Xll INTRODUCTION 



fruit worm or ear worm (fig. 2), and the edible roots of 

 such plants as beet and carrot, are subject to injury by the 

 carrot beetle, while potato tubers are damaged by the potato 

 tuber worm. Seed pods and similar coverings of seeds are 

 attacked by numerous insects, such as the corn ear worm, cu- 

 cumber beetles, and others. Growing seeds are liable to be 

 injured by some of the last mentioned insects as well as by some 

 others which begin development when the seed approaches ma- 

 turity. Familiar forms are the bean and pea weevils, and the 

 Angoumois grain moth. 



Many other forms of injury might be cited, but it may suffice 

 to briefly mention the curling and dying down of leaves like 

 melon, due to the presence of the melon aphis; the wilting and 

 dying of squash caused by the severance of the stalks by the 

 vine borer feeding within; the discoloration of leaves such as 

 radish and their subsequent drying, owing to leaf-miner attack; 

 and the destruction of whole plants of various kinds by army 

 worms and migratory cutworms. 



Every year that passes brings with it some new entomolog- 

 ical problem to be solved, and this is especially true of insect 

 injury to vegetables. The cause is usually a general or local 

 outbreak of one or more serious pests, and the species concerned 

 may be an old and well-known injurious form ; it may be a com- 

 paratively unknown species or one that has not hitherto been 

 identified with injury to useful plants; again the habits of the 

 species may never have been studied owing to previous scar- 

 city. It has perhaps lived in obscurity since time immemorial 

 before any considerable outbreak attracts attention. It may be 

 new to our country or even new to science. 



Determination of the Injurious Insect. — The first problem 

 that confronts the grower whose crops suffer from insect in- 

 jury is the identification of the insect. Most insects have 

 popular names, more or less local, which may be apt or may be 

 rank misnomers, conveying no definite meaning. 



