6-6-50, calcium arsenate
1.5 lbs.— 50 gals.
Barium fluosilicate 1 lb., lime 3 lbs.
followed by Bordeaux mixture 6-6-50
No treatment
9 times, June 11
to Sept. 14
870 lbs,
Same
749 lbs.
7 times, July 2
to Sept. 14 '
917 lbs.
389 lbs.
In this test the addition of calcium arsenate to Bordeaux mixture was of
no value. The combination of dusts and sprays produced excellent results,
and was therefore repeated in 1935 and 1936. The results are given in
Table 27. In both seasons the combination of dusts followed by Bordeaux
mixture produced excellent results, but there was some indication that
delayed application of spray was just as effective as the combination or
spraying throughout the season.
This project was temporarily discontinued due to the necessity for
intensive research on control of the European corn borer. Following publi-
cation of results of control experiments for the potato flea beetle on tobacco
(6), several tobacco growers who also produced potatoes adopted a com-
bination dusting and spraying program for potatoes. This consisted in
the application of a dust containing from .75 percent to 1.0 percent rotenone
282 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
to potatoes, at least two days before application of Bordeaux mixture
spray. The dust was highly effective in killing flea beetles, and therefore
prevented migration of beetles from potatoes to tobacco following applica-
tion of Bordeaux mixture. The expense of the operation was justified by
the protection of the tobacco crop rather than by any increase in yield of
potatoes.
Table 27. Tests on Green Mountain Potatoes
Yield, bushels
Material Applied per acre
1935
Bordeaux mixture 6-6-50
Barium fluosilicate 1 lb., lime 3 lbs.,
followed by Bordeaux mixture 6-6-50
Bordeaux mixture 6-6-50
No treatment
1936
Bordeaux mixture 6-6-50
Barium fluosilicate 1 lb., lime 3 lbs.,
followed by Bordeaux mixture 6-6-50
Bordeaux mixture 6-6-50
No treatment
The possibilities of combination dust and spray treatments or of two
types of sprays have not been exhausted. It seems logical to attempt to
kill overwintering adults of the potato flea beetle during June in order
to avoid large populations in July and August.
Summary
The potato flea beetle overwinters in the adult stage, depositing eggs
in June and July, Adults emerge from July until September. There is
one complete generation a year in Connecticut,
Seedling and newly set vegetable plants may be protected from flea
beetle damage by a dust containing at least .75 percent rotenone.
On early (Irish Cobbler) potatoes a dust containing one pound barium
fluosihcate and 3 pounds hydrated hme, or a spray containing 1.5 pounds
arsenate of lead and one pint fish oil in 50 gallons of water, were most
satisfactory.
On late potatoes (Green Mountain) Bordeaux mixture was necessary
for control of leafhoppers. Addition of calcium arsenate was apparently
of no value. A combination of dusting and spraying was tested with
inconclusive results as regards yield.
7 times, June 13
to Aug. 15
217
4 times, July 11
to Aug. 15
212
4 times, July 11
to Aug. 15
223
134
7 times, June 11
to Aug. 8
214
June 11
4 times, July 8
to Aug. 9
213
4 times, July 8
to Aug. 9
191
152
Wireworm Injury to Potatoes 283
Literature Cited
(1) Britton, W. E., 1907: "Insect Enemies of the Tobacco Crop in Connecticut."
6th Kept. State Ent. of Conn.
(2) Fitch, A., 1867: 11th Kept. Insects of New York.
(3) Gui, H. L., 1932: "Control of Potato Flea Beetle on Potatoes." In 50th Annual
Kept. Ohio Agr. Expt. Sta. Ohio Agr. Expt. Sta., Bui. 497.
(4) Jones, L. R., 1894: "Spraying Potatoes." Vermont Agr. Expt. Sta., Bui. 40.
(5) Lacroix, D. S., 1932: "Tobacco Insects in 1931." Conn. Agr. Expt. Sta., Bui.
335.
(6j • — 1935: "Insect Pests of Growing Tobacco in Connecticut." Corm. Agr.
Expt. Sta., Bui. 379.
SURVEY OF WIREWORM INJURY TO POTATOES
R. L. Beard
■fN October, 1939, a preliminary survey of wireworm injury was n
•^ in 17 fields of potatoes, chiefly in Tolland County. In each field the ex
made
extent
of wireworm feeding was estimated, soil samples were taken, and the
history of the field insofar as possible was recorded.
A satisfactory estimate of wireworm injury to potatoes is difficult to
obtain. An estimate based on reports of growers at time of grading is
not reliable because of the personal factor involved. Moreover, since the
potatoes are not thoroughly cleaned prior to grading, many with superficial
feeding scars are overlooked by even the most conscientious graders and
will not be noticed by the buyer. This means that the number of potatoes
culled because of wireworms is much smaller than the number actually
scarred.
In the present survey, the estimate was made by individually brushing
and examining several hmidred potatoes in each field. All those showing
any evidence of wireworm feeding, however superficial, were noted as
being infested. This method, too, has its disadvantages. The samphng
is time consuming, and since the potato digging is done in a short time,
a relatively small number of potatoes can be examined. Even 500 is a
very small sample in a field several acres in extent which may yield in
excess of 400 bushels per acre. Also, it is difficult to sample the field in a
random manner. As potatoes are harvested, the picking crew follows so
closely behind the digger that the area of samphng at any one time is
limited. Thus, unless considerable time is spent in each location, the
entire field cannot be sampled. In recording the samples, units of 100
potatoes were considered. The fact that within a field the infestation in
each unit did not vary greatly from the others indicates that in spite of
the small size of the sample, a representative estimate was obtained.
The percentage of potatoes showing evidence of wireworm feeding,
together with the type of crop grown in each field in previous years, is
here tabulated.
284 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Table 28. Location, Previous Crop and Wireworm Infestation
Number
of
field
Location
%of
potatoes
infested
1935
Crop grown on la
1936 1937
nd
1938
1939
1
E. Windsor
2.3
Tobacco .
25 years ....
Potatoes
2
S. Windsor
4.0
Tobacco .
Potatoes
3
Somers
8.7
Potatoes
Potatoes
Tobacco
Potatoes
4
Somers
9.6
Tobacco
Potatoes
Potatoes
Potatoes
5
Ellington
13.3
Corn and grass
Potatoes
Potatoes
Potatoes
6
Somers
14.6
Corn or
tobacco
Clover sod
Potatoes
7
Ellington
18.0
Potatoes
Clover
Potatoes
Potatoes
8
Ellington
21.0
Potatoes
Tobacco
Potatoes
Potatoes
Potatoes
9
Ellington
22.2
Potatoes
Potatoes
Potatoes
Potatoes
10
E. Windsor
23.5
Potatoes .
9 years
11
Somers
25.7
Timothy and clover
Potatoes
12
Somers
27.0
Potatoes
Clover
Clover
Potatoes
Potatoes
13
Somers
31.2
Potatoes
Potatoes
Potatoes
Potatoes
Potatoes
14
Somers
32.3
Potatoes
Tobacco
Tobacco
Potatoes
15
S. Windsor
33.2
Potatoes .
8 years
16
Somers
38.0
Weeds
Weeds
Weeds
Weeds
Potatoes
17
Ellington
66.6
Corn and grass
Potatoes
Potatoes
Potatoes
In line with the belief that continued clean cultivation of the land
results in an absence of wireworms, the two fields showing least injury
had been planted to tobacco for many years prior to 1939. On the other
hand, continued planting of land to potatoes, which are considered a
cleanly cultivated crop, does not bear this out, so far as the present evidence
shows. Otherwise, no conclusions can be drawn from these data relative
to the type of crop rotation unfavorable to the wireworm population. Of
course, strict comparisons of the fields are not possible because neither
the wireworm populations nor the degrees of infestation are known for
previous years. As far as can be judged from the statements of potato
growers, wireworm injury in 1939 was less than in preceding seasons.
Soil samples were taken from each field and analyzed by the Soils
Department of the Experiment Station. No correlation could be observed
between the wireworm injury and the physical and chemical nature of the
soil.
Control of Squash Insects 285
CONTROL OF SQUASH INSECTS
R. L. Beard
Summer Squash
'X'HE CHIEF insects causing damage to summer squash are the striped
■'■ cucumber beetle (Diabrotica rittata), the squash vine borer (Meliitia
satyriniformis), and the common squash bug (Anasa tristis).
The cucumber beetle appears in numbers early in June, and young
squash plants, if not given protection at this time, may be completely
destroyed. Later in the season the beetles, though present, are less
abmidant, and the squash plants, because of their larger size and greater
vigor, are better able to resist the feeding injury. The larvae feed on the
roots of the plants and the beetle is instrumental in transmitting the
bacterium Bacillus Iracheiphilus, which is responsible for wilt disease.
Many dusts are in common use against the beetle, but most of these have
only a repellent action. A derris dust containing .6 percent rotenone is
to be recommended over other treatments, for this material serves not
only as a repellent, but as both a stomach and a contact poison.
The adult moth of the squash vine borer is in flight during the month
of July and eggs are deposited on the basal portions of the squash stems.
The borers which hatch from these eggs tunnel into the stems and are
frequently responsible for the sudden wilting of an entire plant. On
Hubbard squash, nicotine sulfate and lead arsenate have both been
employed successfully against the insect, but these insecticides are not
desirable for summer squash because of poisonous residues on the fruit.
The squash bug begins to lay eggs the middle of June and, although
it continues into September, about 80 percent of the oviposition is com-
pleted by mid-July. The young nymphs feed on the leaves and stems of
the plants, causing localized injury. Severe injury is seldom caused by
the bug except in conjunction with other insects. Although a very con-
centrated pyrethrum (Pyrocide) dust or spray is effective, the spray is too
inconvenient to prepare and the dust is too expensive for common use in
controlling the bug.
Thus, although the chemical control of the cucumber beetle is efficient,
that of the squash vine borer and the squash bug is not. It is possible,
however, to avoid economic loss due to these last two insects by planting
two crops of squash in sequence. The time of the plantings should be
such that the first crop, receiving the bulk of the infestation, can be
destroyed when the second comes into bearing.
During the summer of 1939 this method was demonstrated to be
satisfactory. The first planting of squash was made on May 8. This came
into bearing the latter part of June, and a prolific yield was maintained
throughout July. By the middle of July squash vine borer injury began
to appear, and by August production of squash began to taper off. This
curtailment was due to no single factor, but to a combination of dry
weather, damage caused by the above mentioned insects, powdery mildew,
and a leaf spot disease. Two planting dates were tried for the second
crop, namely, June 28 and July 5. The latter date proved to be some-
what more satisfactory. Squash from this planting was picked within
286 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
four days of that from the June 28 planting, and there was less insect
damage.
Since the heaviest attack of both the squash bug and vine borer
occurs before the middle of July and is directed against the larger plants,
only the first crop of squash was severely infested. The squash bug con-
fined its activities to this crop, and the vine borer caused only a negligible
amount of injury to the June 28 planting of the second crop.
Not only was the second crop of squash free from insect trouble, but
it assured a continued production of squash of good quahty. At the time
it came into bearing (the second week in August), the old vines of the
first planting were coarse and unhealthy, and the fruit, maturing slowly,
had a tough appearance. The new plants, on the other hand, were vigorous,
clean in appearance, and bore an abundance of tender fruit. Production
was curtailed prematurely in September by a severe attack of powdery
mildew.
Undoubtedly the optimum planting date for the second crop of squash
would vary from year to year with changing weather conditions, but,
considering the life histories of the insects in question, July 1 is recom-
mended. This is late enough to preclude the possibility of the young
plants attracting an appreciable number of insects from the first planting,
and yet early enough for the plants to mature and bear fruit unless the
weather conditions are extremely unfavorable.
As soon as the second crop of squash begins to bear, the old vines of
the first planting should be destroyed to reduce the insect population.
Hubbard Squash
The insect most destructive to Hubbard squash is the squash vine
borer. The cucumber beetle attacks young plants in numbers, but can
be controlled easily by dusting, as on summer squash. The squash bug is
usually not present on Hubbard squash in sufficient numbers to cause
damage.
It has been shown by Friend (Conn. Agr. Expt. Sta., Bui. 328) that
good results in controlling the squash vine borer can be obtained by using
nicotine sulfate to kill the eggs or by spraying with lead arsenate and fish
oil to kill the young larvae before they enter the stems. The number
of inquiries concerning this insect, however, has seemed to justify a further
consideration of the problem. Accordingly, in 1939 insecticide experiments
were conducted on a small scale.
The treatments employed included lead arsenate and fish oil. Western
dynamite spray, and dual-fixed nicotine dust. The Western dynamite
spray is lead arsenate prepared as an inverted emulsion with oleic acid and
triethanolamine. The lead arsenate in both this spray and with the fish
oil was used at the rate of 3 pounds per 100 gallons of water. The dual-
fixed nicotine is a dust now in use in controlling the European corn borer.
All of these insecticides act as stomach poisons, and to be effective must
be present on the stem of the plant at the time the larvae bore their way
into the tissue. Since eggs of the vine borer are deposited the last of June
and through the month of July, four applications were made at weekly
Effect of Salt Water Spray on Foliage 287
intervals, beginning on July 3. At the end of the growing season, all of the
squash produced was picked and weighed, with the following results in
yield:
Average no. Average no.
No. of hills squash per hill lbs. per hill
Check 8 2.1 6.6
Lead arsenate, fish oil 10 3.4 13.6
Western dynamite spray 8 3.3 14.3
Dual-fixed nicotine dust 8 3.8 14.6
Although a satisfactory evaluation of the treatments cannot be made
because of the small size of the plots, all of the treatments resulted in a
significant increase in yield over the untreated check plot. The favorable
showing of the dual-fixed nicotine dust is promising in view of the greater
ease of application of a dust as compared with a spray. The experiment
should be repeated, utilizing larger plots, before a definite recommenda-
tion of this dust is made.
FURTHER OBSERVATIONS OF THE EFFECT OF
SALT WATER SPRAY ON FOLIAGE
M. P. Zappe and E. M. Stoddard 1
nnuE original observations on salt water spray injury were made shortly
•*■ after the tropical hurricane which struck New England on September 21,
1938 (Report of the State Entomologist for 1938, p. 103). The informa-
tion in the present article is based on observations of the same plants
during the summer and fall of 1939. Some of the evergreens had made a
fair recovery, while others were dead or so badly injured that it was not
worthwhile to attempt to grow them for several years in the hope that
they would eventually recover. In most cases the most rapidly growing
evergreens or the smaller plants made the best recovery, although the
smaller plants of hemlock and Chamaecvparis were almost completely
killed in the fall of 1938.
In the following table, salt water spray damage was classified into
one of the following grades :
"none"^ — no visible injui'y was noted.
"slight" — damage was noticeable but not serious, and plants stood
the injury fairly well.
"medium" — the injury was very evident and leaves were half burned.
"severe" — the salt spray burned the entire foliage or, in the case of
deciduous trees, almost completely defoliated them.
In addition to the 1938 fall observations, further notes were made
during 1939 on May 16, June 22 and November 8. The following table
gives the results of these observations :
' The writers wish to thank Mr. Henry Verkade of New London for assisting in naming some of the
horticultural varieties of evergreens and for some of the observations made in his nursery in the town of
Waterford, Conn.
288
Connecticut Experiment Station
Bulletin 434
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Effect of Salt Water Spray on Foliage
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292 Conneclical Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Although most of the evergreens were more or less injured by the salt
spray, the pines and spruces showed less injury than many of the other
types. White pine, however, was badly damaged; shortly after the hur-
ricane all the foliage became brown and eventually dropped off. Many
of the buds were not killed and the trees leafed out in the spring, although
the foliage was weak and rather yellow. White pines in exposed places
near the shore front were dead on the windward side the next summer.
Most of the junipers were seriously injured except the Greek, Swedish,
creeping and shore junipers which made a very good recovery during the
following summer. Although all horticultural varieties of Chamaecyparis
were injured, the p is f/em varieties were most seriously affected and many
of them, particularly the smaller ones, were actually killed. The obtusa
varieties were not so seriously affected and made a good recovery. Hem-
locks were badly injured. Many were dead or of no value if alive, but the
Japanese hemlock was only slightly injured and made a good growth
during the next summer. The yews were only slightly damaged and
made a good recovery. Arborvitaes were all damaged, some rather
seriously, except Rosenthal's and the giant arborvitae, which withstood
the hurricane and salt spray much better than the rest. Most of them
will outgrow the injury in about two years. Douglas firs lost practically
all their foliage and did not recover very much during the first summer
after the storm. It is doubtful if they ever will be of any value. The
Cryptomeria came through the storm in good shape and showed no partic-
ular injury. The broad-leaved evergreens as a group were rather badly
damaged, Japanese holly and daphne showing the least injury. The
andromedas were severely injured and most of them were dead or worth-
less by the spring following the hurricane.
The deciduous plants varied considerably in their ability to withstand
the wind and salt spray. Many of the trees were entirely defoliated by
the storm. Some of them, especially the maples, started new growth in
October, 1938, and went into the winter in a weakened condition. During
the following summer the foliage was small, scanty, and of poor color.
Many of the smaller branches and twigs died, and, in the case of Norway
maples, larger branches were also killed. Frequently the bark on the main
trunks of the Norway maples split during the winter, and this injury was
followed in the summer by the development of Nectria cankers. In some
cases this will result in the death of the trees. In New London County
these cankers were very common on the maples and may be the cause of
serious injury for some time to come. Horsechestnuts were least injured
of the deciduous shade trees and appeared in perfect condition the follow-
ing summer, even though they showed a fall growth and some even blossom-
ed again after the storm. We know of none that were actually uprooted
during the hurricane.
Deciduous shrubs lost most of their foliage during the storm, but the
following spring leafed out normally in most cases and continued to make
a good growth throughout the season. Most of the azaleas (except Schlip-
penbacki) and magnolias were severely injured, and many of them were
dead the following spring.
It is interesting to note that red dogwoods and small hemlocks which
were protected during part of the storm by blown down trees and portions
The Smaller European Elm Bark Beetle 293
of wrecked buildings were not seriously injured and made a good growth
the following summer while those left exposed were dead or nearly so.
References to Salt Spray Injury to Trees and Shrubs
Boodle, L. A., 1920: "The scorching of foliage by sea winds." Jour. Ministry Agr.
Great Britain, Vol. 27: 479.
Moss., A. E., 1939: "When it rained salt water." ^\merican Forests, Aug., 1939.
Wallace, R. H. and Moss, A. E., 1939: "Salt spray damage from recent New England
hurricane." Fifteenth National Shade Tree Conference Proceedings, 1939: 112.
Wells, B. W. and Schunk, I. \., 1938: "Salt spray an important factor in coastal
ecology." Bui. Torrey Botanical Club, Vol. 65: 485.
NOTES ON THE SMALLER EUROPEAN ELM BARK BEETLE^
Scolytus mullistrialus Marsham
Philip Wallace
I^BSERVATiONs are reported on the biology of Scolytus multistriatus
^-^ Marsh, as it occurs in Connecticut, with particular reference to its
relation to Dutch elm disease. These investigations have been conducted
cooperatively by the Entomology and Forestry Departmenls of this
Station.
The spread of Dutch elm disease in llie United States is due chiefly
to the transmission of the fungus, Ceratostomella ulmi (Schwarz) Buisman,
by the lesser European elm bark beetle, Scolytus multistriatus Marsh.
(Collins, C. W. 1938). The adults are known to carry spores of the fungus
from diseased elms, and to innoculate healthy elms when feeding on the
bark and wood of small twig crotches, or when boring through the bark
and attempting to breed in live elm wood. Infection does not take place
unless the spores of the fungus are deposited in the vessels of the sapwood,
and then only under favorable moisture and temperature conditions.
Early records and geographical distribution. Scolytus multistriatus
Marsh, is common on elms throughout central Europe and has been
known to occur there for many years. The earliest record of this beetle
in the United States was made by Chapman (1910). He fomid S. multi-
striatus at Cambridge, Mass., in 1909, and stated that it undoubtedly
had been introduced many years previously. In subsequent years intro-
duction of this European elm bark beetle took place at several Atlantic
ports and in several localities in northeastern and midwestern United
States, near veneer mills which handled European elm burl logs, along
railroads known to have carried such logs, and at points to wliich other
infested elm material was known to have been carried. C. W. Collins
(1938) gave a detailed report of the distribution of -S. multistriatus in the
United States. He stated that its occurrence is limited to sections of the
following states: New^ Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia,
Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.
' The writer wishes to express his appreciation to the following persons; Mr. W. O. Filley, Station
Forester, and Dr. R. B. Friend, under whose guidance these investigations were carried on; Dr. Raimon
Beard for assistance in held work and in the preparation of this paper; Mr. B. W. McFarland, who did the
photographic work, and agents of the U. S. Department of Agriculture who co-operated in bark beetle
trap studies.
294
Connecticut Experiment Station
Bulletin 434
The first record of this insect in Connecticut was made in 1932 by
Felt, who mentioned its recent discovery in Stamford. Figure 2 is based
on a recent survey which indicated that in this State Scolytus multistriatus
occurs in most of the towns west of the Connecticut River, and in East
Hartford, Glastonbury, and Manchester, east of the river. It appears to
be increasing in numbers and slowly spreading eastward, but there has
been no spread into northeastern Connecticut from the early infestation
near Boston. The heaviest infestations occur in Fairfield and lower New
Haven counties. The hurricane of September 21, 1938, appears to have had
little influence on the distribution of this beetle in Connecticut to date. The
S wultislrialui INFESTATION IN CONNECTICUT
Q SPREAD DURING 1939
PREVIOUS TO 1939
Figure 2.
excessively high winds, which might have carried any insect long distances,
occurred when the flight season for these beetles was practically terminated,
and a clean-up of elm wood in the previously heavily infested towns pre-
vented an increase to outbreak proportions the following season.
Host plants. This insect attacks all the species of elms within its
range in this country and is reported to attack practically all the species
in Europe. It is not reported from any other host than the genus Ulmus
in the United States, but in Europe it has been recorded (Escherich, 1923 ;
Nunberg, 1930) from aspen, ash and plum.
The Smaller European Elm Bark Beetle
295
Life Cycle
Chapman (1910) gave the first account of the biology of 5. multistriatus
in this country. In 1935 Readio pubUshed a more complete account which
agrees in most details with the observations here reported. C. W. Collins,
et al. (1936) made further additions to our knowledge of the biology and
habits of this insect.
EMERGENCE of S mu/f/s»nofus ADULTS 1939
=»ST GENERATION
1
SECOND GENERATION
1
1
L
LIFE CYCLE ol Sco//ruswtj/ristr'OfusUAns»
Figure 3.
In southern Connecticut the first adults emerge during the latter part
of May, when the elm leaves are about two-thirds developed. The record
of emergence indicated in Figure 3 was made from infested logs placed in
emergence cans from which the beetles were removed daily. These cans
were bottomless, placed directly on the soil, covered with two layers of
296 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
black cloth, and kept in partial shade. Figure 3 diagrammatically repre-
sents the life cycle of S. mullistriatus. In 1939 emergence of the first
generation adults began on May 24, was at a peak on June 6, and was
complete on July 10, a few days before the second generation adults
appeared.
Eggs of the first generation are deposited from one to 10 days after
the adults emerge, and were noted from May 27 to July 15. The peak of
abundance occurred about June 9, shortly after the peak of adult emer-
gence. The first generation eggs began to hatch and larvae emerged on
June 3. Larvae from these eggs were most abundant about July 17. It
was observed that about 4 percent of the first generation larvae did not
transform the same season but had what may be termed a diapause and
hibernated as larvae. This phenomenon was noted by Becker (1937) in
the case of Hylurgopinus rufipes Eichh.
Pupation of first generation larvae was noted on July 8 and the peak
was reached about August 10. Pupae continued to develop throughout
the summer until cold temperatures prohibited further activity.
Emergence of second generation adults commenced on July 12,
reached the peak of abundance about the middle of August and continued
until September 24. However, occasional adults were noted in the field
somewhat later than this. Eggs of the second generation appeared on July
15 and were most abundant during the middle of August. Eggs were
observed throughout the early fall.
The second generation of larvae commenced to hatch during the third
week of July and became more abundant until the eggs were killed by
cold in early October. These larvae and a few of the first genera-
tion larvae are the only stage of this insect which hibernate. By the
middle of October the adults, eggs and pupae are all dead and the
larvae are inactive within the bark. As soon as the temperature becomes
warm enough in early May, the larvae begin to feed again and complete
their development. This period may last until early July. Pupation of
the overwintering larvae begins during the middle of May and ends about
the first week of July.
There are ordinarily two complete generations of this insect in Con-
necticut, although often there is one and a partial second, and occasionally
only one. It has not been determined whether or not this aberrant behavior
of some individuals to produce only one generation is an hereditary char-
acteristic.
Of 1,851 emerging adults, 901 were males and 950 were females, giving
a sex ratio of .51, almost an even proportion with no significant difference.
Habits
Feeding of adults. Some of the emerging adults feed for a few
days on the bark and wood of healthy elms, usually at small twig crotches.
Fransen (1931) stated that this period of feeding lasts from 7 to 10 days.
An excellent description of the injm'ies caused by adults feeding in twig
crotches is given by Wolfenbarger and Buchanan (1939). The adults
bore into the center or slightly to the side of a twig crotch, excavating a
The Sn alter European Elm Bark Beetle 297
small oval hole, somewhat greater in width than the diameter of the beetle,
and slightly greater than the beetle in length. Extensive feeding scars
measure 5 mm. in length, 2 mm. in width, and are 1 mm. below the surface,
according to C. W. Collins, et at. (1936). Sometimes the adults burrow
under bark scales at nodes or into depressions left by cladoptosis. When
the attack is severe many twigs are completely girdled and hang from the
branches like oak twigs attacked by the oak twig girdler, Oncideres cingu-
latus Say. While making the burrow small pieces of bark and frass are
thrown out but rarely is any attempt made to construct a brood gallery.
It can be assumed that the only purpose of these burrows is foi
feeding. The investigations of Wolfenbarger and Buchanan (1939)
substantiate this hypothesis. They found that newly emerged S. mutti-
striatus adults lived a significantly longer time when caged with elm twigs
upon which they appeared to feed, than did those without food or water.
Observations in 1939 indicated that only a small percentage of the
adults feed on elm twigs at any time. This feeding may occur near the place
of emergence or near the place where brood galleries are to be formed.
Elm logs infested with S. nuiUistriatiis lao'^ae were placed in a pile at one
end of a row of elms, 10 to 25 feet in height, and a pile of freshly cut elm
logs was placed 250 feet away, at the other end of the row. At each 25-
foot interval from the infested logs, 1,000 twig crotches were marked for
observation. A cursory examination of these crotches was made weekly
for evidence of beetle feeding, but none was found until a thorough inspec-
tion was made after emergence from the logs was complete. It was pre-
viously determined that no other infested elm, nor elm material attractive
for beetle breeding, existed within a half-mile radius. The total number
of beetles vshicli emerged from these logs, as indicated by the emergence
holes, was 2,898. Twig crotch attack was very light and of little conse-
quence more than 25 feet from the place of emergence (Table 30), and no
indications of feeding were observed more than 75 feet away from the
infested logs. Three feeding scars found 200 to 250 feet distant were pre-
sumably attacks at the place of breeding, although no brood galleries of
aS. multislriatus were formed in the fresh elm logs which were used to
attract them.
Table 30. Crotch Feeding Near Place of Emergence
Diatance from Crotches Feeding Percent crotches
infested logs observed scais attacked
0— 25 feet
25— 50 "
50—100 "
100—125 "
125—150 "
1.50—175 "
175—200 "
200—250 "
1,000
13
1.3
3
.3
3
.3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
.3
Total 8,000
298 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Observations were made at two heavily attacked trap piles to deter-
mine the intensity of S. multistriatus crotch feeding around attractive
breeding material. The elm logs constituting the traps were barked and
4,932 egg galleries found. Assuming there was one male and one female
for each gallery, there must have been 9,864 beetles attacking these two
trap piles. The density of the egg galleries was 21.1 per square foot of
bark surface. This may be considered very close to the maximum density
of 5. multistriatus egg galleries to be found in such breeding material. From
a tabulation of the egg galleries made in the logs of 81 trap piles it was found
that in only one trap did the average density of egg galleries exceed
20 per square foot, i.e., 27.8.
Table 31 is the record of observations made around these log traps.
Table 31. Crotch Feeding Near Place of Attack
Distance from
trap pile in feet
Crotches
counted
Feeding
sears
% Crotches
attacked
Trap
No. 12
0— 6
6—15
16—20
20—30
638
964
608
241
51
17
1
0
8.0
1.7
.16
0.
Trap
No. 13
0— 6
6—15
209
694
15
22
7.1
3.1
Total
3,354
106
3.1
These observations of feeding at the place of emergence and at the
place of attack are obviously not comparable, and furthermore should not
be used as a correlation of abundance. The results do indicate that the
beetles feed near breeding material as well as near the place of emergence
and that feeding is negligible any great distance fromeither of these loca-
tions. This is important from a standpoint of cleaning up breeding
material.
In the insectary it has been demonstrated many times that emerging
adults do not need to feed on twigs or other material before commencing
the brood tunnel. Many adults, when taken directly from emergence
cans and caged with a freshly cut log, begin to burrow through the outer
tark at once, and occasionally have been observed to excavate as much
as 7 mm. of the egg gallery and deposit five eggs within 24 hours after
emergence.
It appears that twig crotch feeding is quite variable. The intensity
of such feeding either at emergence or attack may depend on weather con-
ditions and other factors beyond our present knowledge or control.
Breeding material and attack. The characteristics which make
certain elm wood attractive or unattractive for elm bark beetle breeding
are at present not entirely understood. This beetle prefers to breed in
dead, dying, or devitalized elm wood, although all such material is not
The Smaller European Elm Bark Beetle 299
attacked. Trees affected with Dutch elm disease apparently often develop
a certain physiological condition which makes them particularly favorable
breeding centers. Observations of the intensity of crotch feeding near
breeding places indicate that presumably the individual attractiveness
of certain trees is an important consideration, as well as the location of the
elms in reference to the source of the beetles and to the breeding material
itself. The size of the material is not a limiting factor in breeding, for
trunks of elms 70 inches in diameter and half-inch twigs have been observed
heavily attacked in certain instances. Moreover, we have noted successful
emergence from limbs .5 inch in diameter.
If a certain portion of a tree is more heavily attacked than the rest,
it can only be assumed that at the time of attack that pai't was more
attractive to the bark beetles seeking breeding places. Observations of
an elm, 10 inches D.B.H., which was completely cut off at the base and
left standing at the time when beetle flight was at its peak, indicated
that for this tree there was no correlation between height from the ground
or diameter of the parts (except for branches less than 1 inch in diameter)
and severity of attack.
A great abundance of beetles in an area sometimes results in a con-
spicuous attack on material ordinarily unaffected. We have recently
observed an elm in full leaf and apparently healthy, being attacked by S.
mullistriatus adults. This occm-red in a heavily infested area, on poor
soil, during a period of drought. Attack has also been noted on elms the
roots of which were flooded, and in the dead or dying area surrounding a
wound or a nectria canker. Occasionally unsuccessful attempts to attack
elms are noted in which the flow of sap was so great that it either forced
the beetles to back out or killed them in situ. Such cases are common in
elms, overthrown by the recent hurricane, which still retain many roots
in the soil, but at one time were close to death from lack of soil moisture.
The adult, usually the female, chooses a point of attack on a log in
suitable condition for breeding, but no attempt is made to start a brood
tunnel in such a position that the subsequent larvae will have space to
move about and feed. In cages the beetles apparently prefer to start the
gallery at the end of a log, and even though infestation is not heavy,
parallel egg galleries may be observed as close as 5 mm. apart.
Having chosen a point for attack, the adults at once commence
excavating an entrance burrow. It is directed inward, and in vertical
logs or trees is situated at the lower end of the egg gallery and directed
slightly upward. The entrance burrow extends through the inner bark,
usually scoring the xylem. It is slightly over one mm. in diameter, and
may be distinguished from an exit hole by its somewhat smaller size, the
reddish-brown frass surrounding it, and its general location at the edge of
a flake or ridge of bark. A turning or nuptial chamber is then excavated.
This is about 3 mm, long and 1.5 mm. wide, and usually meets the egg
gallery at an oblique angle. Chamberlain (1939) considered that monog-
amous species use this chamber for turning only and that mating takes
place only once.
Mating. Our observations of mating are restricted to a few pairs
of beetles which were noted in copula when taken from emergence cages.
300 Conneclical Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Chapman. (1910) stated tiiat copulation first takes place at the entrance
to the burrow after two to five days of characteristic behavior, from which
time on the male works with the female in egg gallery excavation. He
believed they mate several times thereafter. This species is monogamous
and a pair constructs only one egg gallery. Observations by C. W. Collins,
et al. (1936) indicated that whenever the female remains for some time
at the gallery entrance, the butting activities of the male are accelerated.
Suddenly the male reverses his position and copulates with the female.
They immediately re-enter the gallery, the male entering backwards,
where coition is presumably consummated.
In order to obtain more information regarding mating, females were
taken soon after emergence and caged with logs for breeding. The only
time they had an opportunity to be with the males was the few hours
between the time they emerged and the time when they were removed
from the emergence cages.
As shown in Table 32, these females, without further contact with
males, excavated egg galleries of somewhat less than normal length and
deposited fewer eggs than normal, but these were of average fertility.
This indicates that mating may take place immediately after emergence.
It is not apparent whether the shorter galleries and fewer eggs are due to
restricted mating or to an overburden of work for the female.
Table 32. Egg Galleries by Females Without Contact with
Males after Emergence Cage
Length No. Eggs
mm. Eggs hatched
No. 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Average 19.7 23.8 91.6%
% of Normal 70.0 34.7 95.4
When males alone were caged with logs, in all cases in which the male
did not quickly die an egg gallery was excavated in the ordinary manner,
but the galleries were short and no egg niches' were excised.
The egg galleryi After excavating an entrance burrow and nuptial
chamber, the female precedes the male and begins the egg gallery. This
is usually constructed parallel with the grain of the wood, although many
have been noted at a 45 degree angle with the grain, and occasional galleries
run directly across the grain.
The female does most of the actual excavation with the male usually
close behind. They both enter head forward. The female pushes the boring
21
42
42
20
42
39
19
33
32
10
4
0
34
20
17
23
10
9
11
16
14
The Smaller European Elm Bark Beetle 301
dust backwards with the mandibles and fore-tibiae, working it past the
body with the legs and by rotating the body. The male, in turn, pushes
the dust backwards until it is finally ejected from the entrance burrow.
Ordinarily great care is taken not to let frass accumulate in the egg gallery.
Usually, the female penetrates to the xylem and constructs a nuptial
chamber within 24 hours after attack, but the time required varies con-
siderably. In the extreme cases of seven egg galleries, 24 hours after
exposure to attack by beetles direct from emergence, the average length
was 5.1 mm. In other instances three or four days are required to pene-
trate to the cambium.
We were unable to observe the activity of the adults by shaving down
the bark and placing a glass plate over the egg gallery, as described by
Swaine (1918) for observing Dendroctoniis beetles. Furthermore, the
method of clamping a piece of bark against a glass plate which was used
by Kaston (1939) for rearing and observing the larvae of Hylurgopinus
rufipes is not satisfactory for observing the activities of the adults or larvae
of S. muUistriatus in the egg gallery, because the packing of frass along
the gallery and against the glass often obscures their activities.
The observations noted herein were made in the following manner.
Adults direct from emergence were placed in a cage with a freshly cut elm
log. After 24 hours' exposure to attack, a section of bark about 6 inches
square was raised at four places on the log. At each point where an
adult had penetrated the bark flap, a designating number was scratched
on the inner bark. The bark was then replaced and held down with two
wires about the log. In this manner daily observations were readily
made on egg gallery construction, oviposition, and hatching. Care must
be used not to crush nor disturb the adults when replacing the flap, and
it is also important each time to tighten the wires about the flap in order
that it may be in close contact with the wood and lose as little moisture
as possible.
In the construction of 36 egg galleries observed daily, the average
length excavated per day was found to be 3.21 + .1 mm.^ The average
length of 311 completed egg galleries was 28.2 + 2.1 mm. The maximum
was 83 mm. and the minimum 12 mm. It might therefore be assumed
that about nine days are required for the construction of an average egg
gallery, but a period of cold or wet weather markedly retards activity.
However, adults often remain active in the tunnel two or three weeks
after attack.
Oviposition. Commencing about 1 mm. from the nuptial chamber,
the female cuts out niches on both sides of the gallery wall. These are
slightly larger than the egg and under optimum conditions are spaced
very closely so that only a thin film of wood fiber separates them. In
197 egg galleries with a total length of 5,471 mm., 13,485 eggs were de-
posited. The maximum number of eggs deposited in a completed gallery
was 227 and the minimum was 17. The average per gallery was 68.5 ±
1.6. Of these 95.9 percent hatched. The average number of eggs per
millimeter, computed from the average number of eggs deposited and the
average length of a gallery, was 2.46. Actually the eggs are slightly
' Reference is made to the standard error.
302 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
closer together than this indicates because the female sometimes does
not deposit an egg in every niche nor use all the available space on the sides
of the gallery.
The female proceeds backward to the niche, slightly raises the abdo-
men, and an egg suddenly appears in the space. She immediately gathers
some frass and packs the egg in tightly, using the fore-tibiae and mandibles.
Usually only a small, shining tip of the egg can be seen from the inner side
of the bark, but sometimes the egg is entirely invisible. Only one egg is
deposited in a niche, and generally the oviposition lags somewhat behind
the egg gallery excavation. The female may cut niches and deposit eggs
as fast as the gallery is constructed, but she often goes back after a period
of excavation, cuts niches, and deposits an egg in each.
Developmental Stages
The egg. The egg is shining white, subspherical, about .6 mm. by
.4 mm. The surface is regular and unsculptured. The eggs cause no pro-
tuberances in the gallery for they are packed in flush with the gallery wall.
In a few cases it was noted that fertile eggs were deposited within 24 hours
after emergence of the adults. In other instances five days were required
before oviposition took place. In 45 egg galleries observed, the average
time between exposure to attack and oviposition was 2.68 ± .2 days.
The total number of eggs deposited per tunnel is subject to considerable
variation. Unfavorable weather slows down oviposition and diminishes
this total. If the sap flow in the bark becomes too great, or if the bark
dries out too quickly, the adults may leave or die in the gallery, although
the eggs already laid may hatch. Apparently the presence of a male in
the gallery has a salutary efi'ect on egg deposition. More than one mating
may be necessary to fertilize a large number of eggs, and the male also
relieves the female of much of the work in disposing of the frass.
Egg galleries excavated in September are often shorter and contain
fewer eggs than those made when high temperatures are more continuous.
According to Wadley (unpublished laboratory notes, 1934, ref. Collins
et al., 1936) Scolytus multistriatus is inert at 45 degrees F., crawls at 52
degrees F., flies at 70 degrees F., and is vigorously active at 85 to 90 degrees
F. This may explain the fewer eggs and shorter galleries noted late in the
season.
From daily observations of oviposition during warm weather it was
found that an average of 3.7 + 1.1 eggs were deposited per day. Occa-
sionally no eggs were deposited for a day or more, and the maximum noted
was 14 in one day.
The incubation period for the eggs does not vary greatly except under
adverse weather conditions, and hatching occurs in surprisingly direct
sequence with the time at which the eggs were deposited. From observa-
tions of 507 deposited at known dates during August, the average length
of the incubation period was found to be 5.1 + .5 days. The maximum
noted was nine days and the minimum was three days.
About 24 hours before the shell breaks open, the egg loses its shining
appearance and shrinks slightly. At this time, if the egg shell is carefully
opened, the tiny larva, completely formed, may be removed.
The Smaller European Elm Bark Beetle
303
Figure 4. Smaller European ekn bark beetle: Center above, female, lateral
view, about 23 times enlarged. A, left tibia, posterior aspect; B, left antenna,
lateral aspect; both enlarged 76 times; C, head of male, lateral aspect,
enlarged 23 times; D, larva; E, head capsule, dorsal aspect; F,
caudal segments, ventraJ aspect; G, pupa, ventral aspect.
304 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Larval period. The larva is scolytoid in form, creamy white and 3.5
to 4 mm. in length when fully developed. A fold in the integument, straight
across the posterior half of the pronotum and terminating in a puckered
depression on each side, readily distinguishes this larva from Magdalis
sp., in which the fold is distinctly arcuate, and from H. rufipes larvae in
which the characteristic fold and musculature are not readily discerned.
The very sparse pubescence on the venter of the thoracic segments is an
additional characteristic by which »S. multistriatus larvae may be distin-
guished from other scolytoid larvae found in elm.
When the egg shell breaks open the larva may be seen from the inner
sm'face of the bark, wriggling about within its shell. During the next
24 hours the larva commences to feed and excavates a tunnel at right
angles to the egg gallery. The first few millimeters of the larval tunnel
are usually excavated entirely within the phloem, and the larva is not then
visible. Very shortly the larva cuts entirely through the inner bark, and
although the main part of the tunnel is within the bark, the sapwood is
lightly scored throughout the length of the larval tunnel. As the larva
proceeds, molts, and increases in size, the tunnel is correspondingly larger
and may be 2 mm. in width after several ecdyses. Readio (1935) stated
that there are five larval molts. The larval tunnel is tightly packed with
frass and excrement and occasionally parts of larval exuviae may be found
in the mass.
As the larval tunnels are extended they diverge, forming a char-
acteristic fan-shaped pattern. Larvae hatching from eggs at the ends of
the gallery usually tunnel with the wood grain, parallel to the egg gallery.
Occasionally in a heavily populated area the larval tunnels may cross and
recross or two larvae may follow the same tunnel.
The length of larval galleries from which adults have emerged varies
greatly. The longest noted was 73 mm. and the shortest was 12 mm. The
average length of 454 larval tunnels was found to be 36.5 + 1.2 mm.
A short time before the larva pupates, it enlarges the end of the tunnel
and constructs a bai'e cell, continuous with the larval tunnel and often
at a right angle to it. This pupal cell is entirely within the bark, not
visible from the inner side, and often contiguous to the underside of a
flake of outer bark.
Ordinarily these lai'vae are able to withstand extreme moistme condi-
tions. Many within logs which remained indoors against a steam radiator
for two weeks pupated and emerged without apparent ill effects. No
detrimental effect on larvae within logs was observed when the logs were
submerged for two months in the salt water of an ocean inlet. After sub-
mersion for four months, the logs froze in the ice and when removed three
weeks later about 50 percent of the larvae were alive and some developed
to adults in the laboratory cages. This observation concm's with that of
Collins et al. (1936), who found that these larvae can withstand two months"
submergence in tapwater. Obviously the distribution of this insect may
be influenced by the movement of infested logs along inland streams and
coastal waters.
Pupal period. The pupa is shining white and bears two distinct
appendages on the caudal segments of the abdomen. The duration of the
The Smaller European Elm Bark Beetle 305
piepupal and pupal stages was determined at 27 degrees C. in an incubator
in which an open dish of water was placed to maintain proper humidity.
The larva passes through a prepupal period of about 36 hours. During
this time it is quiescent and the contents of the alimentary tract are
voided. The average duration of the pupal period was 5.0 + .6 days.
Collins et al. (1936) found that the hibernating larvae required two days
for the prepupal stage and that the pupal stage lasted 10 days or more under
natural conditions during May. Readio (1935) reported a prepupal
period of one or two days and a pupal period of five to six days at 27 degrees
C During the latter part of the pupal period the light color of the pupa
slowly darkens, so that when transformation is complete the adult is light
brown in color.
Emergence of adult. The adult beetle is 2.3 to 3 mm. in length.
The pronotum is shining black and finely punctured and the elytra are
shining reddish brown, distinctly striate and feebly but densely punctured.
A spine projecting from the upper part of the second ventral abdominal
segment aids in distinguishing this beetle from many other scolytids.
After the adult becomes somewhat hardened, it cuts its way through the
outer bark to the surface and crawls about for a short time before flying
away to feed or seek a place to breed. The emergence holes are round and
slightly larger in diameter than the beetle. The frass from these holes is
packed into the pupal cell and does not appear on the outer bark around
the holes as it does about entrance burrows.
Flight and Wind Dispersion
No precise observations have been made relative to flight or wind
dispersion of these beetles, but the importance of these factors cannot be
overlooked. Certain data have been obtained on the movement of insects
of similai" type and it is reasonable to assume that they may apply in part
at least to the movement of 5. muUistriatus.
Felt (1935) stated that the closely related hickory beetle, Scolylus
quadrispinosus Say, was taken in Albany, N. Y., in 1927, on a roof top 125
feet above the sidewalk, well above adjacent tree tops, and fully three-
quarters of a mile from any hickories. At the same location he also re-
corded taking three species of pine bark beetles, Ips callipraphus Germ.,
Ips grandicollis Eichh., and Ips pini Say, which must have drifted or flown
more than a mile. In the same paper Felt made available data from the
Federal Bmeau of Entomology, recording the capture from an aeroplane
of two species of Xylehoriis at an elevation of 2,000 feet, another species
at 500 feet and four other species of scolytids at 200 feet. The importance
of wind drift and air currents in relation to the dispersion of Scolylus
mulfislriatus is fm'ther emphasized by Felt (1937) from reports of balloons
released in southwestern Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. He
stated that wind carriage of infected beetles affords the most reasonable
explanation of the distribution of Dutch elm disease in the Northeast.
However, this work was done before the disease spread southward through
southern New Jersey and westward from New Jersey into eastern Pennsyl-
vania. It may well be that natural barriers, availabihty of breeding mate-
rial, and climate render insignificant the general efi'ects of the prevailing
winds and upper air currents in the distribution of this beetle. Although
306 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
doubtless wind drift occurs and may be responsible for some outlying
infestations, transportation of beetle-containing material appears more
significant.
Observations of breeding habits lead us to believe that under ordinary
conditions flight of S. multislriatus is usually limited to about one-quarter
mile. The stimulus for flight is considered to be the desire for suitable
breeding material rather than for food, and the beetles appear to be
attracted to the nearest suitable elm wood, as observed by Kaston (1939)
in the case of the native elm bark beetle, Hylurgopinus rufipes Eichh.
Previous to the hurricane of September 21, 1938, the limits of the
distribution of S. multislriatus in Connecticut were fairly well known.
Although there was a heavy infestation around New Haven, North Haven,
North Branford and Branford, no evidence of this beetle could be found
east of Guilford during a careful survey in the summer of 1938. Much of
the hurricane-elm material in these towns and in Guilford was destroyed
by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies, before beetle
emergence in July, 1939, but a heavy infestation still existed in Branford
and North Branford, if the degree of attack on trap logs may be used as
a criterion. After the emergence of the second generation, inspection was
made of enormous quantities of elm wood in the towns along the Con-
necticut shore, east of Guilford, where little effort has been made to
destroy it. In this group of towns the only evidence of S. multislriatus
was a light infestation in Madison, the town adjoining Guilford on the
east. This beetle was recorded from Guilford in 1936 and was found there in
fairly large numbers in 1937 and 1938, so the abmidance of elm-breeding
material there during 1939 may have had little significance this season.
Occurrence of the beetle this year in Manchester, Durham, Middlefield,
Cheshire, Cromwell, Seymour and Berlin appears to be a parallel of the
situation in Madison, for our investigations indicate that the spread prob-
ably came from adjoining towns. A light infestation in Saybrook is
believed to be the direct result of transportation of elm logs from the
infested area. Figure 2 indicates the distribution of S. multislriatus in
Connecticut and the spread in 1939.
During the flight periods in 1939, there was an enormous amount of
elm material available throughout Connecticut and much of it was in a
suitable condition for breeding at all times. It is probable that the broken,
uprooted and dying elms resulting from the hurricane will continue to
offer suitable breeding material for these bark beetles for several more
years, and that they will eventually spread to every locality in Connecticut
where breeding places are maintained. Apparently the normal spread is
quite slow, even with an abundance of suitable material present.
Parasites and Predators
The general effect of parasites and predators on S. multislriatus is
little known. Field observations indicate that in some localized areas
certain elm bark beetle enemies are present in great numbers and un-
doubtedly are important in reducing the beetle population.
Two hymenopterous parasites of Scolytus mullistriatus are known and
both have been taken in Connecticut. Spathius canadensis Ashm. has
The Smaller European Elm Bark Beetle 307
been recovered in large numbers, and Cheiropachys colon Linn, has been
taken less commonly.
A nematode parasite, Paras itylenchus scolyti Oldham, is reported by
Oldham (1930) to attack Scolytus miiltistriatus and render as many as 60
percent of the brood sterile.
The clerid, Enoclerus nigripes Say, is a common predator as adult and
larva upon all stages of *S. multistriatus. The clerid eggs are deposited in
the entrance burrow, whence the larvae make their way throughout the
bark beetle egg gallery and larval tunnels, devouiing every host egg, larva,
and pupa which they are able to reach. The adults are as voracious as
the larvae and move rapidly over the surface of an infested log devouring
every bark beetle in sight. The clerid attack upon a brood of emerging
S. multistriatus adults is an astounding procedure to watch.
It is difficult to evaluate the activity of birds in bark beetle control.
The downy woodpecker, Dryobates pubescens medianus Swain., and the
hairy woodpecker, D. villosus villosus Linn., are by far the most common
bird predators of S. multistriatus in Connecticut. A woodpecker has been
observed going methodically around a limb of an infested elm, tearing off
small strips of bark and devouring the larvae as fast as it could proceed.
Woodpeckers have also been observed picking out the adults as they com-
menced to attack a decadent elm. In certain swamp areas the top limbs
of nearly all the infested elms appear to have the bark shredded and a
large proportion of the larvae were found to have been destroyed. Although
the effect of birds is sometimes locally significant, it is believed that the
important species are not numerous enough to exert any appreciable in-
fluence on the European elm bark beetle population in general.
The mycelium of an undetermined fungus is often found in association
with dead larvae, pupae and adults within the bark, but its significance is
unknown.
Bark mites are often numerous within the egg galleries and larval
tunnels of 5. multistriatus but their effect on the brood has not been studied.
Rust (1933) found that mites destroy an approximate average of 50 percent
of some bark beetle broods, and that 15 to 85 percent of the eggs of Ips
oregoni Eichh. in ponderosa pine are devoured by predaceous mites.
Survival of Larvae at Low Temperatures
Recent observations on the effect of low temperatures on the survival
of larvae of S. multistriatus indicated that while most naked larvae die
when exposed for a short time to temperatures below -8 degrees F., some
survived as low as -70 degrees F. Mortahty of larvae contained in logs
and exposed for various periods to constant low temperatures shows trends
which cannot be strictly correlated with duration or intensity of cold alone.
It is believed that winter temperatures in Connecticut are responsible
for little mortality of these larvae.
Artificial Control
There is scant information relative to the artificial control ^of this
bark beetle which is based on field tests. The subject has been considered
on the basis of what is known of the flight, feeding habits, and life history
of the insect.
308 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Destruction of breeding material. The most obvious control
measure consists of removing elm material which may provide attractive
breeding places for the beetles, and the destruction of infested elm material.
Investigations by D, Collins (1938) indicated that there is a definite correla-
tion between the presence of beetle-producing or beetle-attracting wood
and the occurrence of twig crotch feeding, and that such feeding is negligible
more than 1,000 yards from breeding material. Field observations in
Connecticut further support this conclusion, but evidence of crotch feeding
has not been found here more than 200 yards from beetle-attracting or
-producing wood.
These observations indicate an entirely feasible program for the
protection of valuable elms from bark beetle attack and the possible intro-
duction of the Dutch elm disease fungus.
Spraying. Various sprays containing poisons, repellents, and fungicides
have been tested at several experimental laboratories. Complete reports
are not available, but Felt and Bromley (1938) observed a reduction in
intensity and depth of feeding on small potted elms, caged with a large
number of beetles, when sprayed with lead arsenate and a sticker. A
preliminary report by D. Collins (1938) indicated that in general the feeding
on sprayed, caged elms was less than on un sprayed. He further observed
that under natural conditions crotch feeding is so erratic that it is difficult
to evaluate the results obtained in controlled experiments. It is apparent
from the evidence reported that none of the materials tested are likely
to give satisfactory control when applied to large elms in the usual manner,
even with the current high-pressure spraying equipment.
Chemical treatment of breeding material. Various chemicals
were applied to the surface of bark beetle breeding material in an attempt
to render it unsuitable for attack. After preliminary tests a light coal-tar
creosote oil was selected. Extensive laboratory and field tests indicate
that this material, when applied to the bark of elm, may render such logs
permanently unattractive for bark beetle breeding. When applied to
logs containing bark beetle larvae, the penetrating and killing effects have
so far not been entirely satisfactory. In connection with a pruning project
during the summer of 1939 in an infested area, the dead and dying wood
pruned from about 700 field and woodland elms was treated with creosote.
A random inspection of this material in October revealed that there had
been no bark beetle attack to any of the treated logs. Creosote was
carried in the field in a 12-quart pail and applied with a 4-inch paint brush.
This creosote is obtainable from producers of illuminating gas at about
20 cents per gallon in 50-gallon drums, and is,known to the trade as "light
creosote oil".
The bark from 20 treated logs was burned in a pile about two months
after application, and the odor of creosote was hardly noticeable. Appar-
ently there is no reason why logs so treated might not be used for fuel. The
application of creosote causes the bark to dry rapidly so that by the time
the odor is dissipated to such an extent that it might no longer repel
bark beetles, the bark is so dry and loose that it is entirely unsuitable for
beetle breeding.
The Smaller European Elm Bark Beetle 309
Trap logs. Trap logs have been tested for many years in attempts
to reduce the infestation of various species of bark beetles, but the results
have generally been obscure or unsatisfactory. Fluctuations in the
density of beetle population may be due to factors entirely removed from
trapping. Data from obsei-vations of 81 trap piles of elm logs placed at
various points in southern Connecticut substantiate the conclusion of
Martin (1936) that logs in semi-shade are most attractive to S. miilti-
striaius. It was also noted that bark beetles seldom breed in the top
quadrant of an elm log in any exposure.
Emergence of Hylurgopinus rufipes adults from hibernation takes
place during late April and early May (Kaston, 1939), before the emergence
of S. mullistriatus. It has been found that trap logs placed during this
period often serve as breeding places, not only for the H. rufipes adults
then in flight, but for those adults often found hibernating at this time in
the bark of the trap logs. S. mullistriatus adults emerging in late May
and June were thus excluded from breeding in many trap logs which were
placed in April and May because they were already infested with H. rufipes.
An indication was desired of the effect of trapping of first generation
adults on the subsequent density of population of the second generation.
FoUowmg a comprehensive trapping program by the U. S. Department
of Agriculture for the adults emerging from hibernating S. muJtistriatus
larvae, similar traps were placed at two of the previous locations after
the first generation emergence was complete and the pre\nious traps had
been removed. The number of egg galleries formed per square foot of
surface by the second generation was not significantly difi^erent from that
of the first generation. These observations M^ere hmited and may not
represent the actual beetle population, but they suggest a factor to be
considered — availability of breeding material. Scrutiny of the small
quantity of elm bark beetle breeding material in the area indicated that
everywhere infestation was close to the maximum, and that under any
conditions this material could have accommodated only a small percentage
of the emergmg adults. It is suggested that the first generation adults
which were trapped and destroyed, were a part of those which would have
died inevitably from a scarcity of available breeding wood. The density
of beetle population within an infested area fluctuates so rapidly due to
ecological factors and to the aA"ailability of breeding material in particular,
that it is beheved extensive research should precede the general use of
traps to reduce elm bark beetle population.
Summary
S. mullistriatus, a native of Europe, was first reported in this country
at Boston in 1910. Since that time it is known to have been introduced
and become established in many sections of northeastern United States.
Figure 2 indicates its distribution in Connecticut.
All species of elms planted in this part of the country are subject to
attack, and it is reported from practically all the species of elms in Europe
in addition to aspen, ash and plum.
There are ordinarily two complete generations of this insect in Con-
necticut, although there is often one and a partial second generation and,
occasionally, only one complete generation develops. Hibernation takes
310 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
place ill the larval stage only. The first generation adults commence to
emerge from hibernating larvae during the latter part of May. Oviposition
takes place within a few days. The first generation larvae commence
to pupate during the second week of July and second generation adults
appear very shortly after the emergence of the first generation is complete,
about the middle of July. All stages of the insect may be observed through-
out the summer but activity ceases by the first of October.
Some of the adults feed in the twig crotches of healthy elms for a few
days shortly after emergence. This feeding may occur near the place of
emergence or near the place of attack, and has not been observed more
than 200 yards from either of these locations. Many adults do not feed
in this manner but go directly to breed. This attack on elm twigs is
quite variable and has indicated no correlation with factors other than
distance from breeding material.
Mating may occur within a few hours of adult emergence before the
beetles move away or at the entrance burrow of the new egg gallery. This
species is monogamous, constructs only one egg gallery, and is suspected
of mating more than once.
The average length of egg galleries was found to be 28.2 mm. and the
average number of eggs deposited per gallery was 68.5. The presence of
a male in the gallery appears to stimulate the female to increased egg pro-
duction. An average of 3.7 eggs were deposited per day in the galleries
noted.
The larvae ordinarily are able to withstand extreme moisture condi-
tions.
It is considered that natural barriers, availability of breedmg material
and climate render insignificant the effects of prevaihng wmds and upper
air currents, in the distribution of this insect. The hurricane of September,
1938, appears to have had little influence on the dispersion of this bark
beetle in Connecticut during 1939.
Observations on the effect of low temperatures on survival of the
larvae of S. multistriatus indicate that the factors of cold intensity and cold
duration are responsible for little winter mortality in this State.
Various parasites and predators are noted but they do not appear to
exert enough control to be of importance in an outbreak. The controlling
factor in an outbreak of these bark beetles is believed to be the availability
of breeding material.
The sprays used by various investigators to prevent twig-crotch
feeding have so far proved of doubtful value for that purpose.
An easy and cheap method of preventing infestation of elm bark beetle
breeding material is the application of fight creosote oil to the bark. This
has been tested extensively in the field and proven most satisfactory.
Experiments with trap logs to reduce beetle infestation indicate that
the density of beetle population fluctuates so rapidly within an area due to
ecological factors and to the availability of breeding material in particular
that it is believed extensive research should precede the general use of
traps.
Miscellaneous Insect Notes 311
Bibliography
Becker, W. M., 1937: "Some Observations on the Larval Instars of Hylurgopinus
rufipes in Massachusetts." (Unpublished). Fotuteenth Conference of Con-
necticut Entomologists (New Haven).
Chamberlain, W. J., 1939: "The Bark and Timber Beetles of North America."
Chapman, J. W., 1910: "The Introduction of a European Scolytid (The Smaller
European Elm Bark Beetle, Scolytus muUislriaius Marsh.) into Massachusetts."
Psyche, 17: 63-68.
Collins, C. W., 1938: "Two Elm Scolytids in Relation to Areas Infected with the
Dutch Elm Disease Fungus." Jour. Econ. Ent., 31 (2): 192-195.
Collins, C. W., W. D. Buchanan, R. R. WTiitten and C. H. Hoffman, 1936: "Bark
Beetles and Other Possible Insect Vectors of the Dutch Elm Disease, Cerato-
siomella ulmi (Schwartz) Buisman." Jour. Econ. Ent., 29: 169-176.
CoUins, Donald L., 1938: "Feeding Habits of Scolytus muUislriaius Meush. with
Reference to Dutch Elm Disease." Jour. Econ. Ent., 31 (2): 196-200.
Escherich, K., 1923: "Die Forstinsekten Mitteleuropas." 2: 494.
Felt, E. P., 1932: Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Conference of Connecticut Entomol-
ogists (New Haven), p. 31. (Unpublished)
Felt, E. P., 1935: "Bark Beetles and Dutch Elm Disease." Jour. Econ. Ent., 28 (2):
231-236.
Felt, E. P., 1937: "Dissemination of Insects by Air Currents." Jour. Econ. Ent.,
30 (3): 458-461.
Felt, E. P. and S. W. Bromley, 1938: "Shade Tree Insects and Sprays, 1937." Jour.
Econ. Ent., 31 (2): 173-176.
Fransen, J. J., 1931 : "Enkele gegevens omtrent de verspreiding de door G. ulmi Schwartz
veroorzaakte iepenziekte door de iepenspintkevers, E. (S.) scolylus F. en
E. (S.) muUislriaius Marsh, in verband met de bestrijding dezer ziekte."
Tijdschr. over Plantenz., 37 (3): 49-62.
Kaston, B. J., 1939: "The Native Elm Bark Beetle, Hylurgopinus rufipes Eichh., in
Cormecticut." Conn. Agr. Expt. Sta., Bui. 420.
Martin, C. H., 1936: "Preliminary Report of Trap-log Studies on Elm Bark Beetles."
Jour. Econ. Ent., 29 (2): 297-306.
Nunberg, M., 1930: (Polish title) Contributions to the Biology of Bark and Cambium
Beetles, Polsk. Pismo. Ent., 8: 99-122.
Oldham, N. J., 1930: "On the Infestation of Ehn Bark Beetles (Scolytidae) by a
Nematode, Paras ilylenchus scolyti n. sp." Journed Helminth., 8: 239-248.
Readio, P. A., 1935: "The Entomological Phases of the Dutch Elm Disease." Jour.
Econ. Ent., 28 (2): 341-352.
Rust, H. J., 1933: "Many Bark Beetles Destroyed by Predaceous Mites." Jour.
Econ. Ent., 26 (3): 733-734.
Swaine, J. M., 1918: "Canadian Bark Beetles." Dominion of Canada, Dept. of Agr.,
Tech. Bui. 14.
Wolfenbarger, D. 0. and W. D. Buchanan, 1939:" Notes on Elm Twig Crotch Injuries
Produced by Scolylus muUislriaius Marsham." Jour. Econ. Ent., 32 (3): 377-
381.
MISCELLANEOUS INSECT NOTES
The Crazy Ant in Connecticut. In March, 1939, specimens of
Paratrechina longicornis Latr. (determined by M. R. Smith) were coUected
312 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
in a New Haven hotel. These ants were found in many parts of the building
and were causing much loss by infesting food and some annoyance by
appearing in large numbers in guest rooms. They were apparently nesting
in cracks behind the woodwork and were controlled by systematic use of
poisoned baits.
According to Marlatt, the crazy ant is a tropical species which has
been found in large buildings in various parts of the country. In the New
Haven building it had been seen for at least a year prior to identification.
[Neely Turner]
Dermestid Larvae in Composition Board. Specimens of a Dermestes
larva were received in July from a summer cottage near Hartford. These
larvae had bored into the composition board used instead of plaster. Eight
or ten holes had been made, and larvae were also found underneath a
braided rug. The owner was advised that these larvae had developed on
some decaying animal matter, and that they had a habit of boring in soft
wood to pupate. It was suggested that a possible source of the trouble
was a dead animal underneath the cottage, which had no cellar. Within
a few days the owner sent the following information: "Following a
suggestion in your letter and also because most of the larvae seemed to
be near the fireplace, I poked around the chimney with long-handled
brushes. Finally I dislodged a hard object from a narrow shelf just back
of the damper, which probably was a squirrel. It must have fallen down,
suffocated, and then baked hard by the fire, so that we did not realize
it was there. Very likely these pests will soon disappear."
[Neely Turner!
The House Cricket, Gryllus domesticus Linn. A telephone call was
received from Dr. Shay of the Health Department, Bridgeport, Conn.,
requesting information about crickets infesting a home on Birmingham
Street in the north end of the city. The home was visited with Dr. Shay
and one of his assistants and was found infested from attic to cellar with
the house cricket, Gryllus domesticus Linn. It was a new house, built less
than a year, and was located within a city block of a dump. Soil covered
the debris in the dump which was maintained in such a manner as to leave
only the latest material temporarily uncovered.
The crickets had been in the house for about two weeks. They had
eaten large holes in three dresses, ruining them. More than a hundred
that had been killed by a fly swatter were observed. On August 12 a
letter was received from a resident of Thorne Street, which is also in the
vicinity of the same dump. The writer stated that the neighbors as well
as his own family were suffering from an outbreak of crickets in their
homes.
It was recommended that a poisoned bran bait be used in each case.
The formula follows:
Wheat bran 5 pounds
White arsenic or Paris green 4 ounces
Cheap molasses 1 pint
Water 7 pints
Lemons 1
Miscellaneous Insect Notes
313
The bran bait should be scattered thinly around the places where the
crickets are found and outdoors around the home. Domestic animals
or birds should not be exposed to any quantity of the bait. If the bait
is scattered very thinly, little danger exists for animals or birds.
The house cricket was first reported in Connecticut from Shelton in
1918 and only four reports precede the present one in our records. Prob-
ably this small outbreak originated in the dump. [J. Peter Johnson]
Notes on Asiatic Garden Beetle Damage in a Field of Sweet Corn.
On July 7, 1939, a letter received from H. E. Baldwin, Westport, Conn.,
reported injury to sweet corn seedlings. Enclosed with the letter were
two adult beetles which were identified as the Asiatic garden beetle,
Autoserica castanea Arrow. Earlier, when the seedlings were 4 to 6 inches
Figure 5. Field of com in \A'estport, showing effect of a heavy infestation
of the Asiatic garden beetle, Autoserica castanea Arrow.
in height, many had turned a reddish color, wilted and died. An examina-
tion showed that the roots had been eaten. The field had been used for
pasture or hay prior to its use for corn. The land was plowed in the fall
and seeded to sweet corn in the spring.
The field was visited about July 10 for observation. As it had not
rained for about 10 days, it was possible to see thousands of emergence
holes through which the adult beetles had left the ground. Some adult
beetles were collected from the soil about the roots of some of the weeds
(pussley) in the field. The field was about five acres in size and more than
half of the first planting had been destroyed by the grubs earlier in the
season. The injury was spotty and irregular with many areas devoid of
corn.
314 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
On October 23, 1939, 24 diggings one square foot in area and 15 inches
in depth were made 100 feet apart in the field. Eight yielded no grubs,
and the others yielded from 1 to 11 each. A total of 51 grubs, or an average
of 2.1 to one square foot, was found.
As the average number of grubs found per square foot was considered
sufficient to injure the 1940 corn crop, it was recommended that the field
be plowed and harrowed in the spring when the grubs are just below the
surface of the ground. At the time the diggings were made, the grubs
were from 6 to 8 inches deep. It was further suggested that the field be
harrowed more than normally. [J. Peter Johnson]
Results of Trapping Rose Chafers. A complaint was received that
rose chafers, Macrodactylus subspinosus Fabr., were very numerous in a
cemetery in New Haven, and considerable feeding was taking place.
During the period while the adult beetles were present, from June 12
until early in July, 39 Japanese beetle traps were in operation in the in-
fested portion of the cemetery. These were located throughout the area
where the chafers were feeding, to points just beyond the infestation, cover-
ing approximately five acres.
The traps were not visited regularly but were emptied and checked
at intervals throughout the period. When the last rose chafers disappeared,
in early July, all the insects captured were measured. Four quarts of
chafers had been caught and one quart of these was counted. It contained
approximately 8,000 chafers, so the total catch for the season amounted
to 32,000.
Many chafers were not captured in the traps and there seemed to be
no decrease in numbers throughout the season. Although traps will
catch numbers of rose chafers they cannot be considered as a reliable
method of control for this insect. [J. Peter Johnson]
The European Earwig. Some notes by B. H. Walden on the occur-
rence of the European earwig, Forficula auricularia Linn., in Connecticut
were published in the 1938 report. During the past season a few observa-
tions were made in an attempt to learn something about the degree and
the extent of the infestation.
Four standard earwig traps as developed by the U. S. Department of
Agriculture were placed in the yard in Westville, where the earwigs were
originally found, by a representative of the Bureau of Entomology and
Plant Quarantine, Division of Forest Insect Investigations. One hundred
thirteen of the insects were removed from these traps in one of the periodical
checks made during the season.
As the standard earwig traps were not available in quantity, 60 simple
traps consisting of 4-inch flower pots filled with excelsior and inverted on
stakes 14 inches long were placed on 20 properties in the neighborhood.
Three were placed in each yard. The properties were selected on the
basis of their location relative to the original infestation. Four sites were
trapped in the city block containing the original infestation while two
sites were trapped in each of the adjoining blocks, totahng nine blocks in
all. Sixty-three earwigs were captured in these traps at six of the locations.
Miscellaneous Insect Notes 315
The earwigs were originally found in a back yard on McKinley Avenue.
The properties found infested in 1939 were primarily northwest of the 1938
site, toward Barnett Street and Fountain Street. This would indicate that
the center of the colony was situated north or west of the place of original
discovery. Further trapping in the future will in all probability settle
this question.
While making observations to determine whether or not the earwigs
were feeding to any extent on flowers or foliage, 16 were taken from four
dead dahlia blossoms. One neighbor reported that he captured three or
four a day on his dahlias. No feeding of any importance was noted during
the observations. [J. Peter Johnson]
Bark Beetle Damage to Plantation Pine. In the fall of 1939 it was
noticed that a number of pines in the experimental forest plantations of
the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station at Rainbow were in a
dead or dying condition (Figures 6 and 7). A survey was made to deter-
mine the identity of the insects causing the injury, the extent of the dam-
age, and the nature of the stands most heavily attacked.
Three of the most extensively infested blocks were examined in detail.
These consisted of a planting of pure white pine, one of pure red pine, and
a mixed planting of the two. The msects found to be causing primary
injury to the trees were bark beetles of the genus Ips, and included three
species: Ips pini Say, /. grandicollis Eichh., and /. calligraphus Germ.
Also present under the bark of red pine were numerous specimens of another
bark beetle, Hypophloeus parallelus Melsh.
The pure white pine stand was planted in 1902 and spaced 5 by 5 feet.
Originally it covered 0.6 of an acre, but most of the stand was destroyed
by the hurricane of 1938, and only 179 trees remain. The average diameter
is 5 inches and the height is about 40 feet. Of these, five have been killed,
while five others are infested and undoubtedly will die. The trees attacked
are thus 5.6 percent of the total. In this stand bark beetle damage may
be secondEo-y, however, as the trees were drastically exposed and rendered
liable to sunscorch and other adverse cHmatic forces. In addition, some
were injured by falling adjacent trees.
The pure red pine stand was planted in 1917, spaced 5 by 5 feet, and
includes 0.8 of an acre. The height of these trees is about 27 feet and the
average diameter is 4 inches. Of the total of 750 trees, the number attacked
by bark beetles is 33, or 4.4 percent. Of these, six are dead and five are
dying.
The red and white pines in the mixed stand were planted alternately,
5 by 5 feet apart, in rows 10 feet apart. The white pine has an average
diameter of 4.5 inches and a height of 26 feet. The number of trees attacked
is 10, or 1.2 percent, and of these three are dead and two are dying. Al-
though the red pines have a thriftier appearance, the number of injured
trees is much larger. The height averages 27 feet and the diameter 5.5
inches. In all, 66 trees are infested, or 8.0 percent of the total, and six of
these are dead and nine are dying. The dead red pines in this stand have
deteriorated rapidly ; the bark has fallen from the trunks and the branches,
and wind storms have caused many of the infested branches to break off
316
Connecticut Experiment Station
Bulletin 434
Figure 6. Base of white pine tree killed by Ips bark beetles, showing pitch
tubes on trunk and boring dust on ground around trunk.
Miscellaneous Insect Notes
317
(Figure 7). Both Ips pini and /. grandicollis were found in the branches.
All three species previously listed were also found hibernating in the organic
layer beneath the trees.
Figure 7. Red pine tree about 27 feet high killed by Ips bark beetles.
It has been reported recently that bark beetles have attacked red pine
plantations in the Pachaug State Forest in southeastern Connecticut.
Specimens taken from these trees have been determined as Ips pini.
However, many of the trees were also infested by a weevil, Pissodes approxi-
matus Hopk. Furthermore, one of the plantings was injured by a fire which
occurred in the spring of 1939.
[G. H. Plumb and A. DeCaprio]
Clover Mite in Dwellings. Each summer we receive complaints
about clover mites {Bryobia praetiosa Koch) entering homes. These pests
are of no great economic importance, but when they enter homes in large
numbers they become a nuisance to the housewife. They are so small that
they can easily gain entrance through screens and under doors and windows.
318 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
Most of the recommended methods of control have failed when the
mites are present in large numbers. At one house in Branford, where
these pests have been troublesome for several summers, the householder
applied tree tanglefoot under the lowest course of clapboards all around
the house to prevent the mites from crawling up higher and getting in
through the screens. This stopped the mites from entering until the
tanglefoot had become hardened or bridged over by the bodies of mites.
As long as the householder kept the tanglefoot fresh and sticky there was
no trouble, but this meant almost daily attention.
As most of the mites were on the south and west sides, the lawn on
these sides was covered with a fine sulfur dust for about 15 feet from the
house. Shortly after the sulfur dust application it rained for nearly two
days, following which mites seemed to be as abundant as before. Another
light coating of dust was applied on a warm sunny day. Several hot days
followed immediately after the application. The householder reported
about two weeks later that the mites were apparently all gone and there
was no further trouble with this pest the rest of the summer.
[M. P. Zappe]
Calomycterus setarius Roelofs in Connecticut. This weevil, a na-
tive of Japan, was first discovered in Connecticut in the town of Salisbury
in 1932. Since then it has been found in the towns of Sharon, Stratford,
Fairfield, Westport, and Greenwich.
The largest infestation, in the town of Stratford, covers about one
square mile. Adults have been rather abundant here and have been found
feeding on Lespedeza, Desmodium and several species of clover. The
larvae live in the ground and feed on roots of various plants. The adults
are wingless and have the curious habit of crawling up the sides of houses
and entering through doors and windows. They appear to prefer houses
that are painted white.
The Stratford infestation has apparently not increased in intensity.
During the summer of 1939 the adults appeared to be less numerous than
they were in 1938. Neither did their host plants show as much feeding
injury in 1939 as during the previous year. It was feared that they might
become abundant enough to cause economic injury to fields of clover,
but this has not yet happened. [M. P. Zappe]
PUBLICATIONS, 1939
W. E. Britton
Connecticut State Entomologist. Thirty-Eighth Report. Bui. 428, 122 pp., 16
figs., with index. Aug., 1939.
W. E. Britton and P. Garman
Report of Committee on Injurious Insects. Proc. 48th Annual Meeting, Conn.
Pomol. Soc, p. 76 (3 pp.). March, 1939.
W. E. Britton and M. P. Zappe
Inspection of Nurseries, 1938. Reprinted from Bui. 428, pp. 24-33, (10 pp.).
R. B. Friend
The Spruce Sawfly {Neodiprion polyiomum Htg.) and the European Pine Shoot
Moth {Rhyacionia huoliana SchifF.). Proc. Eastern Shade Tree Conf., p. 50
(4 pp.). Dec, 1938.
The Dutch Elm Disease Situation in Connecticut. Eastern Plant Board, Baltimore,
Md., Nov. 16, 1938. Mimeog. Publ. Feb., 1939.
Publications 319
Philip Garman
EfTectiveness of Parasites for Controlling the Oriental Fruit Moth. Mass. Fruit
Growers Assn., Inc., Rept. of 45th Annual Meeting, p. 70 (5 pp.). Jan., 1939.
Control of the Rosy Apple Aphid in Connecticut Apple Orchards. Circ. 126, 16
pp., 12 figs. Dec, 1938.
The European Red Mite and Its Control. Bui. 418, 34 pp., 6 figs. Nov., 1938.
Important Insects of the Apple Orchard and Methods of Control. Proc. 58th
Annual Meeting, Conn. Pomol. Soc, p. 81 (7 pp.). March, 1939.
Fruit Insect Problems in Connecticut. The Rural New Yorker, p. 546 (2 pp.).
Oct., 21, 1939.
Neely Turner
Construction of Metal Termite Shields. Pests, Vol. 7, p. 16 (2 pp.). Feb., 1939.
Control of European Corn Borer by Sprays and Dusts. Circ. 130, 4 pp., 1 fig.
Feb., 1939.
Control of European Corn Borers on Dahlias. Circ.133, 3 pp., 1 fig. May, 1939.
Neely Turner and J. F. Townsend
Control of Termites in Buildings. Circ. 134, 14 pp., 8 figs. May, 1939.
J. P. Johnson
Control of the Japanese Beetle. Circ. 132, 14 pp., 7 figs. May, 1939.
R. C. BOTSFORD
Progress of Mosquito Control in Connecticut. Proc. 26th Annual Meeting, N. J.
Mosq. Exterm. Assoc, p. 127 (6 pp.). March, 1939.
B. J. Kaston
A Note on Synonymy in Spiders (Araneae: Salticidae and Argiopidae). Ent.
News, Vol. xlix, p. 258 (2 pp.). Nov., 1938.
North American Spiders of the Genus Agroeca. Reprinted from the American
Midland Naturalist, Vol. 20, No. 3, p. 562 (9 pp.). Nov., 1938.
Notes on a New Variety of Black Widow Spider from Southern Florida. The
Florida Ent., Vol. xxi. No. 4, p. 60 (2 pp.). Dec, 1938.
The Native Elm Bark Beetle, Hylurgopinus rufipes (Eichh.), in Connecticut. Bui.
420, 39 pp., 19 figs. Feb., 1939.
A. W. Morrill, Jr., and D. S. Lacroix
Report on the Insect Investigations for the 1938 Season. In Report of Tobacco
Substation at Windsor for 1938. Bui. 422, p. 42 (8 pp., 6 figs.). March, 1939.
G. W. Barber, Associate Entomologist, Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine,
U.S.D.A.
Hibernation of the Corn Eau- Worm in Southern Connecticut. Bui. 419, 27 pp.
Jan., 1939.
320 Connecticut Experiment Station Bulletin 434
SUMMARY OF OFFICE AND INSPECTION WORK
Insects received for identification 568
Nurseries inspected 420
Regular nursery certificates granted (399 nurseries) 409
Duplicate nursery certificates for filing in other states 135
Miscellaneous certificates and special permits granted 190
Nursery dealers' permits issued 97
Shippers' permits issued to nurserymen in other states 173
Blister rust control area permits issued 195
Certification and inspection of occasional shipments
Parcels of nursery stock 1,696
Corn borer certificates 1,204
Packages of shelled corn and other seeds 2,535
Japanese beetle certificates
Nursery and floral stock and farm products 41,574
Orchards, gardens, fields and lawns examined^ 240
Buildings examined for termites, etc 62
Shipments of imported nursery stock inspected 13
Number of cases 37
Number of plants 276,400
Apiaries inspected 1,627
Colonies inspected 8,936
Apiaries infected with American foul brood 83
Colonies infected with American foul brood 147
Towns covered by gypsy moth scouts 75
Infestations discovered 430
Egg-clusters creosoted 8,260,640
Larvae and pupae killed by hand 53,151
Infestations sprayed 31
Lead arsenate used (pounds) 150,496
Miles of roadside scouted 1,200
Acres of woodland scouted 204,350
Letters written^ 4,080
Circular letters issued 1,356
Bulletins and circulars mailed 6,067
Packages sent by mail and express 42
Post cards mailed '. 505
Lectures, papers and addresses at meetings 41
' Including 46 calls on vegetcible survey.
2 Including 148 letters written from the gypsy moth office at Danielson.
INDEX
Adelges ahietis, 227
cooleyi, 227
Altica ulmi, 223, 225
Aluminum acetate, 269, 270
sDicate, 265
sulfate, 270
American foul brood, 237, 238
Ammonium nitrate, 273
Anasa tristis, 222, 285, 286
Anomala orientalis, 218, 224, 225
Anuraphis roseus, 224
Apple and thorn skeletonizer, 218
maggot, 222, 224, 264-269
sprays, tests of, 260-264
Armyworm, 224
Asiatic beetle, 218
garden beetle, 225, 313
Autoserica castanea, 225, 313
Barium fluosilicate, 278-282
Bark mites, 307
Bassus diversus, 258, 259
Bentonite, 269
Birch leaf-mining sawfly, 218
Black carpet beetles, 225
dye, 266
Blissus hirtus, 222, 224
Bordeaux mixture, 275, 277-282
Bran, 312, 313
Britton, Wilton Everett, 215-221
Brown-taU moth, 242
Bryohia praetiosa, 317
Cabbage maggot, 224
Calcium arsenate, 278-282
Calomyderus setarius, 318
Carpenter ant, 225
Cedar rust, 262, 264
Cerodontha femoralis, 216
Chalepus dorsalis, 223
Cheiropachys colon, 307
Chinch bug, 222, 224
Chinese praying mantid, 225
Cicada killer, 225
Cirphis unipuncta, 224
Clay, 266, 278
Clover mite, 317
Codling moth, 261-264
Colorado potato beetle, 216, 275
Conotrachelus nenuphar, 223, 225
Copper, 280
sulfate, 262, 263
Corn ear worm, 224
Crazy ant, 311, 312
Creosote, 239, 308, 310
oil, coal-tar, 308
Crown gall, 236
Cube, 278
CurcuMo, 261-264, 272
Cydocephala borealis, 222
Daiana integerrima, 223
Deer, 257, 258
Dermestes sp., 312
Derris, 250, 264, 285
Diahrotica vittata, 224, 285, 286
Diodes molestae, 258, 259
Diprion simile, 218
Dry lime-sulfur, 260-263
Dual-fixed nicotine dust, 273, 275, 286, 287
Dutch ehu disease, 219, 293, 299, 305, 308
"Dynamite" sticker, 269-272
Eastern cottontail, 257
Elm bark beetles, 219, 306
flea beetle, 223, 225
leaf beetle, 216
spanworm, 223
Emphytus cindus, 236
Empoascafabae, 224
Ennomos subsignarius, 223
Enoderus nigripes, 307
Epilachna varivestris, 219, 224
Epiirix cucumeris, 222, 224, 277-283
European corn borer, 218, 222, 224, 226,
273-276, 281, 286
earwig, 224, 314, 315
elm bark beetle, 222, 223, 293-311
foul brood, 218
hare, 257
pine shoot moth, 222, 227
red mite, 218, 222, 224, 260, 268
spruce sawfly, 219
Fall webworm, 223
Felted beech scale, 219
Fish oil, 239, 250, 260. 262, 263, 270, 278-
282. 286. 287
Fleas, 225
Flotation sulfur, 260-262
Forest tent caterpillar, 223
Forficula auricularia, 224, 314, 315
Fruit speck. 260, 262, 263
Fuel oil, 251
Gallo-tannin, 275
Genicide, 264
German roach, 225
Glue, 263
Grapholitha molesia, 218, 222, 223
Greenhouse whitefly, 216
Gryllus domeslicus, 312, 313
Gypsy moth, 218, 222, 223, 226
control, 239-247
Harlequin cabbage bug, 224
Heliothis obsoleta, 224
Hickory beetle, 305
tussock caterpillar, 225
House cricket, 312, 313
Hylemyia brassicae, 224
Hylurgopinus rufipes, 296, 301, 304, 306,
309
Hyphanlria cunea, 223
Hypophloeiis parallelus, 315
Indian meal moth, 225
Inspection of apiaries, 237-239
imported nursery stock, 236
nurseries, 227-236
Ips calligraphus, 305, 315
grandicollis, 305, 315, 317
oregoni, 307
pini, 305, 315, 317
322
Connecticut Experiment Station
Bulletin 434
Japanese beetle, 219, 222, 223, 226, 248-
250
parasites, 259-260
Lampblack, 266
Lead arsenate, 239, 241, 242, 250, 260,
262, 263, 268, 270-273, 278-282,
285-287, 308
Leafhoppers, 279, 280, 282
Lepus europaeus hybridus, 257
Lime, 260, 262, 263, 270-272, 277-282
hydrated, 262, 278, 280, 282
sulfur, 268,272, 273
Limonius agonus, 224
Linseed oil, 270
Locust leaf miner, 223
Macrocentrus ancylivorus, 258
Macrodadylus subspinosus, 224, 225, 314
Macrosiphum solanifolii, 224
Magdalis sp., 304
Magnetic sulfur, 260-262
Malacosoma disstria, 223
Manganese sulfate, 272, 273
Marmota monax, 255, 257
Meadow mouse, 254, 255, 257
Melitiia satyr iniformis, 224, 285, 286
Mexican bean beetle, 219, 224
Mice, 254, 255, 257
Microlus pennsylvanicus, 254, 255, 257
Milky disease, 250
Molasses, 312
Mosquito control, 251-254
Murgantia histrionica, 224
New England cottontail, 257
Nicotine, 260, 273
sulfate, 285, 286
Oak twig girdler, 297
Odocoileus virginianus, 257, 258
Odontocera dorsalis, 216
Oleic acid, 286
Oncideres cingulatus, 297
Orgilus longiceps, 259
Oriental beetle, 224, 225
fruit moth, 218, 222, 223
parasites, 258-259
Oyster-shell scale, 227
Parasitylenchus scolyti, 307
Paratetranychus pilosus, 218, 222, 224,
260, 268
Paratrechina longicornis, 311
Paris green, 312
Pegomyia hyoscyami, 224
Perilla oil, 270-272
Phytomyza aquilegiae, 21 6
Pine blister rust, 227
leaf scale, 227
mouse, 255
Pissodes approximatus, 317
Pitymys pinetorum, 255
Plum curcuho, 223, 225
Popillia japonica, 219, 222, 223, 226, 248-
250
Poplar- canker, 227
Porlhetria dispar, 218, 222, 223, 226, 239-
247
Potato flea beetle, 222, 224
control, 277-283
leafhopper, 224
Powdery mildew, 285, 286
Pyrausta nubilalis, 218, 222, 224, 226, 273-
276, 281, 286
Pyrethrum, 285
Pyrophyllite, 264, 265, 268, 269
Quebracho-fixed nicotine, 264
Quebracho tannin, 275
Rabbits, 257
Red-banded leaf roller, 222, 272
Rhagolelis pomonella, 222, 224, 264-269
Road dust, 277
Rodents, 222
control, 254-258
Rose chafer, 224, 225, 314
Rosin residue, 250
Rosy apple aphid, 224
Rotenone, 250, 264-269, 278, 281, 282, 285
Sacbrood, 237, 238
Salt marsh mosquito, 218
Salt water spray, effect, 287-293
San Jose scale, 216-218, 227
Scab, 260-264
Scolytus muUistriatus, 222, 223, 293-311
quadrispinosus, 305
Smaller European elm bark beetle, 293-311
Sooty blotch, 260-263
Soybean flour, 272, 273
oU, 270
Spathius canadensis, 306
Spinach leaf miner, 224
Spruce gaU aphid s, 227
Squash bug, 222, 285, 286
vme borer, 224, 285, 286
Striped cucumber beetle, 224, 285, 286
Sulfur, 260-263, 268, 270, 272, 273, 318
Sylvilagus floridanus mallurus, 257
transitionalis, 257
Termites, 222, 225
Tetramethyl tliiuram disulfide, 250
Tiphia popilliavora, 260
vernalis, 250, 259, 260
Tree tanglefoot, 318
Trichogramma, 223, 258
Triethanolamine, 286
Walnut caterpUlar, 223
Western dynamite spray, 286, 287
Wettable sulfur, 270
Wheat flour, 250
White arsenic, 312
lubricating oil, 265
pine weevil, 222, 227
-tail deer, 258
Wilt disease, 285
Wireworms, 224, 283-284
"g^oodchucks, 255,/25'p
"X" disease, 227 '"*" '^
Xyleborus sp., 305
Zinc phosphide, 254
stearate, 266
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