Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1914-05-20
TRAPPING June BUGS
TO KILL WHITE Grub
Great Damage Done by the
Worm Two Years Ago.
Many Bugs Flying, Although Season
Is Still Young on
Johnson Farm.

1t will be recalled by nearly every
farmer of this vicinity that two years
ago there was great loss, by reason
of the ravages of the so-called white
grub. Whole meadows and pastures
were ruined, while the loss of young
corn was enormous in this section.
If the country had another such ex
perience we do not recall the in
stance. 1t was severe enough to set
scientists to thinking, and expert
mentalists to experimenting. There
seemed to be no way for reaching the
grub. At most he was no more than
bird of passage. To stop his being
bred was the only available course.
There is no question but the white
grub is the offspring Of the June bug,
or tumble bug, as he is called. Last
summer these grubs had been meta
morphosed into the chrysalis, or
pupa, form and this year we are due
to have countless and uncountable
millions of June bugs Matched from
those chrysalides. 1t requires three
years for the June bug to complete
its cycle, and the Matching year is
thought to be the only one in which
the nuisance may be checked.
Acting on this theory, the depart
ment of entomology in the college of
agriculture of the University of Wis
consin started out to abate the
threatened deluge of white grubs for
next year, or to discover some means
for handling the problem. 1t should
be stated right here that as early as
this, the third week in May, there has
been an unprecedented number of June
bugs. On warm nights the air is full
of them, and some scientists declare
that the bug makes only one flight in
the course of his life.
Six experimental stations were
established early this spring, five of
them in southern Wisconsin. One of
these is at the farm Of w. A. John
son, just north of Lancaster. In this
county the white grub wrought his
worst havoc. Thousands and thou
sands of acres Of timothy and June
grass were destroyed; clover and
alfalfa were untouched. Thousands
of acres of corn that came up was
blighted; thousands of acres of pota-
toes were damaged to more than SO
per cent loss.
AS has already been mentioned in
these columns, a series of expert
ments will be made on the farm of
w A. Johnson, northeast of Lancas-
ter. Sixteer Coleman lamps, of 200
candle power each, have been set up
on 80 acres of Mr.. Johnson's land.
Some Of these lamps are on the hills
a few are in the hollows. 1t is the
intention of Prof. Sanders, of the
state university, to try and find out
the best place for catching the bugs.
If they fly more on the hills than in
the hollows, then in the future the
trapping for them will be done on the
hilltops.
Already unprecedented numbers of
these bugs are noted in these parts.
At Platteville, under arc lights at
street intersections, such numbers of
June bugs have been accumulated on
hot night that dray wagon was
called to haul away the debris. And
the season is early for the pests. On
land adjoining Mrs. Johnson's, where
the experiments are under way, we
were shown cottonwood trees that
were nearly denuded of foliage by
these bugs.
If these bugs, in such numbers as
are already with US, should each de-
posit eggs, what will be the harvest
in white grubs next year? The
prospect is not cheering. Readers of
the Herald will be kept posted of the
rrogress. of the experiments.