The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1909-03-18
Spring Destruction Of Ierrapin Bugs


bugs sucking the life out of collards
cabbages, turnips and allied plant.
is difficult to estimate accurately
but certainly amounts to thousand:
Of dollars in North Carolina. A
large proportion Of this loss may be
prevented if farmers, gardners anc
truckers will take the trouble to col
lect or in some way destroy the bugs
that first appear this spring. We
have conclusive evidence that such
work may be made a paying invest
ment. We cannot, however, contin-
ue to wait, as is usually done, unit
the bugs become 50 numerous as tc
cause very noticeable injury in gar.
dens or fields, but on the contrary
they must be destroyed before they
commence to lay eggs; otherwise the
annual loss will remain the same OF
will increase.
In November last this Station pub
lished press bulletin urging farm
ers to Immediately collect and Kill
the terrapin bugs, then in their fields
to prevent their lying in such mum.
bers through the winter. Now II
seems advisable to urge the equally
important work Of destroying those
individuals that escaped last fall land
which will soon commence to come
out from their winter hiding quar-.
ters.
Eggs and young bugs do not live
through the winter in this State;
hence it is only full-grown, strong,
adult males and females which sur
vive by finding favorable hibernat-
ing quarters under rubbish around
the gardens, under stones, in fence
corners and similar places, where
they are protected from the weather
AS this has been a mild winter, they
are liable to appear in greater num-
bers than usual in the spring.
We could not consistently urge the
task Of destroying the overwintering
bugs if they commenced to lay eggs
upon their first appearance. Care
full observation has shown that at
least two weeks time elapses after
the bugs appear before the first eggs
are deposited. During this period
they are very actively feeding and
mating, and the majority will con-
gregate on the few old plants left
from last seasons crop. Wild mus
tard and turnips are favorite food
plants, and collards, with their broad
leaves, often harbor a large number
of them.
The prime object of this article is
to emphasize the fact that the farm
ar or gardner who watches closely
For the first terrapin bugs to appear
has about two weeks time to kill
them and still prevent the majority
from laying eggs for the first gener-
alton.
Have you ever considered the
actual benefit that results from kill
ing one female terrapin bug when
she first appears in spring? Observe
the following statements: The aver
age number of eggs laid by each bug
varies from eighty-four to ninety
six-that is, seven or eight masses of
twelve eggs each, deposited over a
period of from four to eight weeks.
There are three full generations each
year. Suppose we kill single ter
rapin bug and thus prevent ninety
six young for the first generation, Of
which one-half might be females.
If these forty-eight females repro
duced at the some rate, the second
generation would number 4,6O8 in
lividuals. Counting only one-half
as females, each capable Of produc-
ing ninety-six young, the third gen
GRAFTON would reach the enormous
number of 221, ,184, the progeny Of
one female in a single year. We can
divide this number by one hundred
and still have over 1900 as the num-
Der of bugs prevented by killing one
Individual when she first appears.
During the warm summer
months minute parasite in the
form of tiny black fly destroys a
large percentage of the eggs, but as
a general thing these parasites do
not become abundant until the first
generation is we'll developed; so that
the destruction of the bugs that pro-
duce the first generation is more es-
sential than the death of bugs later
in the year. Another point in favor
of early destruction!
Are not the above facts sufficient
to impress farmers with the impor-
tance of spring destruction Of terra
pin bugs?
HAND PICKING.-This is probably
i Ill