560 Eeport of Entomologists of the 



quoted from Dr. C. V. Eilej's Third Missouri Report, page 107 : 

 '' In 1860 — the year of the great Kansas drouth — the corn crop in 

 that state was almost entirely ruined by the corn worm. According 

 to the Prairie Farmer of January 31, 1861, one county there which 

 raised 436,000 bushels of corn in 1859 only produced 5,000 bushels 

 of poor wormy stuff in 1860, and this, we are told, was a fair sample 

 of most of the counties of Kansas." 



While the injury to the corn crop in New York State has prob- 

 ably not been as serious as this, with the possible exception of a few 

 localities, yet the damage is annually sufficient to demand the atten- 

 tion of growers w^ho wish to make an effort to bring the pest under 

 control. Last fall the writer examined several fields of late sweet 

 corn on Long Island and, in one case, a small field where most of 

 the ears were examined, found nearly every ear infested, while other 

 fields showed at least fifty per cent to be wormy. At one of the 

 New York markets last fall, it was found that a large proportion of 

 late sweet corn brought in on market wagons showed the effects of 

 the work of this pest. 



Life History and Habits as a Corn and Tomato Pest. 



Figure 4 represents the insect in all of its stages, «and & represent- 

 ing a much magnified egg, the former being a side view and the 

 latter a top view. The eggs are ribbed and of a pale straw color. 

 According to Dr. Riley, Third Missouri Report, page 106, each 

 female moth is capable of depositing upwards of five hundred eggs. 



On Long Island and vicinity, the winter is passed in the pupa 

 state from four to six inches under ground. In these localities the 

 moths issue in the spring before corn is up, hence, the eggs for the first 

 hrood are deposited on some other food plants, preferably peas, beans, 

 and tomatoes. These vegetables frequently suffer severely from, 

 their attacks. In the former cases the leaves and pods are eaten, 

 while in the latter the young fruits are attacked, and occasionally the 

 stems, the larvge feeding upon the solid parts until decay begins, then 

 leaving for a fresh fruit. Figure 5 represents a full grown corn- 

 worm feeding upon a tomato. When feeding on pumpkins, 

 squashes, or cucumbers, they occasionally burrow into the stems, 

 but usually into the fruit. 



The eggs hatch in a few days. The young larvsB vary greatlj in 

 color, from pale green to dark brown, and are striped longitudinally 



