Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-08-12
ENTOMOLOGISTS
FROM AWAY AT
WORK IN MAINE
Valuable Addition to Force at
Work on the Study of In
sects-Important
Discoveries

the great bulk of field investigation
with insects in Maine must be made
during the summer months and prac-
! tically all the material needed for
study must be collected at that time,
there has been each year a congestion
of important insect situations during
the summer which one or even two en-
tomolosists cannot adequately meet.
Any logical solution seemed to demand
larger staff of entomologists for the
summer than we had previously had
and indeed than we could possibly at
| ford to retain for the entire year
Merely as an experiment to see If
| the situation could be handled in that
manner, the Station department of en-
tomoiogy in 1913 ventured to invite
! teaching entomologists to spend their
summer vacation in the more COM
| Portable climate of Maine, each to de-
vote his time to that family of insects
| on which he is an especial authority.
The results last season so far justi-
| fed our hopes that we have with us
| again during the summer of 1914 three
visiting entomologists from other in
! situations as a summer staff, each
| occupied with problems with which he
is particularly conversant, applied to
Maine conditions.
| Although we are not comitted to
such plan as a settled policy there
are many advantages inherent in this
scheme of work. On account of our
cooler climate Maine offers considera-
| bic inducement for summer work to
entomoloeists who have spent the rest
OF the year teaching in other states
! To the nom entomologist il may seem
strange that ii is quite possible to con-
front an entomologist with certain
| insects that they really know very lit
tie about. For instance, anyone send
| Ing in to this Station member Of a.
certain family of flies with the request
for specific determination would very
| likely be told: That belongs to the
| family Ceidomiidae,-we will send it
to Doctor F., a specialist in that fam
lily to secure its specific name for
you In like manner the entomolo-
gtsts each specializing in some group
send to the Maine Station their plant
lice or aphids for identification, the
Station Entomologist being a specialist
in that group This indicates the fact
early recognized by any student of
insects. that so incredibly numerous
are insects and so diverse in habit
and structure that 1t is we'll nigh i'm
| possible to have an acquaintance with
| more than a few families intimate
| enough to give the best economic in
| formation.
In view of this fact ii is being very
valuable to the State to have special
lists in different groups of insects here
during the summer months In this
manner we have had survey of
Maine for the cranef1ies. which are so
numerous here that it seemed proba bic
that certain species were doing dam
age, as some cranefiies are very de-
structive in their larval stages. We
now know, however, thanks to the
investigations of a world specialist in
this family that of approximately $50
species of craneflies developing in
Maine practically all attain their
growth by feeding upon non-economic
vegetation in marshy places. so their
| abundance need give no alarm. We
nave also valuable reference conec-
| ticn of craneflies as result of last
summers work with these insects.
Again. our observations and collec-
tons for good many years showed
that sawfies are so numerous in
Maine that it would be very desirable
TO have the feeding habits of these
determined. We were fortunate
enough last season to secure the SER
vices of a specialist who made a refer
ence collection with notes for more
than one hundred species of sawfiv
larvae,--probably the best collection of
the sort in this country. Among these
are very considerable number of
highly economic species, information
concerning which is valuable aid.
The 1913 survey of the State FOR leaf
hoppers revealed so many important
species that the work of last season is
being followed up by more intensive
study of the habits of such of these
insects as merit further Investigation.
These two summers work by the chief
authority in this country on this groun
of insects Is resulting In an accumuIa-
ton of the most valuable inforrna ton
obtainabie along this line, the results
OF which will be given in two bulle-
tins to be published by the Station.
Tie important discovery of last sea-
son that the apple maggot is breeding
III Maine blueberries has led us to con-
tinue BURBERRY Investigations as one
item in the schedule of the summer
entomoloeists.
In view of the fact that poison bats
have been reported as a successful
means of combating certain fruit flies,
it seemed desirable to test out this
method for the currant fruit fly and
the apple maggot under Maine condi-
tions. We are able for this season to
secure scientist of years of expert
ence with fruit flies and control work
with them in this and other countries
and await the results Of his lexperi-
ments with considerable interest
The publications by the summer en-
tomologists on their Maine studies are
numbered in the series Of the Station
Department of Entomology Those
with particular economic bearing are
published as Station bulletins, and
others in such other places as seem
most appropriate.
CHAs. D. WOODS,
Director