April, '16] HARNED: PINK BOLL WORM 295 



THE SMALL PINK CORN WORM (BATRACHEDRA RILEYI 



WALS.) IN MISSISSIPPI 



By R. W. Harned, Agricultural College, Mississippi 



During the past fourteen months the small pink corn worm, Bat- 

 rackedra rileyi Wals., has attracted more attention than any other 

 insect pest occurring in Mississippi. During the nine years that the 

 writer has been in the state, he has observed these small pink larvae 

 on several occasions feeding in injured cotton bolls, in old corn cobs, 

 and in corn that had previously been damaged by other insects. 

 During November and December 1914 the writer received hundreds 

 of complaints in regard to the work of this insect in stored corn. 

 Letters came every day, telephone calls for help were many, and the 

 extension workers of the college stated that at many farmers' meetings 

 the principal topic of discussion among the farmers was the so-called 

 "new pink worm" or "pink weevil" of corn. It may be of interest 

 to note that most of the correspondents who sent these insects to us 

 were from the central part of the state. Attala county contains the 

 geographical center of the state. Over 75 per cent of the complaints 

 in 1914 came from Attala and four counties adjoining it. Although 

 these insects occurred in all parts of the state it was only in these 

 •central counties that they were numerous enough to do very serious 

 damage. However, a year later or during the past three months 

 (October to December 1915), dozens of complaints have been received 

 in regard to these insects damaging corn from over forty different 

 counties. The accompanying maps show the localities from which 

 the worms were received with records of their damage to corn in 1914 

 and in 1915. Briefly the situation is this : In the fall of 1914 the worms 

 caused very serious loss to corn over a limited area in central Missis- 

 sippi but were to be found in corn in all parts of the state; in the fall 

 of 1915 their damage was greatly reduced in central Mississippi but 

 increased considerably in other sections of the state although in no 

 section did they cause as much loss as in the central counties in 1914. 



There is no doubt in the writer's mind but that the damage caused 

 by the pink worms has often been greatly exaggerated but his own 

 observations have convinced him that this species has done more 

 damage to corn during October, November, and December of both 

 1914 and 1915 than all other insects combined. A few quotations 

 from correspondents' letters will show how some of the farmers have 

 regarded this insect: 



