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Webworms Injurious to Cereal and Forage Crops. 11 
‘The head is dull yellow with distinct black blotches. This species 
repeatedly has been found injuring corn but practically always in 
association with one or more other species and only where corn has 
followed freshly turned grass sod. While this is a larger species 
and a more vigorous feeder, its injury to young corn is not nearly 
so severe as that caused by the cornroot webworm because the striped 
webworm feeds almost entirely above ground and seldom injures the 
stem. This worm constructs a distinct, tubular burrow which opens 
at the surface of the soil and from which it emerges and either climbs 
the plants to feed on the leaves or cuts the leaves off at their bases 
and drags them to the entrance of the burrow, where it may feed 
without interference. Very seldom does any deformity result from its 
work and the plants at- 
tacked quickly recover 
from the loss of a por- 
tion of their leaf surface. 
In grasslands, especi- 
ally bluegrass meadows, 
large lawns, and parks, 
this worm is a frequent 
cause of premature 
browning and failure, 
especially in times of 
deficient rainfall. When 
laying their eggs the 
moths seek the lower 
and richer portions of the field where the grass is luxuriant, and the 
worms are usually more abundant in such places. 
There are two generations and sometimes a partial third genera- 
tion each year, the moths appearing in Tennessee during May, again 
in July, and again in lesser numbers in late August. The worms do 
their most conspicuous work on corn in April and by the first of 
May practically all the overwintering larve are mature. The sum- 
mer generation, coming at a time when seasonal conditions are not so 
favorable, causes the injury to grass. The worms pass the winter 
in little cylindrical tubes of silk and grass fragments which they 
construct close to the earth among the grass stems (fig. 10). 
Early fall plowing of grass sod on land intended for corn will 
greatly lessen their numbers the following spring. In meadows the 
application of a quick-acting fertilizer might serve to stimulate the 
growth of grass and aid it to overcome the work of the insects. — 
Fig. 9.—Adult of striped webworm. About three 
times natural size. 
