350 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 15 



relished by grasshopppers, while kafir, feterita, and sweet sorghums are 

 only eaten by them when other food plants are scarce. Chinch bugs 

 attack milo and Sudan grass, concerning which more will be said later, 

 and other sorghtims to a lesser degree. It is obvious that with 2,353,324 

 acres of sorghums in the state, valued at $48,507,013.00,^ any pest 

 seriously attacking the crop could cause considerable damage. 



Insects Attacking the Head 



Sorghum Webworm. — The most serious insect attacking the 1921 

 crop was the sorghum webworm heretofore unreported as an enemy of 

 sorghums in Kansas. Reports and specimens received from the southern 

 part of the state showed that a lepidopterous larva was attacking the 

 heads of kafir in damaging nimibers. Specimens sent to Washington 

 were determined as Celama (Nola) sorghiella Riley. •'^ 



The first report of damage was received Sept. 24, from Bourbon Coun- 

 ty, in which the county agent reported the larva eating the grain from 

 kafir heads but not injuring the leaves or stalk. At the time of writing 

 they had destroyed 13 acres. A second complaint from a Bourbon Coun- 

 ty farmer reported injur\' to cane as well as kafir, and stated that a heavy 

 rain had apparently destroyed many of the worms. 



In Chautauqua County, as high as 40 percent of the crop was damaged 

 in some fields and the county agent in Cherokee County reported 100 

 percent injury. A survey of the vicinity of Manhattan, Rile}^ County, 

 revealed only one larva found on a kafir head and no reports were re- 

 ceived from points in other than southeastern Kansas. Farmers in the 

 infested area say that the appearance of this insect is more or less periodic- 

 al, causing injury and then not being heard of again for several years. 



In Cherokee County, an experimental field operated in cooperation 

 with the Department of Agronomy contained the following varieties: 

 Standard Blackhull Kafir, Pink Kafir, Sunrise Kafir, Feterita, Kansas 

 Orange Cane, and Sumac Sorghum, all of which were attacked by the 

 webworm. 



Forbes (1905, p. 169) mentions that Ashmead found the species on 

 tassels of corn. In 1908, the Yearbook of the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture (p. 570) states that this species breeds in heads of sorghum 

 from Virginia to San Antonio, Texas. 



Little is known of the habits of this species. Riley (1882, p. 187) 

 first described the species from specimens received from Alabama where 



-Figures from 22d biennial report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture 

 1920. 

 ^Determined by Mr. Carl Heinrich through the courtesy of Dr. L. O. Howard. 



