The Portland daily press., 1882-08-29
More About the Army Worm.

Prof c. H. Fernald of the Maine State
College writes the Maine Farmer that the
food plants of the genuine army worm are
the grasses ard grain. Glover is not much
relished by it, and but little eaten. Those
which are said to devoIr the leaves of shrubs
and trees, are, without doubt, entirely an
other insect. The female moth deposits her
eggs between the sheath and stalk of grass,
or in the fold of leaf near the base, in
rows containing from five to twenty or
more, covering them with white, glisten-
ing fluid which fastens them to a leaf and
draws the edges together, so that they are
nearly or quite concealed. The egg is while
nearly spherical, about two hundredths of
an inch in diameter, and matches in from
eight to ten days. The newly ha,ched army
worm does rot look much as it does when
full grown. but is so small and so near the
color of the grass that it is generally over
looked, even when present in large numbers
1t feeds and grows rapidly, attaining its full
growth in from fifteen to thirty days, during
which time the worm, or larva, sheds its
skin (molts) five times, 1t is now about an
inch and half long, p2le green on the un-
der side, and with longitudinal stripes of
dark gray, or blackish and greenish and yell
low on the upper side Shortly after the
arva works its way down beneath the sur
face o. the ground, where it transforms into
udl D1OWA Pupd dGOuU tllI GO iOuAt ho VI
an inch long. Their habits are like those of
their near relatives, the cut worms, which
remain concealed from the hot rays Of the
sun during the heat of the day, feeding late
IL the afternoon. or by night. During the
es.rlier stages of their growth they are too
small to do much injury TO the crops o.
to attract attention; but as they increase in
size they require more food, and when very
abundant they exhaust the supply where
I ocrx< ID
numbers and in regular order, not turning
aside for any ordinary obst cles, but devour-
ing everything in their way which can pos
sibly serve as food, continuing in this way
until they have reached their full growth
and maturity, when they at once work their
wav under ground and transform into pupa.
After remaining in the pupa state for about
twenty days the outer case bursts and the
perfect moth emerges from the ground and
remains concealed during the day, flying
only in the early part of the night. This
moth is of a light brown color, with white
spot near the middle of the fore wing, and
expands from an inch and holt to two in
ches. Some believe that the moths hibern-
ate in the fields, concealing themselves in
tufts of grass, or ia any place that affords
them shelter, and in the spring revive and
deposit their eggs. Others claim that they
lay their eggs in the fall; that these hatch
and he Young larVa feed until OVertaken by
the cold weather, when they conceal them
selves and hibernate; and that in the spring
they again feed and complete their growth
and tran sformations. 1t is believed by some
that they pass the winter under ground in
the pupal state. If either of the first two
methods be true the larger part of them may
be destroyed by burning the stubble on an
infested field, late in the fall or early in the
spring. If, however, they spend the winter
under ground in the pupal state, burning
the stubble will be of no avail, since the
hen will not be sufficient to destroy them in
their subterranean abode; but it might be
well to pillow the field late in the fall, to turn
them up where they will be exposed to the
frost.
The enemies Of the army worm, Prof.
Fernald says, are parasitic insects, which
prey upon them-notably the red tailed
Tachina fly. Whenever the army worms
are on the march from one field to another,
they may be checked by blowing furrow
across their track ahead of the advancing
column, with the vertical side next the field
to be protected. As the worms fill this.
straw may he put in and burned to destroy
them, when it can be done without danger
fran the fire; or holes may be made with
crowbar in the bottom of the furrow, and as
the worms fall into these they may be killed
by crushing them. If the ground is suffi-
GENTLY smooth, heavy roller may be run
over them to crush them; or poisonous in
insecticides, as Paris green, may be sprink-
led GU the grass ahead of them.