INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN. 327 



and lay their eggs during April, each female laying from two hundred 

 and fifty to five hundred eggs. Two pictures, representing the eggs of 

 this insect magnified, can be seen in figure 64, a, b. The larvae hatching 

 from these eggs become full grown in about four weeks, sometimes 

 sooner, and the pupa stage for this brood lasts from two to three weeks, 

 by which time another set of adults emerges and deposits eggs for an- 

 other brood. 



Late corn suffers more from the attacks of these corn worms than 

 early corn, because of the fact that the second or third brood is in greatly 

 increased numbers. These insects, both in the larva and adult condition, 

 are preyed upon by many parasitic and predacious insects and birds. 

 There seems to be no satisfactory remedy or means that we can employ 

 to prevent these insects from getting into corn or of killing them once 

 they are in a large field. In a small home patch of sugar corn the matter 

 becomes more simple, because one can more readily pass through what 

 little sugar corn he would be apt to have, and by opening the ends of 

 the ears of com, take out these larvae and kill them without injuring 

 the corn in the least. By passing through once a week in this way one 

 can prevent any particular damage by this insect, but, of course, such 

 a method as this would be an impracticable one in a large field. The 

 only method that we have for fighting this insect in a large field is the 

 use of the trap-lantern, and yet it is still an open question as to whether 

 these trap-lanterns are, even here, economically successful. The adult 

 insects are attracted very readily to light, but the males are by far the most 

 predominant in these traps, and what females we do get have, in the 

 great bulk of cases, already deposited their eggs, and hence out of the 

 great number captured but few of them are females in the egg-laying 

 condition. _ — - 



One can very readily tell whether these insects are in the field in 

 undue numbers or not, and in case they are, it is advisable not to attempt 

 to make ensilage from that corn. 



GRASSHOPPERS. 



There are many species of the short-horned grasshoppers, or Ac- 

 rididae, that get into corn, usually from adjacent grass fields, and feed 

 upon the corn plant by eating of the leaves, tassels, silk, husks about 

 the ear, and sometimes eating through the husks into the ear, thus 

 causing the same to decay. Usually our grasshoppers are not numerous 

 enough to cause any serious injury to the corn crop as a whole. In 

 most instances, where they get into the corn field so as to cause any 



