Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-03-21
FARMERS ENEMIES.
A Review of the Illinois Entomology
cal Campaign Of 1888.


mologist, makes an interesting report
to the State Board of Agriculture OF
| his observations during 1888 OF the
insects which have damaged the crops
of Illinois farmers. Professor Forbes
says: Now that one years entomolo.
gical campaign is completed, a brief
Ieview of some of its most important
| features and results will doubtless be
of interest. Early attention was given
to the insects attacking corn in the
| ground, before the spreut has appear
ed above the surface. A surprising
number were found tn infest it at this
period, the results of their injuries
being usually attributed by farmers
to the weather, defective seed, etc.
Among these the seed corn maggot
(Anthomyia ze9) was frequently
noted, and was received from many
parts of the state. A small, black
headed maggot, the larva of very
abundant, gnat- like fly (Seiara), was
also excessively common in ground
which had been previously in grass,
and attacked the seed-corn if it did
not terminate promptly and vigorous
ly, but apparently did not inJure per-
fectly sound and healthy grams. A
minute yellow ant (SotenopsaS tt9dr)
was seen actually gnawlng and lick
ing away the substance of the sound
kernels in the ground, both before and
after they had sprouted. The corn
plant-louse (ApItis nldidis) was an
early and destructive enemy OF the
crop, ofte0 throttling the young shoot
before it had broken ground. 1t was
chiefly confined to fields which had
been just previously in corn or grass,
"The chinch-bug was found In
spring depositing the eggs for its first
brood of young about the roots of
the corn, a habit not hitherto report
ed.
''With the increasing attention to
the culture of sorghum, its insect
enemies are coming rapidly to the
front. Four species of plant-lice, two
of them new, made vigorous attack
upon this crop in the vicinity OF
Champaign, and two of them were
likewise abundant in broom corn.
THE corn root worm (Diabrattcd
Eonqicornis) was occasionally met
with in sorghum, but does not seem
likely to GO any great mischief to that
plant. 1t could not be found IN
broom corn. In fields of n aize, how
ever, it was again very destructive,
where corn had been raised on the
same ground year or two before,
The Hessian-fy did great damage
throughout the winter wheat region
of the state, many fields not being
worth harvesting in consequence of
it's ravages. Several facts were col
lected tending to show that it is three
brooded in the Southern part of the
state. Nearly or quiet all the last
brood passed the summer as flax
seeds" in the s ubblcs, where they
might easily have been destroyed by
general and concerted action. For
tunately, the summer weather was
unfavorable to their development;
and the drouth conspired with their
parasites to greatly diminish their
numbers. in the regions under our
observation, not one in thousand
emerged from the midsumer pupa-
cases, and numbers of the larvae were
found completely dried up.
"The wheat straw~worm (Isossmla
triticD, a minute, slender, yellow
grub, which burrows inside the grow
ing stem, dwarfing or blighting the
forming head, was abundant through
out the winter wheat region OF south
ern Illinois. causing, in some places,
loss scarcely exceeded by that due
to the Hessian fly. Our breeding ex-
periments demonstrate that this insect
winters in the straw as larva or pupa
emerging as an adult fly early in the
spring, these flies laying their eggs
upon the stems after they commence
to Joint. AS the flies are very minute,
and nearly all are wingless, their
spread from field to field is slow, and
it seems entirely within the power of
the individual farmer to control this
insect by burning or otherwise de-
stroying the stubble in summer or
autumn, and burning the surplus OF
the straw not fed to stock early in
spring. a simple rotation of crops,
devotlng land previously in wheat
to some other grain or to grass, will
answer instead of burning the stub
BILE.
1.-THE life history of the wheat bulb
worm (MerOmyzd dmericand) was
completed this year The second or
summer brood did decided injury to
wheat in Fulton county, so many OF
the heads being killed that some of the
fields looked gray at little distance.
This species was also injurious to rye,
but much less so than to wheat. 1t
certainly does not attack oats at all;
fields of that graia raised where
winter wheat had been destroyed by
it, and plowed up, being entirely free
from it, while wheat fields adjacent
were badly damaged. We have good
evidence that postponement of SOW
ing to as late date as possible pre-
vents the rave ges of this insect, In the
same way as IL does those OF the Hes
sian fly.
The common rose chafer (lMdcrO-
ddctylus subspinosus) greatly inJur-
ed some fields of corn in Will county,
the adult beetle devouring the leaves
The flea negro-bug' (1hyreOcoris
pulicarius) was found injurious to
wheat in Montgomery county, dram
ing the sap from the heads before ma
turity. SO that the kernel shriveled
prematurely. In parts of some fields
the crop was thus almost wholly de-
strcyed.
The chronological record of the
orchard and the fruit garden is not
less eventful than that of the farm
In extreme southern Illinois the
forest tent caterpillar (Clisiocdnpd
sylratic0 made a frightfuI inroad
upon the apple orchard, absolutely
defoliating every tree in large districts
It also did great mischief to many
forest trees. Its injuries to fluit might
have been almost wholly preveated,
either by destroying the eggs upon
= he wigs of the trees in autumn, as
was successfully done by many, or by
spraying the foliage of infested trees
is spring with Paris green, or similar
poison, rs was done with the best eff
feet and at but slight expense by Mr..
David Ayres, of Villa Ridge. Great
numbers of these caterpillars were kill
ed by con .ious disease, which
swept them off Just as they were ready
to trar Storm to he chrysalis; but vast
quantities of the eggs are now upon
the trees, ready to hatch in spring.
"a large apple orchard in Han
cock coauty dropped a great part of
its crop on account of the Injuries