The Army-worm. 249 



year : Will it be safe to plow under our ruined crops and attempt 

 to grow a late crop of something ? This question is discussed 

 further on. 



How the insect passes the winter. — Our observations, detailed 

 above in discussing the number of broods, further confirm previous 

 records of the hibernation of the insect as a caterpillar. The 

 indications are that in the latitude of New York most of the worms 

 that hibernate are small, not more than half grown. 



Among the many records of the capture of the moths, there are 

 but two of their appearance in New York state earlier than about 

 the middle of June ; one moth was bred at Albany about the 

 middle of May and we captured one at light on June 2d. This 

 would indicate that the insect does not pass the winter as a moth 

 in our latitude. But the moths have been found in New Jersey 

 " during the entire winter in sheltered places " (Rept. of Ento- 

 mologist of N. J. Expt. Station for 1896, p. 450). Some writers 

 believe that the insect may also winter as a pupa, but no conclu- 

 sive evidence has yet appeared to prove this. 



Thus the army-worm doubtless hibernates in New York state 

 either as a young caterpillar or in the moth stage ; possibly some 

 pupae winter over. 



Briefly siimmarized then the life-history of the army-worm 

 in New York state seems to be as follows : the moths which may 

 hibernate oviposit early and the caterpillars which hatch from 

 these eggs augmented by the somewhat larger ones which were 

 born late the preceding fall and hibernated, form a May brood of 

 worms that may possibly be numerous enough some years to 

 necessitate their marching to new feeding grounds. The cater- 

 pillars of this first brood undergo their transformations through 

 the pupa stage to the adult insect or moth early in June ; and the 

 progeny of these moths form a second, and often injurious march- 

 ing brood of the worms in the early part of July. A third brood 

 of the worms, which are rarely injurious, is developed in Septem- 

 ber, and the moths into which these transform may lay eggs from 

 which will hatch the young caterpillars that hibernate, or some of 

 the moths themselves may hibernate and oviposit in the spring. 



