142 ANNUAL REPORT. 



in the spring. In such a season the bugs are sure to be washed 

 away and drowned in such numbers that their injuries to grain 

 will be light, while during dry and warm springs they may be ex- 

 pected to be more or hss troublesome. 



THE BOLL-WORM OR CORN- WORM. ( Heliothis amiigera^ Huhn.) 



This is another insect whose powers are not " contracted " by 

 any ''pent up Utica." It is in fact known all over the civilized 

 world, and is, as a consequence of its extended range, by no means 

 particular as to the kind of food set before it. Its appetite is not 

 even limited to vegetable products, but it is not averse to an occa- 

 sional meal off the pupae of other catapillars, and it has frequently 

 been caught in tbe cannibalistic act of devouring the smaller larvae 

 of its own species. 



In the southern states its voracity is mainly confined to corn and 

 cotton, while in the northern states its ravages are most severe on 

 corn and certain garden vegetables. 



The moth from whose eggs this omnivorous worm, or more prop- 

 erly caterpillar, hatches, is a medium sized, plain looking insect 

 with the fore wings of a pale clay-yellow, sometimes tinged with 

 green, with markings of pale olive and dark gray. The body and 

 underwings are dirty white, the latter with a brownish outer 

 border. 



This moth appears rather late in the spring and lays its eggs 

 scatteringly on the buds or ears of the plant it prefers. The cat- 

 erpillars are quite variable in shade, ranging from pale green to 

 dark brown, and are marked with a number of fine dark longitudi- 

 nal lines on the back and a pale yellow stripe on each side. They 

 first attack the tassels of corn, boring back and forth through the 

 buds before they have opened, and as soon as the ears have set they 

 feed upon them by preference, eating first the silk, then the ker- 

 nels in the milk and continue their ravages until the corn is ripe 

 and hard. They go from one ear to another spoiling many that 

 they do not actually devour. They also attack beans, cucumbers, 

 pumpkins and various other garden vegetables. I found them this 

 summer boring into my tomatoes, injuring both the green and 

 ripe fruit. 



In some parts of the country they have proved part cularly de- 

 structive to this vegetable, robbing the market gardeners of from 

 one-third to half the crop. As the presence of this worm is easily 

 detected, the remedy is to go through the field or garden infested 



