The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1919-06-12
WORM ANNOYANCE
IS NEARLY AT end
CUT AND TENT WORM PESTS
HAVE DONE THEIR DAMAGE
FOR THIS YEAR.
WILL TURN into MOTHS
CAN BE DIFFERENTIATED BE-
FORE NEXT YEAR IF PROP
ERLY HANDLED. Z

4 -
ERLY HANDLED. Z
The tent worm and the cut worm
have caused ne end of annoyance and
damage this season; the question of
eradication has been discussed and
used with negative success. At the
request of the Herald Supt. Gillig of
Sank Centre schools has prepared an
interesting article describing the
origin and characteristics of the pests.
from Mr.. Gillig's story it seems that
the damage for this year has been
done and that the work of eradicating
the cut worm must start in the early
fall and the tent worm in the winter
or early spring. His article follows:
There is nothing more in order
than an explanation that will Law clear
all the facts concerning the worms
that are causing so much DAMAGE
above ground and underground. One
OF course, is the cut worm, and the
other is what is called the tent
caterpillar, the latter having damaged
SO many trees this spring.
"The tent caterpillar is not tho
army worm I've are familiar with. even
though 1t could be called such. be-
cause it certainly is here in armies.
1t is named after another character
lstlc the worm has, that of building
web tents on the trees. ssrs.
+, = * + u sts--ss },
.,1"Tka life of the pest IS ye,v'
interesting for it II does not
exist 3saasa a. ;sakafp5aias.
1.-The wer1us.we nowsssse smszA t1se hsdl
from eggs which were der0sitaN on 81 thsa
branches OF tEess, Ihslstf ne e.rrs
appear In clusters, fuaning al rfng
around the smaller branches, being
held there bgaa gluey substance The
egg clusters pass through the winter,
and in the spring, when the buds open
up the eggs also hatEh into tiny
worms. Several hundred hatch from
one cluster, and then begin their
march up and down the branch. they
are located on, eating the foliage, At
one OF the erotches Of the branches
each little army of worms builds a
web tent, where they seek. shelter in
Indictment weather. Hence their name,
the tent caterpillar
These worms thus deEour the foil
| age Of their host plant fof FIVE or
six week until they arekfull grown.
Then they become very restless, and
begin to wander about for an un-
disturbed hiding place. Most of them
are now about that stage. They will
md place under some rubbish or
IN a barn, or under crevices in the
bark of tree, and other places, and
| will then spin a heavy web closely
around their body and rest quitely for
about three weeks. During this rest
ing period the worm is transforming
itself into a moth, and in July, each
caterpillar having had the proper con-
ditions will emerge from its cacoon
as moth and fly about. The moth
is the animal laying the eggs in the
fall, thus beginning the second
generation.
The pest does its damage while in
the worm stage. One method of treat-
ment will be to poison the little
worms when they hatch out in the.
spring, by spraying the infested
plants with either paris green or
arsenate of lead 1t is too late now to
help much because, as explained above
when the caterpillars are full grown
and are through eating, they become
restless and will crawl away from
their host plant. They no longer
are very damaging. .
Another method is to prune away
and burn the egg clusters found on
the trees during the winter. Watch
carefully next winter for the egg
clusters, and get at the remaining
caterpillars early next spring with
poison. Kerosene or lime sulphur do
no good.
"The pest on the fruit trees is the
same as that on the oaks, passwords
and boxelders.
'eThe life cycle of the cut worm is
somewhat similar to that of the tent
caterpillar The eggs are layed in
late summer and early fall by another
species of moth. The eggs are always
deposited on grass land, or land with
any kind of vegetation, such as weeds
and stubbles, In case theNegg matches
in the fall and the small worm stays
near the surface of the ground until
the frost leaves the ground. By this