The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1901-05-27
WHEAT LOUISE HAS, IN
DEED. CAUSED TROUBLE
Value Of Crop Reduced According
to College Statistics

and aechanical college has issued .
the following bulletin concerning the
wheat louise
L is appropriate 81 this time TO no
ticc this insect whose ravages IN
wheat i'm several counties Of oklahoma
have greatly r'uce the value Of
this years crop BY extensive cores
poudence and by conversation with
many wheat frowers. uniform testi-
mony ls secured that throughout the
regions named below the wheat or
grain louise has greatly damaged this
years crop In fact the Injury in
some regions has been so great that
farmers have preferred 10 rcplant the
wheat ground 70 some other crop. A
recommendation to this effect was in-
serted I'm some OF the newspapers OF
the territory some time ago.
The station received the first spec
linens Of this louise early ia April and
the entomoogist has since chat time
given most of his time to a thorough
Investigation OF the distribution and
life history OF the insect II became
at once apparent that the main dam
age was not due TO the wen known
'graln louise" Csiphonophora avenae).
whose structure and life history have
been so well aired In the newspapers
of late. Our form differs from the
one mentioned in several details and
viii soon be described as a new va
riety closely related to the true grain
louse"
The Greatest Damage Done.
The Greatest injury to wheat has
occurred la the following regions
ChicHasaw and Cherokee nations aud
Cleveland, Canadian Klngasher Lin
coin, Logan. Noble, oklahoma Payne.
rawnee and Pottawatomie counties.
In some cases It was noted that the
general trend OF the migratons Of the
insect was from south to north The
louse like its better known relative.
is capable Of very rapid multiplication
and this is favored by dry weather
Males are unknown and the reprodGc
ton is by the process called parthen-
ogeaesis, or the giving birth to the liv-
young The viviparous females are
wingless but enough winged females
are produced to enable the species
to migrate from one field to another
in search OF food These winged fe-
males we're present in large numbers
from about April 10 to May /.
There is veidence that this louise
has a true egg state. Il is probable
that is winters over in the adult stage
and feeds upon the leaves Of the wheat
during the favorable weather the en-
tire winter The past winter was in
some respects very favorable to the
development Of the louise in large
numbers aud IL is not therefore, a
matter for surprise that such hordes
of lice should have appeared so early
In the spring.
There Is no practical spra mg meth
od that can be recommended against
this insect pest Some have suggest.
ed spraying with the usual kerosene
emulsion and this would probably re.
duce thr number II applied before
they spread over so large an 2.cc as
to make the plan quite Impossible and
TOO costly. Our greatest hope lies
however In the rapid multiplication
and energy of the patural insect en-.
emies of this louise The most abund.
ant and useful Of these enemies In Ok
lahoma is surely one OF the lady
bird beetles (Hippodamia conyerg
ensl This is a nearly hemispherlcal
beetle about threesxteenths of an In
ch IN length and of a reddish yellow
color with several black spots on the
back The head and thorax are black
with reddish yellow margins and the
thorax has two elongated reddish vel
low spots.
A Beetle That Is Usually Active.
The larvae Of these beetles are cveg
more rapacious and active than IN,
mature beetles The larya is long
blackish, somewhat nattened anc
very active larva with six legs OF
more than usual length. The lary,
when It reaches maturity curls mp OF
some leaf or stem aud changes to th,
pupa from which the mature heetl,
emergcs In few days. Tho beetles
live over winter in the mature stage
in crovloes Of trees and boards. These
lady bird beetles have apbeargd n
such Ia rye numbers Ia some parts o
Oklahoma that farmers have writer
TO the experiment station for som,
remedy TO destroy them Every whea
grower should look on these beetle
as his best friend and in no case al
low the INTO be destroyed