The Saint Paul globe., 1899-02-27
BUGS BAD FOR PLANTS
THEY ARE TREATED EXHAUS-
GERS LATEST BULLETIN
CUT WORMS AND BARK BORER
tify the Pests, and What Treat
ment to Give the Infested Shrubs
London Purple and Paris
Green Are FnvOrite COlors In
Their Chemical Treatment.

Prof. Otto Lugger, state entomologist, Of the
state university, has just completed an inter-
esting bulletn on Butterflies and Moths In
furious to Our Fruit Producing Plants, "
which will soon be distributed among the
farmers of the state. The report only indi-
Gates such varieties found in Mime
sofa and gives many suggestions of practical
value to the fruit grower and the farmer. The
bulletin is the result of an extended investiga-
ton made by Prof. Lugger.
Caterpilars are described in detail The
sp1ny or thorny currant caterpillar. SO in
furious to currant and gooseberry bushes,
IS described as one of the dangerous insects.
Hand picking from bushes is recommended as
d preventive in the earlier STAGE, OF the at,
tacks, though London purple Paris green
may be used One of the most beautiful Of
the butterflies to be found in Minnesota is
the turnus swallowtail, in common terms,
which has here much yellow in its wings
Prof Lugger notes that this, butterfly, which
measures with expanded wings four inches
and over, is found but rarely elsewhere than
| in the lake regions of the state. Special at
! tention is called to the green grapevine
sphinx, or hog caterpillar the most destruc-
tive of the horned caterpillars, found feeding
upon the foliage Of the grape. 1t rests quietly
during the day. takes wing. at dusk and is
very active, having a swift and strong flight
In addition to stripping the vines of foliage,
they gnaw into the stems of the grape
punches, which then either wilt or drop off
Nature has aided man In the destruction of
this insect for. in addition to the constan,
picking off which should be followed, a mi,
mute wasp plays an important part in the de-
struction. The cocoons of this wasp may
be seen in large numbers upon the body OF
the caterpillar. They should be left there
the professor says because, before long the
! tiny wasp embryo pushes open little lid
winch 1t has previously cut off with its laws
and flies away. the wasp cocoons soon de-
Stroylng the caterpillar.
The currant borer is an insect which is
particularly offensive, because a single one
do will
his presence having been before known 1t
cannot be reached by any poison and the only
nope OF the fruit raiser lies in preventing it
from making an entrance to the currant
push. AS the young borer has to come in
contact with the bark of the bush first, he
| suggests the poisoning of the bark itself with
some kind OF sD!aY, a difficult thing to do.
wherever bush or cane is found infected,
| however, he suggests cutting 1t down below
| the lowest part of the tunel of the borer and
then burning the branch
| The annual broods of the common vel
low bear caterpillar come forth in Mime
| sofa and the professor calls attention to the
fact that but for number of parasites
| which nature provides to destroy the cater
pillars, they would very soon get SO numer-
Gus as to be beyond control The caterpillar
eats flowers, vegetables and fruit at will,
sometimes being very destructive to corn,
beans and peas. The woolly bears are anoth-
| er type now getting to be very destructive
in Minnesota, confined at present mainly to
plum trees. Without check the offspring OF
pillars in single season, enough to ruin the
| shade trees of many fine street.
Prof. Lugger recommends spraying the
| trees with London purple or Paris green,
and burning the nests with rag torches soak
| ed in kerosene, when they cannot be reached
| by hand.
Another very common and increasingly de-
structive pest is the yellow-necked apple tree
caterpillar, which has already found home
| in some Minnesota orchards. The caterpillars
feed on the under surface of the leaves, and
when they are mature they go down the
| trunk of the tree, burrow in the ground two
| to four inches and stay there until the fol-
| lowing July when the moths come forth.
| Much attention is paid in the bulletin to the
various cutworms that infest Minnesota, and
remedies are given for their destruction,
while canker worms, their destructiveness
and the remedies. are described at length.
| The fall canker worms, 1t is predicted will
become more numerous and dangerous than
| they now are. and complete description of
them, with many remedies, is given.
The bulletin has over 300 pages and should
be valuable handbook for the horticultur-
| ist in Minnesota, well for all farmers
| who like to diversity the cereal products of
their soil with fruit and vegetables.