Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-09
STORY OF A Rad INSECT.
Latest News About the Potato Bug and Hts
Wicked Work.

| Wicked Work.
WHERE THE CREATURE CAME FROM ORIGINALLY,
AND HOW IT MADE ITS WAY EASTWARD ACROSS
| THE CONTINENT MATERIAL HISTORY OF THE
BEErLE-soxE OF THE ENEMIES WHICH PREY
UPON IT.
s. A THOUGH ONE SELDOM HEARS
| "A nowadays Of the potato bug, respect
ing which there was such an excitement few
years ago. tho insect is Mt present more widely
distributed than ever before" said an en-
tomologist to writer for The SrAn. Its
swarms have extended to the far northwest, at
lacking the esculent tubers of Nova Scotia,
while other armies are devastating the gulf
states. In fact, it may be said that they have
spread over all the United States east Of the
Rocky mountains. West Of that great chain of
hills they have never been able to 20, for rea-
sons which will presently explain to you.
| "Ths potato bug had its origin in the noun
TIN regions Of Colorado. There IL preyed
upon species Of wild potato peculiar to the
Rockies and known as the sand bur- This
i plant. which found Its home in fertile tracts
! among the hills spread eastward through man o
| agency in one way and another. Doubtless the
| cattle traffic was one means by which the sand
| bur was conveyed across the plains into Mis-
souri,, where it fiourished. Incidentally to the
spread of the plant toward the east the potato
| bug which 1t nourished made its way in the
direction of the Atlantic ocean.
! THE BUG INVASION OF THE EAST
| I'm 1851, atabout the time when the rebellion
broke out the armies of potato bugs, which
had already acquired . taste for the cultivated
| tuber. invaded Iowa. During 1864 and 1865
stream was no bar to their progress, and it is
certain that their hordes passed over it into
| Illinois at five points within distance of 200
miles. In 1857 the beetles had made their way
into Indiana, and by 1869 they had appeared in
| Ohio. During March, 1871, they swsrmed on
lowing summer saw the Detroit river literally
| alive with them. At the same time they were
crossing Lake Erie 10y myriads on ships, chips.
slaves, boards or any other floating objects
which were at hand. By 1873 the advance
guards Of tie vast army had appeared on the
Atlantic seaboard. In West Virginia and in the
| District OF Columbia. The ocean beaches were
thickly covered with them and only the At
lantic itself was able to check their march. At
| some places in Connecticut the insects were
washed ashore in such numbers as to poison
the air. Vessels were boarded by them in such
swarms that the matches had TO be closed.
Hallway trains we're stopped by them, the rails
| having to be swept of and the tracks sanded
creatures accomplished their wonderful march
across the continent at the rate Of from fifty
to eighty eight miles year.
HOW THEIR JOURNEYS ARE MADE.
"You must not imagine, however, that the
progress OF potato bug armies is accomplished
| by crawling. They perform their journeys by
flying, being provided with large rose-colored
| wings, which when the insects are at rest are
| compactly folded up beneath the striped wing
cases. At the same time, it would not do to
| suppose that their spread over the more popu-
lous portions Of the country is to be attributed
to their power of fight alone. Undoubtedly
! they avail themselves OF every means of trans
portation afforded to other travellers. Very
often they must have got a lift on eastward
bound trains. and there is no question Of the
fact that they crossed the barren plains of the
| west by being carried. Sometimes they were
conveyed as eggs on living plants or in the
chrysaiis state in Jumps Of earth, but nearly
| always the perfect beetles obtained Transports
| ton on vehicles Of various kinds. Why did
| they move eastward? The persistence with
| which they pursued their route in that direc-
| ton is to some extent mysterious, although
they were necessarily in pursuit OF food, but
| one reason was that they could not 20 west
| ward, not being able to pass over the Rocky
| mountains. Observe. when you speak of the
march OF the armies, 1t il not meant that they
progressed beyond one district and into
another. All the country becoming filed with
| them the overplus Of the swarms sought other
fields.
THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS BARRIER.
| There are good reasons for believing that
the Rocky mountains will be an impossible
barrier to the potato bug, just a. they have
| been to many other insects. These destructive
beetles from Colorado have never reached more
than three or four miles into that great chain
OF hills, or to about the middle olevations-say
5000 feet above sea level. The reason is that
the atmosphere aboxa. ,,that.lAxAl is 90 dry and
| rarefed that the eggs or the larve which sue
coed In Matching from them shrivel and dry
up. Perhaps l should explain toy you right
here something Of the natural history of these
insects The beetles spend the cold season
beneath the ground. They have been dug up
from depths varying from a few inches to sew
eral feet. Soon after the es,h has thawed out
they issue from their winter quarters. At this
| time they fly about good deal, making Jour-
neys Of considerable extent through the air.
As soon as the potato plants have appeared
| above ground the female beetles begin to Law
| their eggs on the under side of the leaves
Very often they will even work into the earth
In order to feed upon the young leaves before
the latter have fairly shown themselves. The
eggs are oval, of dark yellow, aud are de-
i posted in clusters. Within less than a week
| the Larvae are Matched. In about fortnight
they burrow into the ground and so into the
chrysalis state. from which they emerge as per-
feet beetles two weeks later. Each female lay 3
from 500 to 1000 eggs.
| NATURAL FOES OF THE POTATO BUG.
''There was Q great scare at one time about
the supposed poisonous qualities of potato
| bugs, but it was proved that the cases of
poisoning by their agency reported were due
TO the burning or scaiding of large masses of
| the insects at time. Under such conditions a
certain poison. evidently Of very volatile ma
| ture, was distributed in the air producing in
| persons who happened to be close various
| symptoms OF an unpleasant nature such as
| swellings and sickness at the stomach. Happily
| as the beetles spread eastward they encoun-
| tered great number OF enemies to destruc-
/ ton by which they had never been exposed be-
| fore. Among these was the crow, which not
only takes the bugs from the potato vines, but
| late'in the season digs into the earth in search
| OF the alternating individuals The common
quail slso performs a similar service, ms well as
many other birds. Among domesticated birds
the duck was for several years the only species
! that would touch potato bugs. After a few
| years, however, chickens learned to eat first
the eggs and then the larve, finally acquiring
the habit Of feeding upon the beetles them
selves Undoubtedly the skunk is fond OF the
beetles, the common toad often gorges itself
with the larv@, while the biacksnake has like
appetite. The most effective natural enemies
OF the pest arc other insects, many Of which
prey upon it destructively.
Owing chiefly to the efforts of these natural
foes potato bugs have today ceased to be re-
garded as q very dangerous enemy to agricul-
ture, notwiths landing the fact that their dstri-
button geographically was never so wide as
now. Probably they arc worst at present in
New England. As q rule, upon appearing
newly in a locality thew are very had for threa