The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1894-06-30
The Green Bug on the wheat.

Little green bugs have appeared in
myriad numbers in the wheat fields of
the Willamette valley and are to be
found thickly ensconsed in the open
space between the layers of wheat berries
along the heads. They have caused
great alarm for the safety of the present
crop and for the future of wheat growing
in this region; but scientific investiga-
tion proves that the danger is not 80
alarming as might be supposed. It is
true, this years crop may be injured
some by their depredations before they
are destroyed by their inevitable accom-
paniment, the parasite, but the chances
are happily against such result.
Some heads of wheat plucked from a
field across the river in Polk county and
also from one in the Waldo hills were
shown to a Statesman representative
last evening, and while the green aphis,
for such it is, was very numerous, vet
the berries seemed to be sound and
healthy. But the reader will be more
interested in something authoritative on
this subject, so the Statesman is pleased
to present from the Corvallis Times the
following account of the little ssvarmint''
and the manner of circumventing his
nefarious schemes against the prosper
lty of Oregon, as given by Prof F. L.
Washburn, of the Oregon Agricultural
college:
cit is small green insect that attacks
the stalks and later the heads of wheat,
rye and oats. 1t has long beak with
which it extracts the sap. 1t is not des-
tructive to the berry except that its alb
sorption of the sap robs it of nourish-
ment and causes 1t to shrivel.
As wheat ripens the aphis migrates
to the more succulent oats and when
these in turn ripen it goes to the various
grasses. 1t spreads over wide extent |
OF territory quicker than any insect |
known. Although its existence was
observed seventeen years before, the |
grain aphis first appeared in great num-
bers in 1861, spreading over New Eng
land, all of New York except the western
portion, northeastern Pennsylvania and |
portions of Canada. Every grain field |
was invaded and many of them thronged.
In many cases the wheat crop was re-
duced one-half, and the oat crop hardly |
paid for harvesting. The following year
it spread over the remaining portion of |
Canada and into Michigan, and then
disappeared. In 1888 it appeared in ten |
counties in California doing considerable |
damage to wheat, one man reporting
that the yield of his spring wheat was
diminished one-half by the ravages of
the pest. 1t was prevented from multi.
plying by late rains to the extent that |
damage was scarcely perceptible in
other counties. April 9th and Both
and May I'd and Sd large flights of the
winged variety were noticed in Sacra-
mento, but disappeared after the rains
OF May 4th. In nearly every instance
where the pest has appeared it has been
met by host of parasites, flies and lady I
beetles, and if it has not been at once
checked, have prevented it's reappear-
ance the second year. In many cases
these natural enemies have prevented it |
entirely from damaging grain.
From specimens sent me 1 observe
that parasites are working ON the aphis.
Ii these parasites are numerous enough,
no very serious damage may result. If I
not numerous enough, many wheat
growers may lose large portion of their
crop. There is no practicable remedy
that can be applied at present. The
only thing that the farmer can do is to
burn the stubble Immediately after har-