The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-10-26
CORN WORM BUSY
IN SOUTH DAKOTA
Professor Wheeler Classics
the Pest and Discusses
Remedies.
ALL NORTHWEST
u 10 Stated That Fall Flowing Tends
TO Decrease Numbers by Ex-
posing Pupa to Severe Cold
81 Winter.

Brookings. s. D.. Oct. 2L-Professor
w. A. Wheeler, botanist Of the Brook
ings agricultural college. says OF the
corn worm: The worm which has
caused 40 serious damage TO the corn
! crop In South Dakota and the neigh
boring states his ycar In nov under
various names depending upon the
plant which II attacks. IL IN known -as
The corn worm, the corn ear worm.
the cotton boil worm. tomato fruit
worm. tobacco bud worm or the false
bud worm OF the tobacco. and by VAR
ious other names. The pest has var
ious o plants, the o common or
which are, however. corn. cotton. to-
mato and tobacco. These o crops
nre often very seriously injured by It's
attacks. IL also feeds upon the pump
kin. melon. squash. red pepper. ground
cherry. bean, pea, as well as upon some
Of cultivated ornamental plants as
the gladiolus. ~mignonette. gcranlum,
etc.
II will he difficult TO find an insect
more widely distributed than In the
corn worm. IL has been found in every
quarter OF the globe. therefore no To-
calities In which any plants upon which
IL feeds are grown can be considered
Immune from It's attack. In the United
States II is very well distributed. hay-
Ing been reported from the Canadian
boundary TO Texas n from the At
lantic coast to California.
In the Northwest.
In South Dakota and Minnesota the
worm Is coming to be quite commonly
known because OF It's injuries to the
corn crop. This year IL seems To be To-
cally very abundant I'm h corn fields
OF South Dakota. Its injuries are most
apparent late I'm the season. when Il
~ ..tsa sN. .nNa 80 the nnVN "a flor fhaNs
appear. The worm does not, however,
limit itself to the ears. but earlier In
the season attacks the buds. u
and tassels. As soon as the ears
appear the worms enter the tip OF the
ear and feed upon the silks n young
corn. The silk In sometimes eaten Mt
the time OF ~pollinution. before fertillza-
ton Of the kernels car take place. thus
often preventing portions OF the ear
from flling out. The worm continues
feeding upon the ears OF the corn until
they are mature or until lime for the
worms To enter the ground and go into
the chrysalIs stage for winter.
The color OF the worm varies with
it's exposure TO light and also with the
kind OF plant or the condition of the
plant on which IL feeds. IL may be
found In nil variations OF color from "A
light green without spots or stripes TO
n very marked striped worm some
times appearing almost black. In the
northern states the insect probably
very seldom has more than WI broods
or generations In "A single season. The
mature insect IL n medium-sized moth.
This moth lays it's eggs nj twilight apo
any portion OF the plant.
No Known Remedy.
From the above brief outline OF the
insect and It's life-history Il will be
seen that practical remedies to NH
this insect are hard To find. In fact no
good remedy IL known. Very late fail
blowing OF infested corn fields TO els
turb the insects In the pupa stage and
expose them TO the severe winter
weather may end to lessen the num-
bers the following season. Unless this
were done almost universally In the In
tested localities II would not have any
very perceptible effect the following
season. Rotation OF crops which would
bring some crop upon which this worm
did not feed upon the ground to follow
shA an.=. .a.lN ~ 80. ANN