FiG.o.— The Red-tailed Tachina- 

 FLY, with its larva at left and its 

 puparium at right; below is th'fe 

 fore part of the body of an Army 

 Worm with Tachina eggs attach- 

 ed, somewhat enlarged. (From 

 Comstock.) 



the appearance of a parasitized worm, as in this way his confidence in 

 the future may be restored. 



We show at Fig. 3 the head and front segments of an army worm 

 bearing eggs of the red-tailed tachina-fiy (Nemorsea leucanise). The 

 eggs are wliite, oval, less than one-sixteenth of an inch long, and are 

 glued fast to the skm of the caterpillar, 

 usually on the back of the front segments. 

 From half a dozen to fifty or more of these 

 eggs may be attached to a single caterpillar, 

 and from each hatches a maggot which pene- 

 trates the bod}" of the army worm and ulti- 

 mately destroys it, unless the caterpillar 

 should happen to cast its skin so soon after 

 the eggs are laid that they do not have time 

 to hatch. The adult tachina-fiy resembles 

 a rather large house-fly, except that it has 

 a red tip to its abdomen. Hundreds and 

 thousands of these flies are usually seen 

 buzzing about a field infested by the army worm, and their presence 

 should be welcome to the farmer. 



The extent of the parasitism of the injurious brood of the army 

 worm may be indicated by two instances from our personal experience. 

 In 1880 we visited a large tract of land planted in timothy grass, in 

 the vicinity of Portsmouth, Y&. A search for hours during the hot 

 part of the day failed to show a single w^orm which did not bear tachina 

 eggs. In 1882 w^e visited wheat fields in the vicinity of Huntsville, 

 Ala., winch w^ere then being overrun by this insect. Here, although a 

 number of worms were noticed which did not bear tachina eggs, they 

 were destroyed by ground-beetles to such an extent that when we 

 attempted to catch an adult moth a little later in the season by means 

 of trap lanterns and sugar, we w^ere unable to secure a single specimen. 

 The entire army had been anniliilated, and it is w^orthy of remark that 

 in neither of these localities has the army worm ever been seen since 

 in injurious numbers, although fourteen years have elapsed in the one 

 case and twelve in the other. 



L. O. Howard, 



E7ito77tologist. 

 Approved :' 



J. Sterling ]\Iorton, 



Secretary. 

 Washington, D. C\, June 16, 1894. 



O 



