INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN. 28I 



to see that the poultry and livestock are not allowed access to such fields 

 while the poisoned bran is there. In case one does not wish to or can- 

 not readily use bran, a clover field or hay field may be sprinkled or 

 sprayed with Paris green in the proportion of one pound of Paris green 

 to one hundred gallons of water, and as soon as this has dried, the 

 sprayed portion should be mowed and the clover or hay scattered in little 

 clumps about the field to be protected. From experience, however, I 

 cannot advise the use of these poisoned plants where it is possible to ob- 

 tain bran. 



THE GREASY CUTWORM. 

 Agrotis ypsilon, Rott. 



The greasy cutworm ranks about third in importance among the 

 various cutworms infesting the corn. It is a widely distributed and very 

 common cutworm throughout the greater part of the entire world, and 

 infests practically all of our farm and 

 garden crops, as well as some fruit. 

 The insects do not, however, have 

 the extreme ups and downs occurring 

 in certain years in undue numbers 

 and in other years scarcely to be 

 found, as is the case with some of 

 our other cutworms. Its presence 



seems to be more uniform. In the p.g_ ^^__^^^ Creasy Cutworm. Agrotis 



full grown larval condition it rat^.s-^^^'^'"'^' -^^""^^ ^''^^' ''^^''''^^ ^'''^• 

 ures about one and one-half inches in length and is of a greasy, dark 

 gray color above and of a greenish yellow color below. Figure 37 gives 

 a good idea of the general appearance of these cutworms somewhat en- 

 larged. The adult cutworm is shown natural size in figure 36. 



These larvae do the greatest amount of damage to the corn plants 

 as well as to garden vegetables during the month of May and the early 

 part of June. Like most of our other cutworms, the larvae hibernate in 

 the ground during winter and come out in the spring in search of green 

 plants to cut down and devour sufficient only for the purpose, however,, 

 of falling them. As soon as these larvae become full grown they enter 

 the. ground a short distance and transform to pupae, emerging as adults 

 from the latter part of May throughout the month of June. These varia- 

 tions in the time of appearance of the adults is due to the fact that there 

 is considerable variation in the time of depositing the eggs and of the 

 maturing of the larvae. The moths lay their eggs during the entire 

 month of July, and also to a certain extent in August, and the larvae 



