Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1880-06-16
THE ARMY Worm. IN TIL

worm in some portions OF the uppe
end of this county has been great. The.
make a general attack on the wheat 10
Meem's bottoms but it is hoped tina
the wheat was too far advanced to re-
ceiye much injury. Gen. Meem in
forms us that they have done his COIL
great injury, much OF it being entirely
destroyed. We publish below accounts
Of the ravages Of this worm in Dele
ware. They have also appeared il
New York and in Maryland.
LEUCANIA UNIPUNCTA-Hdl0.
The following is from correspon
dent OF the Country Gentleman
"This county (Ken) has just been
visited, and is now suffering from the
worst scourge that bias, in my know
ledge, afflicted it for many years, viz:
the army worm. 1t first made its ap
pearance IN the wheat fields of w. p.
Seward, les acres, from which he had
fine promise Of reaping 5000 bushels.
Now it Is in ruins. Since that tune 1t
has extended its ravages to ali the
wheat fields and many corn fields on all
those farms lying on the eastern Oh
water side OF this county, and they are
sill increasing. Their name aud num-
Der is legion. In most places they cX~
tend over the whole Garth, everything
trees, fences, buildings and trees
being covered with them, aud as it Is
new tping for our faamers, we are at
loss Just what to do. The only thing
beng done is to abandon the wheat
wheat fields, where they seem to make
Their FIRST appearance, and to dig tren-
ches around the corn fields. The
worms have difficulty in climbing out
of the dilchcs if the side next the corn
field is left perpendicular, or left
sloped under. In some cases the far
nlers dig a trench first and then in the
trench dig square pits, and then, as the
worms fall into the trench, sweep them
with broems into pits. AS remarked
above, it is something new TO US, and
the only way can account for the vast
numbers aud wide extent is in the fact
of the very mild winter, which was not
severe enough 10 kill the eggs. "
will you or some of your many
readers give the origin and technical
name of this pest, and if known, some
remedy for the evil ? 1t is supposed that
many wheat fields will not be worth
reaping. One gentleman in this county
has had his wheat fields visited some
two or three times before, but their
visits were so late in the season that
the grain of the wheat was too ha-d for
them, aud they Only ate the leaves anu
the boards of the wheat, doing very
little damage to the gralu. This time,
however. they have struck the wheat III
the mix, and they are eating everything
aud it will require had work, and
good deal of it, to save the corn fields,
if that will do it. J. II. B. Dover, Del
In the Eighth Annual Report on
the Noxious, Bene fetal and other Ia
sects of Missouri" Prof. c. V. Riley
has an exhaustive article on the army
worrl. from which we extract the fol-
lowing summary Of what is known
about this insect:
"rhe army wsrm comes from a bullN
colored moth having conspicuous
white speck about the middle oil each
of the front wings. This moth haunts
our lelds from the middle Of June till
winter. Those which issue early in the
season probably lay their eggs in fall,
while those which issue later hibernate
and lay their eggs in spring. The eggs
are most probably laid on mature grass
and grain stalks, whether cut and in
stack or standing. They are either in
serted between the stalk and sheath,
or attached in rows along the stalk
The worms, when not excessively
hide duriag the day and are
seldom noticed. In years Of great
they are also generally un-
noticed during their early life. The
earliest acquire full growth and COM
mence to travel in armies and to devas-
tate our fields and attract attention
about the time that winter wheat Is III
the milk. They sson afterwards deS-
cend into the ground, and thus suddenly
disappear, to issue again two or three
weeks later as moths. The bulk Of the
worms become moths in this latitude
the same season, bnt few probably
hibernate in the pupa state below
ground, and the proportion of these H.
creases as we go north. There is but
one generation annually. The worms
abound during wet spring, preceded by
one or more very dry years. They are
proved upon by numerous enemies,
which so effectually check their in
crease during years Of great multiplica-
ton that two great army-worm years
have never followed each other, and
are not likely to do so. They may lie
prevented from invading a field by
iudicious ditching, and burning over
field in winter or early spring edectu-
ally prevents their Matching ia such
ell.