Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1919-01-21
Insects That Reduce the Yield Of Hay.

II feSs aNO y0oAo thO 4AoihO
Agricultural Experiment Station has
carried on IN investigation OF the insect
inhabitants of the meadows. Since the
nay crop is one Of the most important
agricultural products in Maine q study
OF the life histories and habits Of those
Insects which limit the yields and de-
stroy the quality of hay has been deemed
particularly appropriate. The investi-
cation has been undertaken during the
summer months by DR.. Herbert Osborn,
specialist in this work, and the results
thus far attained have been exceedingly
gratifying. The principal object Of the
work was to determine the effect Of the
insects upon the yield and quality of
hay and If possible to devise practical
method for the control Of the pests.
While the number Of species Of insects
found feeding upon the grasses Is pro-
digious the following groups might be
found the most injurious In the average
Maine hay field: the leaf-hoppers, the
froghoppers, the army worms, the seed
hies, the grasshoppers, the weevils, the
thrips, the wireworms, the white-grubs
and the cutworms.
or these considerable attention has
been paid the "Leaf- hoppers" and the
"Froghoppers," probably the least COM
monty known of the meadow insects but
at the same time, among the most i'm
portant. The leaf-hoppers are very
small being lie to 3.S of an inch in
length when full grown but what they
lack in size they make up In numbers,
for they have been found in ordinary
meadows abounding to the extent of
2,000, 900 per acre. Some species are
brown, some are yellow and one of the
common meadow leaf-hoppers is light
pea-green. As one walks through the
tield they jump with considerable agility
and they are exceedingly hard to catch
in the hand. Their eggs are generally
inserted into the blades or stalks of
grasses in late summer or fall from
which they hatch in the following spring
into tiny jumping insects that would
hardly be noticed but for the great num-
bers. These reach maturity during the
summer or as in some species produce
several generations in the year. As
noted previously there are several species
of leaf hoppers. The "Six-spotted leaf
hopper" commonly inhabits the leaf,
stem and head OF timothy but often finds
oats and other small grains an acceptable
food. Another species of considerable
importance in Maine meadows is the
t'Timothy Crown Leaf-hopper," which
is more often found feeding upon the
bulb or crown and the roots of timothy.
In such situation the insect is hidden
from ordinary observation and 1t Is not
until We actually go out on the hunt for
him that we realize that the species Is
present in enormous numbers in every
old meadow and hay field. There are
several other leaf-hoppers commonly
feeding in Maine meadows upon timothy
whose habits are very similar but whose
structure differs slightly. But in any
case all Of them are important to US be-
cause they reduce the size, weight and
quality of Timothy grass for hay.
Observation Of their feeding habits shows
that they live upon liquid diet, the sap
of the meadow grasses. This they OBJ
tain by thrustiug long beak into the
grass blades and stems and sucking out
the juice until the pupctured area runs
dry. Then they jump to some adjacent
timothy plant where the same process is
repeated.
The "froghoppsrs" resemble the "leaf-
hoppers" in many ways except that in
the immature stage they lack the leap
ing habit and instead of jumping at the
approach of enemies hide beneath a
mass of froth or as it is commonly called
"spittle." They are the common "spit-
tle-inseots" which produce the masses
of spittle-like froth on timothy during
the early months of summer. II one
should open one of these masses he
would discover that II sheltered a small,
pale-green insect clinging tightly to the
grass-stslk, with his head closely applied
TO the grass stem or blade. Closer ex-
animation would reveal the fact that the
insect possesses . long beak or tube
which he has thrust into the leaf or stem
for the purpose of sucking out the plant
Juice. In this position they stay during
the greater part of their life-history
while they extract plant fluids and in
crease In size until maturity Is reached
W ben they emerge from the froth at
irregular intervals to mate and lay eggs.
There are three important species living
in the Maine meadows; one that lives
entirely on timothy and some OF the
other grasses, and the other two live up
on weeds but include clover in their diet
so that in some situations they are OF
considerable importance. These frog
hoppers are frequently OF such abun
dance in a meadow that ones shoes and
socks become wet in walking through
the grass. :,
These two insects have been observed
to materially reduce the yield In several
fields in the vicinity or Orono and, along
with several other types OF insect Lille
they may be indicted for the low aver
age yield of one ton to the acre for the
State OF Maine. Where reduction OF
Weld is noted In fields ut all, 1t is fire.
ouently attributed 10 "poor weather"
aexhsustion of the soil, running out,"
etc., rather than to the myriads of In
sects which are cesselessly gps9ing.
chewing and sucking the life out OF the
timothy and clovor plants.
The meadow "leaf-hoppers" and
"froghoppers" are seldom found In
fields well conditioned by crop-rotation.
The adult insects lay their eggs in old
grass lands and when sod is broken the
resident eggs are destroyed. Cultivation
OF the soil prevents the insects from
again infesting the land. Hence, rota-
ton including not more than two years
in sod would effectually control these
pests.-Chas. d. Woods, Director.