Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1879-06-11
FARM And flREsIpE.
sS6.sh and CuesimSsr Pes Is


So much has already been said and
written about the common squash bug,
(Anasa tristis,) that it seems out Of
place to take much space with it here.
Up to the time my winter squash vines
had begun to spread well, sending out
vigorous shoots in all directions, and
the young squashes were from three to
six inches in diameter, no insects had
molested them, but within few days
they were covered with squash bugs,
in all stages of development, from the
young just Matched, seemingly all legs
and bill, to the old bugs, parents Of the
broods. This was during the latter
par: Of July. had two kinds Of winter
squashes, the Hubbard and Marblehead.
The first of these were nearly killed by
the bugs in less than week from their
first appearance, and considerable
damage was done to the Marblehead
variety. Their attacks extend from
there to the summer squsshes, and to
the pumpkins, but the damage to these
was not so great. Besides bugs, there
seemed to be one or more other kinds
OF insects at work in the squash vines
the past season, not only in my garden
but throughout this vicinity. Every
few days l would End vine wilted that
had apparently been healthy before,
and an examination would show but
few or no bugs on it. l was too busy at
the time to give the vines careful sx-
animation, but from the way in which
the vines died, think they must have
been attacked by what is known as the
squash borer (KslEtia cneur6itne,) and
Ipresume i'll had exsminsd.them close
", should have found somewhere not
far from the roots, q whitish worm from
an inch to an inch and quarter long
burrowed in the center Of the stalk. l
am aware that this is rendering YER
dict on circumstaHtial evidence, but
g. the habits OF this borsr so accord with
the effects that it is almost as good as
finding the worm.
The squash borer is produced from
an egg laid on the vine near the roots
of the plants some time from the
middle efJuly to the middle of August,
or perhaps earlier. when hatched, the
young worm bores into the stalk till it
reaches the center, where it feeds until
it comes to maturity. At this time the
cavity it makes is 50 large that it causes
the vines to wilt often quite suddenly.
This sudden willing may be accounted
for on the superstition that this, ike
many other caterpillars, mas a voracious
appetite just before it'll ready to under
20 it's transformations. When ready
to pupate, the worm either deserts the
vine that has furnished it food, and
forms rude earthen cocoon in which
to pupate, or sometimes change within
the hollow stalk. The chrysalis passes
the winter IN its place Of concealment to
undergo it's final change the following
summer; the moth, too, becomes
parent for an ensuing brood. This
little moth is peculia. When the wings
are spread they measure across them
little more than an inch. The wings
are narrow, the bind wings anda spot
at the base Of the fsrs wings transpar-
snt. but the rest Of the fore wings and
the veins and fringes Of the hind wings
claek. The thorax 10 dark olive, and
the abdomen orange banded with black,
but the most noticeable feature 10 the
long hind legs which are heavily frnged
with grange aud black hairs.
STRIPED CUCUMBER BEETLE.
Besides the nea beetles already nen-
toned IN q former article, both my cue
cumbsrs and melons were seriously in.
jured by the striped cucumber beetle
(DiabTfiea sittata). Usually, plaster
ofparis, sprinkled on the vines while
dew 10 on, is sufficient to drive these in.
sects from them, but last season it
proved Q f4ilure. The beetles fingered
round the plants, eating wherever they
could nnd q spst not plastered, while
the grubs worked away at the roots
This killed many plants, and rendered
many more sickly and puny. Several
applications Of the plaster brought 3
part Of the plants through to 9 suitable
size for bearing, but before they had
borne much fruit, they disappeared
with the squash vines.
This well-known beetle Is about
quarter Of an inch long and about half
as wide. The ground color is either
bright or pale yellow, the head usually
black, the thorax with two black dots
near the middle, the wing cases with
black stripe through the middle Of each
and each one surrounded with black
border. The grubs or Larvae Of these
beetles are produced from eggs depos-
tied near the roots OF the plants, upon
which the parent feeds. AS soon as
hatIhed, the young worm commences
eating into the stem, usually just below
the surface of the ground, though some
times it bores into the stem above the
surface. When full grown, they are
about third Of an inch long and very
slender. At this time they leave the
plants upon which they have been feed
ing, and retire into the ground to
change into pupe, coming out as per-
feet bsetles after remaining in this state
about two weeks. There are said to be
two or three broods in a season.
NJ ,,,,uc,h.ro che naat ssesap x.rs