198 ENTOMOLOGY. 



and Meromyza, which injure the stalks and leaves. The 

 roots are eaten by tho white grub, wire-worms, etc., while 

 stored grain is destroyed by the caterpillar of the Angoumois 

 moth (Gelechia cereaklla), by the grain weevil (SitopMlus 

 granarius), and by the grain Sylvanus (S. surinamensis). 



Injuring Corn. 



Cut-worms (Agrotis suffusa D. & S. and other species). 

 Not corn alone, but other cereals, the grasses, and most 

 garden vegetables are indiscriminately attacked by different 

 species of caterpillars of Agrotis and allied genera, which 

 are called cut-worms from their habit of gnawing or cutting 

 off the leaves or heads of young succulent plants as they are 

 coming up out of the ground. They are thick, with a dis- 

 tinct horny scale (prothoracic plate or shield) on the segment 

 next to the head, and are usually marked with shining and 

 warty, or smooth, spots of the same general color as the 

 rest of the body, and are usually longitudinally striped. 

 They are to be seen early in spring hiding under sticks, 

 boards, and stones, having hibernated in this state. They 



FIG. 241. Cut-worm and its moth. After Riley. 



feed by night, hiding in the daytime, and the chrysalids 

 are situated under ground. They transform into moths, 

 sometimes called dart-moths, which may be known by their 

 crested thorax and ciliated or (rarely) pectinated antennae, 

 while the fore wings are rather narrow, usually with a dark 

 dot near the middle of the wing, and just beyond a reniform 

 or kidney-shaped mark; there is usually a basal, median 

 black streak. The moths appear in midsummer, and lay 

 their eggs near the roots of grasses; these hatch in the 



