The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-07-29
HOW TO FIGHT AR MY WORMS.
The Advice of the Minnesota State Ento-
mologist as to Getting Rid of Them.
(From the St. Paul Globe. J


Prof. Otto Logger. the State entomolo-
gist, has been receiving numerous letters
recently, complaining about the army
worm. Speaking about the matter, Prof
Lugger said: ''They are not alone com
mon In our State, where nearly every
| county is more or less seriously invaded,
but are found as far east as the State OF
Pennsylvania. The army worm, under
normal conditions, is nothing but cut
worm, and ali the damage it causes is
done in that shape. Only in extreme
summers following wet spring do they
become exceedingly numerous, and only
toward the end of the larval period do
they bind themselves together and seek
new pastures.
These armies do not do SO much dam
age as one would suppose" continued
the Professor, ''for their large numbers,
and about the time these armies are
formed the. blades of such plants as wheat,
oats, and barley are unsuited for animal
food or have almost been eaten. In this
case the worm can only cause considera-
bic damage by eating off the only green
| part, the chat, and in doing SO they are
apt to expose the kernel, which will
shrivel in consequence. They possess an
other bad habit, namely, this: They eat
off the branches of the panioles of oats,
which, Of course, suffer readily in oonsc-
quencs. When we look at these Bworms,
composing such an army, we find that
large number are badly infested with
parasites. One of every three worms has
from one to six cream colored minuts
eggs fastened there by a common looking
hys, that looks very much like thrifty
and over fed house fly. If you watch
these flies dopositing their eggs you will
see a peculiar and novel sight. They
hustle around their intended victim,
which is we'll aware of the Intended pun
pose OF its enemies and twists and con-
| tOrts It's body In most violent manner,
at the same time ejectiug the nastysstonl
aoh fluid toward the tormsntor. But all
in yain before long the fly has deposited
its eggs and visits another victim. Sew
eral other parasites are now exceedingly
numerous. These have more sure way
of reaching the end i'll view, as they in
sert their eggs into the living worm.
Those that wish to see the actual strug-
| gle for existence should go to the trouble
| of going to field infested with army
worms at night time with a lantern.
They would be able to see a large num-
| ber of insects and animals come to the
| feast served to them by nature.
1T would take too much time to en-
large upon these points, but they ali
show that the army worm is not to be
blamed for moving away.
Like in SO many other cases, an ounce
of prevention is worth pound of cure.
If we look over the fields in which army
worms are playing such havoc we can
soon trace that hey came from more
or less well-tietined space. This space is
either a low piece of land over grown
with coarse swamp grass or it is rem
| nant OF an old hay or straw pile that
ought to have been removed long ago.
Such and similar places are selected by
the moths which come from such worms
| as ssuaEe destruction, to lay their eggs
in. Here the few that succeed in winter
ing over as very minute worms have an
opportunity to grow and to produce the
| first generation of moths, which are never
Injurious. Those moths, however, at
the rate at which they increase, are per-
feotly able to produce innumerabe armies
| later in tbs SEASON, provided, however,
| they are favored with sucff suitable
condition as o wet spring. If We follow
one of these worms, we will see that it
| disappears from view in about foar days
| from now. 1t forces it's way into the soil
and by turning round andsround it forms
there cell in which 1t changes into
| reddish-brown pupa from which the
moths issue, and TO show the power of
| increase 1t is only necessary to mention
| that they lay about 750 eggs, which hatch
in about eight days.
Now, what shall we do to fight these
nas6y rwormsg Now that the greater
damage has boon done, a real remedy
| comes too late. Yet there is sort of
| fascination in the thought that we can
kill immense numbers of theae disgust
ing insects. They nearly all move in one
general direction. which is in our favor.
| BY moving off Wi,le sWath between
the fields invaded and the fields to which
the worms are travelling, and then
ploughing a deep furrow with its straight
| side toward the part to bo protected. wa
have an excellent trap which can be i'm
proved on according TO the conditions of
the ground, by making holes with q
crowbar Into which the worms tumble.
In most oases this deep furrow or ditch
| is sufficient, but if the number of worms
is very great second parallel furrow
| should be made, throwing the earth over
| into the first furrow, for in SO doing the
| prisoners are covered up and we start a
| now line Of defence. Many. other meth
| DDS are in vogue. bat they are nll sirnply
notifications of this system, and any
| person with little ingenuity can add to
them If the furrow made is kept fairly
dusty it will form barrier which few
can scale.
sit is sometimes recommended { to spray
with Paris green all the plants in the
way over which the army worm passes.
/ 1t seems TO me that Is an exoellont RENE.
| dy in theory, but have failed thus far
to receive any good re ults from it.
Farmers need not fear repetition of
the armysworm for some time, except the
spring Of ~ should be again exception
ally wet. The very great majority of
these worms are doomed to die hy their
numerous enemies; nor is there any
danger that the army worm will ever eat
their letters. The food of the army
worms is taken solely from the grass
family. - -.
SIT would be good thing if all the
papers in the country would copy what
nave told yoll, said Prof Lugger in
conclusion, 'as by so doing, damage and