Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1902-06-05
THE SQUASH BUG. =
Interesting observations at the New
Hampshire Station.

and other plants of the vine family
were out of the ground in spring the
bugs began to destroy them, coming
often in such extraordinary numbers
as to occasion very general comment.
The newly Matched squash bug is
more brilliantly colored than at any
other time during its life, and these
colors make it very conspicuous against
the green background of the leaves.
The color of the abdomen and the pos
terror portion of the thorax is light
green, that of the legs and "feelers, OF
antenna, a beautiful crimson, that of
the head and anterior portion OF the
thorax a lighter crimson, while the
margins of the eyes are darker. This
beauty, however, is but short lived. At
the end of an hour the crimson is no.
ticeably darker, and in a few hours 1t
changes to jet black. The young
SQUASH bugs soon begin their attack
upon the plant by inserting their tiny
beaks in the succulent tissues of the
leaves.
The Bugs In the Field.-The squash
bugs that pass the winter as adults re-
main in the field in nearly undiminish-
ed numbers until nearly the end OF
July. The eggs upon the leaves are
more abundant during this month than
at any other time Early in August,
however, the disappearance of the
adults becomes noticeable, freshly laid
eggs becoming more and more scarce.
| During August the adults of the new
generation become abundant, but none
of these lay eggs. nor even do they go
through the process of mating before
the following spring. Consequently
there is but one brood of squash bugs
each year.
Hibernation.-Whe autumn frosts
blacken the leaves of the vines. a pro-
| portion of the bugs are still immature.
| These congregate in great numbers up
on the unripe fruit, where they suck
the Juices through the thick skin. Many
are thus able to become adult during
the mild autumn days. The full grown
| insects begin leaving the fields soon
after the first frosts and from that
time onward rapidly disappear.
| For their long winter retreat they
conceal themselves beneath the fallen
leaves as well as stones and logs and
boards in the fields and woods. Board
piles seem to be a favorite resort, but
almost any sort of shelter may be
chosen. Here they remain dormant
until again enlivened by the warm sun
shine of spring.
The Injuries to the Plant.-The
squash bug was not the only pest
infesting our squash plants last sum-
mer. There were present also the
squash root borer and a fungous dis
ease The bug is present when the
young plants appear above the ground.
A number of bugs attacking such
plant cause it to wither and die Later
when the plants have reached fair
size the root borer and the fungus ap
pear.
Squash Bug.-The effect on larger
plants is not general, but local. A num-
Der of bugs congregated on leaf will
cause that portion to dry up, and this
dead portion may vary from a pruinose
gray to a dark brownish black.
and dropping of the plant character
ize the attack of this pest, which we
believe to be the larva of the striped
beetle (diabrotica). The plant may ap-
pear thrifty in the morning and be
Frustrated to the ground in the evening.
Fungous Disease.-When attacked
by this disease, the leaves begin to dry
up at the margins. The plant turns
dark green, similar to the first appear
| ance of the vine when treated with too
strong a mixture of kerosene and wa
ter. Dried up blotches appear on the
leaves, and the plant dies without wilt
| ing.
Natural Enemies.-The most impor-
tant natural enemy of the squash bug
in New Hampshire last season was a
| little two winged fly about the size of
| the common house fly. This is para
site belonging to the family Of tach-
| mid flies. The female fly deposits her
| small, white eggs on the outside of the
body of the squash bug. In short
time the egg matches into tiny mag
| got that burrows into the body of the
| bug and develops at the expense of the
tissues of it's host The final effect of
| the parasite is to weaken and kill the
host, but apparently the latter, when
| female. often lays part or all of her
| eggs before being thus killed.
| Remedies and Preventives.-It seems
to us probable that in the near future
the squash bug will make the growing
Il
that the crop will be chiefly grown by
| specialists who will devote such care
and attention to their fields as to be
able to bring their plants through all
vicissitudes.
| Excessive Seeding.-Most gardeners
plant a great many more seeds of
squashes. melons and cucumbers than
can develop properly in order to pro-
vide against the destruction of the
whole hill by the numerous enemies
| present.
Good and Clean Culture.-The squash
plant requires a deep, loose seed bed
and a fertile soil. If these conditions
are favorable, the plant shows great vi
tality and thrift. In this case the at
| tackS oil insect enemies are not so eff
fective. 1t is generally acknowledged
that system of clean culture on the
| farm discourages insects.
Hand Picking.-The process of col
lecting the bugs by hand must appar-
emily be the main reliance of the gar
dener against this pest for many years
to come. The bugs may be collected
from the vines or from the ground be-
| meath them, from boards used as traps
or from squashes planted between the
rows of the regular crop as trap crops
for the bugs.-C. NJ. Weed and A. F.
! Couradi, New Hampshire Station.
Pure milk for New York city and 9TH
er large cities will be impossible SO
| long as the cities permit the keepers