Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-06-20

Tue green bugs may do a total damage
of $4,000, 600. These estimates are
based on the reports received from the
infected regions. Final reports may re-
duce or Increase these figures.
NOW this green bug, who marches
IN trillions. is under one of the clever
est generals in all the world known to
bugologists. He attacks wheat when
1T Is young and green, and that he NAV
lead ms armies into the fields u%nnoticed
ana remain in them weeks undiscov-
cred by the farmers. he orders them
clothed in green. Both males and fe-
Males wear the green uniform. There
lore the name green bugs"
When discovered by the farmers, the
green bugs are not likely to fall back
before vigorous attacks or hard names.
NO means of killing the green bugs is
known. When once they find that Ger.
talh heids produce hundreds n thou.
sands OF acres of juicy. green, grassy
food. they are likely to return. They
don't seem to be concerned about land
which has been pastured by stock
oold n damp weather, such as Wis.
ileh me outhwes the past winter.
GEMS favorable to the green bugs.
When the green bugs appeared in
-IeGas- occasion the farm
eiS wen, out against them with tons
or paris green. They wasted their poi,
SOP. 1t seemed only to heighten the
bright green of the insect uniform.
N,ti tSieieiicS 10 using paris green
or other arsenical poisons on the bug
now ravaging wheat" writes Professor
Aialle|. II will say that these poisons
can only be destructive of the ANIMAL
or the insect life when the insect doins
a certain injury actually eats Il given
rear surface. The green bug now at
work does not operate in his way.
ihis est does it's injury by puncturing
the skin OF the leaf with a sharp beak
ana tnen uckin out the juices be-
Heatll.
I want to urge against the blowing
up o! The wheat or oats fields. find
that wherever this is done the young
corn coming up from spring planting
is seriously attacked, and if the wheat
and oats are plowed under now. the
attack ON the corn later on will be all
the more injurious.''
The green bug is Il tiny insect. 1t
%ould pose very gracefully on the head
OF a pm. 1t seems to be in league with
the boil weevil and does not attack
wheat growing on cotton ground. 1t
was suggested by a man on change
mat the green bug leader. General
Aphis. and the leader of the boil Wee
Wis had entered into n treaty by which
neither army would encroach on the
others field of operations. So the green
bug almost wholly confines it's attacks
to wheat raised on stubble ground.
Ihe entomologist avs the green bug
- VIZ q pms i dcScIIC6S IL Az
similar in appearance to the notorious
green fly. The green bug attacks a
wheat plant just as a small green ny
attacks rosebuds. At first the green
Dug is green. and he remains green un-
I'll the leaf he has attacked range to
n brown, and then the green bug sheds
his green uniform for a uniform of a;
brownlsh hue. Later he takes on wings
and looks black. However, his general
color always retains something of
green.
During the warm season, the young
green bugs are born alive. Some
forms of females are wingless, am
other form has wings. A single
mother. who fights in the ranks like
an Amazon soldier, produces twelve
to fifteen young green bugs a day.
The young reach maturity in twelve
to fifteen days. n then they begin to
bring forth young soldiers. Thus, like
the boil weevils, they cannot be de-
feated by violence at the hands of
human beings. They reproduce too
fast.
A half dozen green bugs are sent
ahead by General Aphis to infect new
countries e time will not permit
MN to advance his whole army. In
this manner. he is able by taking adj
vantage van t of the rapidity of reproduc-
,ion among the half dozen to oun
upon a full-fedged army operating in
the new section In complete sympathy
with him without weakening his main
Dody when he desires completely to
lay waste to a whole state before
leaving it. When the green bug gets
old and his green uniform becomes
worn and loses its luster, he takes to
wing and disappears.
In the summer of 1889. the green
U swept over Illinois, Indiana.
Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio. In
1882 n was in abundant force in
Idaho and Washington. In 1900 he
appeared here and there over extern
sive areas.
General Aphis. however, likes Texas.
the weather suits his operations. By
attacking Texas first, and moving
north with the weather, he has often
tried to reach Kansas. 1t appears
rom the reports that he has every
thing in his favor this year.
But after all his strength for evil.
the green bug has his nemesis. General
Aphis Is powerless before the Ameri-
can surplus. The surplus is a killer.
lie is "a ~predacious and parasitic in
sect He not only destroys the aphis.
but he kills the green fly. The syr-
phus is a large fly with yellow and
nlack striped uniform. He is some
times called h sweat fly" but that
is a misnomer. says the EntomoloRist.
The syrpnus attacks the green bug
armies and lays a small white egg In
a cluster of aphis. The egg matches in
a few hours into a small grub, and
this grub feeds on the green bugs.
The grub has a lance. and he inserts
IL into an insect. sucks out the body
juices stored up by the green bug,
drops his victim and hunts for IN.
other.