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Wiscoxsix State Horticultural Society 



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sime tree. When all the blossom -buds of a tree are taken, it 

 attacks with equal avidity the leaf-buds. 



The instinct of the perfect insect, like that of all insects injurious 

 to vegetation, leads it unerringly to deposit its eggs where they 

 will hatch out by the warmth of the sun, and where the larvae 

 will be nearest the fool necessary for its sustenance, and hence I 

 have never found the eggs on clay or heavy, cold ground." 



The Bristly White Cut- 

 Worm is often found in the 

 garden, where it feeds mainly 

 on the roots of plants, and 

 especially flowers. It is of a 

 Fig. 21. White Bristly Cut- Worm. dirty white color, and is cov- 

 ered with stiff, yellow bristles. It is usually seen eirly in 

 August. The caterpillar, when full grown, is about three-quar- 

 ters of an inch in length. Eirly in August it passes into the 

 chrysalis state, from which the perfect moth emerges in about two 

 weeks. The moth is smaller than those of the other species. It 

 is very prettily marked, the fore wings are of a dark gray color, 

 shaded with brown, and variegated by three moss green patches. 

 There are quite a number of insects that prey upon the cut- 

 worm in its larval state, but they are not sufficient to hold them 

 in check, or even to make any perceptible diminution in the num- 

 bers of the foe. Among the parasites who destroy the larva by 

 depositing their eggs in the worm, are the Ichneumon fly, and 

 also a species of the Microgaster, bred from the worms, and de- 

 scribed by Professors Eiley and Thomas. Among the insects that 

 devour the worms bodily are the Spined Soldier Bug and the 



Fiery Ground Beetle. 



Figure 22, b, represents the first with 



one wing extended, the other folded un- 

 der the wing cover ; a is a highly magni- 

 fied view of its short, stout beak, with 

 which it impales its victims, soon pumps 

 them dry and leaves them an empty 

 shell. This insect, vulgarly known as 



the "Stink Bug," is the friend of the farmer and horticulturist, 



and should be protected in every way possible. 



Fig. 22. St-ined Soldier 

 Bug. 



