Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-03-06

a Destructive Insect and the farmers
Greatest Knamy.-
This insect Is without doubt the farm
er's greatest enemy In upland clay soils,
SURPRISING In destFuctiveness, so far as
dollars and cents are concerned, possibly
all other insects combined, in localities
where the chinch bug does not exist
have known this grub for more than
forty years, and yet have given it but
little attention until recently, and even
now do not claim to. understand all its
habits, its choice of food growing in jux
Imposition, successful methods in de-
stroying it, or entirely defeating it in
its destructive work. / have. however,
learned a few facts concerning this in
sect that If carefully observed will be
OF great value to those who raise corn
in localities infested with the grub.
It is a triennial insect. 1t is most
voracious and does its most destructive
work the season it is one year old from
the egg. The season it is two years old
from the egg it is not so voracious, and
in those years fields OF quite ordinary
fertility (if the season be favorable for
corn), though infested with grub, may
produce good crop. When it is three
years old from the egg it does no injury
whatever to the corn crop or any other
crop. They excoriate the latter part of
May or early in June, and the brown
beetle rises in the air little after sun
set in such countless myriads that their
hum resembles the low rumble of dis
tant train of cars, but at sunrise they
have again disappeared in the ground.
They are entirely nocturnal in ha bits.
Both beetle and grub live always in
darkness, and if exposed to the suns
rays will hasten to burrow in the soil.
The black beetle seen during midsum-
mer, though nocturnal also, does not
shun the sunshine, and may be seen
rolling his marble in the hot road-dust
at midday. The grub of this beetle does
comparatively little harm, if any It can
easily be distinguished from that Of the
brown beetle.
It resembles more nearly the present
size and form of the sixteen-year locust.
The brown beetle burrows in the ground
each night of its short life, and there de-
posits its eggs. I think the prevailing
notion that it needs animal excreta in
which to deposit its eggs arises from the
habits of the marble roller, and the mis-
taken notion that this black beetle is
the parent of the white grub worm.
However, the causes which attract the
beetles more to certain localities when
depositing I do not fully understand.
They prefer high and dry ground. They
do deposit where there is no manure,
and yet where soiling is practiced,
from my limited observations, 1 must
conclude that the fields are not so badly
infested. Impoverished soils are not
only worse affected, but here the grub
gets in his most destructive work, since
the plants can not withstand the root
pruning.
The brown beetles lodge in vast
swarms upon our fields at night, and
burrow in the soil and deposit their
eggs, whether there be manure present
or not. The grub is slow mover, and
never travels far from where the egg is
deposited. It's movements are chiefly
in vertical direction, only moving
few feet horizontally in hot weather in
search of food