CRANBERRY INSECT PROBLEMS. 



25 



complished by flooding the bog for one week immediately after 

 picking the crop. If the water is applied in October, when the 

 moths have emerged from the ground and are resting among the 

 vines, the flood will catch them as it rises and their death will follow 

 in a day or tw^o. Once the moth gets into the water it seems unable 

 to free itself and soon perishes. It is probable that fall flooding also 

 destroys the piipa\ 



The spring reflow, if it can be applied in June for 48 hours, will 

 serve to control blossom worms. 



CRANBERRY KATYDID.' 



Much of the damage to the fruit of the cranberry attributed to 

 the feeding of grasshoppers must be charged to the cranberry katy- 

 did. New Jersey bogs still seem to be the fa- 

 vorite haunt of this insect and it ruins a large 

 amount of fruit annually in its efforts to obtain 

 the seeds of the growing berries. Naturally 

 much of the pulp is removed in this operation, 

 but for the most part it is rejected and falls to 

 the ground. What is left of the berry, a mere 

 'shell, remains clinging to the vine in a shriveled 

 condition, giving evidence of the nature of the 

 culprit. 



The mature katydid is green, with exceedingly 

 long hind legs and antennae. At rest the semi- 

 transparent wings are folded close to the body 

 and in this position the insect will measure 

 about If inches from the head to the tips of the 

 wings. The sound-producing instrument is 

 borne only by the male and is at the base of the 

 forewings, where they overlap. The female may 

 be recognized easily by the sickle-shaped ap- 



FiG. 23. — Cranberry blos- 

 som worm : Egg on 

 cranberry leaf. Much 

 enlarged. 



are laid. 



Young katydids first appear on the bogs about the middle of June 

 but do not attain their full size until August. The berry-feeding 

 habit is developed to full extent about the middle of July, when the 

 insect has reached the stage immediately preceding the adult. Egg 

 laying occurs in September and October, after which the adults die. 

 Infestation of the succeeding year develops from the wintering eggs. 

 These are laid in the blades of grasses, chiefly those known locally 

 as " double seeded millet " - and " deer m-ass." ^ 



iicudderia texensis S. & P. 



Panicum viscidum. 



3 Panicum dichotomum. 



