85 



During- the fall of 1899 the fall army worm, Lcqyhygmafruglperda^ 

 committed serious depredations in southern Ohio, especially in Wash- 

 ington, Gallia, and Scioto counties. During March of the present 

 year complaints came from the same section of the State, setting forth 

 the continued ravages of this pest. As this seemed improbable, an 

 assistant was sent to investigate the matter. That there was being 

 considerable injury done in fields of }■ oung wheat there appeared to 

 be no doubt, and an ample suppl}-^ of the depredators were secured, 

 but, instead of the supposed L. frugipercki, the pest proved to be no 

 other than the spotted cutworm, Noctua c-nigrum., the larvte having 

 evidenth^ lived over in the fields, probably above ground. I clearly 

 recollect finding the larvae of this same species feeding on young 

 wheat in the fields during a January thaw at Lafayette, Ind., a num- 

 ber of years ago. 



Early in May of the present year there came complaints of the 

 attack of cutworms on the extensive onion farms in Hardin Count3\ 

 A personal investigation of these complaints resulted in my observing 

 two separate invasions, the depredators being Camedes tessellata and 

 C. insignata. 



The worms ranged in length from nearly three-fourths inch down- 

 ward to about one- fourth inch in length. In one case they were mak- 

 ing their way from a tract of ground which had been planted to corn 

 last year and had been somewhat neglected and grown up to weeds, 

 though there were almost none of these growing there at the time of 

 my visit. The other outbreak had originated near where a large lot 

 of potatoes had been pitted last fall and remained there over winter. 

 Here, too, there was no vegetation on which the worms could have 

 subsisted up to this time. The cutworms in each case would follow 

 the rows of j^oung onions, taking nearlj' every one as they went, in 

 one case invading the field at the ends of the rows and in the other 

 along one side. Larvte brought to the insectary fed on red clover, the 

 adult moths appearing largely on June 16, but others continued to put 

 in their appearance for several days. ' 



A mixture of wheat bran and arsenic, mixed into a dough with 

 sweetened water and this placed under boards laid down in the midst 

 of where the worms were at work, proved very efi'ective and soon 

 reduced their numbers. 



It is not often that the wheat wireworm is known to attack other 

 grains. An instance, however, was brought to notice this spring 

 where a wheat field that had been hopelessly ruined from the attacks 

 of Hessian fl}" last fall had been plowed up this spring and planted 

 with corn. May 28 the owner of the field, Mr. E. R. Emerich, of 

 Greenville, Ohio, wrote me saying that the corn had been badly 

 injured by these worms, specimens of which accompanied his letter of 

 complaint. 



