~ 
156 JaaSies OF THE COMMISSIONER OF Agricunrurs, : 
POWESHIEK COUNTY. 2 Gai-wormns are doing some damage 5 corn. * ie 
- WARREN CountTy.—Corn somewhat injured by grub and Cut-worms, in asa 
whole prospects were never better for a gcod crop. 
APPANOOSE COUNTY.—Some sod worms; no material damage from them as yet. 
— AR COoUNTY.—Corn injured by Cut-worms, on sod ground much had to be re- | 
planted. 
CLARK CounTy.—Corn damaged by Cut-worms. 
Davis County.—Corn on sod taken by Cut-worms; many replanting the third — 
time. ee 
DELAWARE CoUNTY.—Some timothy fields entirely destroyed by Cut-worms; ae as 
many being plowed up and planted to corn. S 
JEFFERSON CountTy.—Corn on old ground good, but is being destroyed by Cites 
worms on timothy sod; much has been replanted. 
JOHNSON CounTy.—Corn a good stand, “except that on timothy sod has been uae 
off by worms. Es, 
Kroxvuk County.—Corn planted on sod injured by Cut-worms and much had to 4 
be replanted. sop 
LEE County.—Corn generally good and forward for the season.. New Web, — 
Wire-worm cut off most of the corn planted on sod plowed this spring. “a 
_ PoTrawaTTaMiE CouNnTy.—Cut-worms and ground moles doing some dampee 
to corn, but generally it is a good stand and color. 
Van BurEN County.—Corn planted on timothy sod being replanted the third 
time, Cut-worms taking all corn planted on sod ground. 
WAPELLO CounTy.—Corn on sod ground had ‘to be replanted. * 
The extent of its ravages in meadows in other parts of the State I am unable to 
give with any precision. On the college farm, both on the caimpus and in the pas- 
tures and meadows, it has been very abundant and the grass has suffered seriously, —~ 
In patches the damage was such that it has not recovered: while over large areas ~ 
the grass being cut off above the crown has grown up rapidly since the fall rains. 
During the severe drought, which extended till the ist of S epvember, the damaged 
portions did not show platy, as the whole surface was dried up. but afterthe rains 
such areas were much slower in becoming green. But that the damage wasnot ~— 
due to dryness was évidenced by the greatest ‘damage occurring in depressions or in 
places where there was the most moist ure, instead of on the tops of the kmolls or» 
in specially dry places. On the line cf the Northwestern Road from Ames to Clinton 
I saw in the latter part of August many meadows and pastures presenting the 
whitened patches indicative of the presence of this pest. Outside the State, in 
Illinois and Wisconsin, I found evidence of it wherever I went. a. 
The insect is distributed widely over the country, and I doubt not has been de- 
structive in all the Upper Mississippi Valley, though probably a large portion of the 
damage done by it has been ascribed to the drought or other causes. ; 
The i injury to corn results only from planting upon sod. As it is very desirable to 
make this transfer when the meadows have been severely injured it becomes of the 
utmost importance to the corn crop to avoid the damage done, which necessitates’ 
replanting and causes vexatious delay. The measures necessary - Fer this dam- 
age I believe to be simple and practicable, and they will be fully stated under the. 
head of remedial measures. ; 
Habits and life history.—Owing to the abundance of this species upon the col- 
lege lawn Thave had opportunity to observe it during the entire season inall stages, 
and though some points of interest remain to be studied, I am able to state the ~ 
principal facts in regard to its life history. Enough Iam confident has been deter- 
mined to form a solid basis for recommendation of remedial measures. 
During the last of May and fore part of June larve and pupz were abendaee, 
and were observed as late as June 10. On June 7 the moths were plenty, and June 
9 they were flying to lights in the houses by thousands. They came to my study > 
in swarms, and I was afterwards told by students that they gathered to the electric 
lights in the college building in such numbers as to seriously interfere with their 
work. On the morning of the 10th, having closed the windows of my study the 
night before to prevent the moths from escaping, I counted over one hundred 
moths at one window, and the window-sill, the sash, and the floor in front of the’ 
window were thickly strewed with their eggs. On slightly pressing the abdomen 
of a female with thumband finger she extruded, one by one, thirty- five eggs, after 
which none were extruded by pressure, but upon dissection of the moth I found 
ninety well-formed ova and a large but uncertain number of formative stage in 
tubes of the ovary. As this was a captured female and she had had time during 
¥ 
| *L have included in the above extracts those given as Cut-worms, etc., though — 
some of these véry likely may refer to other species than C. exsiccatus. : 
