INSECTS INJURIOUS IN 1896. 



OTTO LUGGER 



THE CHINCH-BUG IN 1896. 



During the early part of the 3'ear 1896 but compara- 

 tively few chinch-bugs could be found in our state, and ow- 

 ing to the general wet spring many of those that had win- 

 tered over successfully became infected with a disease and 

 died. This happy condition did not, however, prevail every- 

 where, and some of the counties along the Mississippi and 

 Minnesota rivers started with a fairly large number of 

 these pests. Whether it is a coincidence or not one thing be- 

 came very apparent: wherever large numbers of the disease- 

 spores had been scattered during 1895, few chinch-bugs sur- 

 vived autumn, winter and spring; and in some localities, 

 where the bugs had been exceedingly numerous before, but 

 few, if any, could be found early in 1896. Numerous letters 

 that Avere received from farmers living in such localities 

 plainly proved that the bugs had gone, had been killed by a 

 disease, and on that account fewer boxes with disease- 

 spores were asked for in such places than the entomologist 

 would have been glad to distribute, if only to make assur- 

 ance doubly sure. It is a very unfortunate fact that if farm- 

 ers do not actually suffer losses caused by insects they will 

 not apply remedies against the few they know to be in their 

 fields, simply because these can not cause any great dam- 

 age; they do not bear in mind the wonderful fecundity of 

 their enemies and how rapidly they can multiply again and 

 overrun their fields. It is this fact that, among other 

 things, has assisted the destructive potato beetle in 1896, 

 and enabled it to multiply so that next year it will again 

 become numerous enough in many fields to cause losses. It 



