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158 REPORT OF THE*COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 
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the surface of the ground are sometimes blackened and decayed, and in some in- 
stances 1 thought I detected their work on the roots. Naturally they do, not find ae 
food in such abundance as in grass and may be expected to take whatever they Can uy 
most readily attack. shia ERP Ny 
On July 20 larvee were found in corn apparently full grown and ready to pupate, RY, 
Specimens confined in a glass jar with a little earth matured, two adults issuing and — 
first noticed August 3, both fresh and apparently but recently expanded. Larvee* 4 ; 
were found in cornas late as August 9, and from these I had one adultissuing durmg 
my absence and first seen by Professor Hitchcock August 26. "dR 
In erass land the larvee form a web-lined burrow about half an inch beneath the eyed 
surface of the sod, extending as the larva grows to a distance of 4 or 5 inches, 
‘nearly straight, and opening at the surface of the sod. The grass above and sur- 
rounding these burrows is cut off just at the surface of the ground; and where the. ~ 
worms are plenty the grass cut off forms a complete mat, which can be drawn ~~ 
’ aside, exposing the burrows of the larvee. By pushing up the sod along the burrow 
the web and worm are brought to view.’ The roots and usually the crown of the © | 
_ of the same genus that except to the professional entomologist a separation is next 
plants, except directly above the burrow, are unaffected, though from the failure of 
some patches to revive even six weeks after rains have entirely restored other parts | 
of the lawn it would seem that in some spots the worms were so hard pressed for — 
food as to eat'down into the crown. August 4, and for a number of days there- 
after, full-grown worms forming cocoons could be found in abundance, and gradually 
adults became more numerous, till in the middle part of August and until the fore f 
part of September they were again abundant. They were swarming to lights 
August 11. From this on the adult decreased in number, and the last record I 
have of seeing them is October 3. ul 
This is as far as I have made positive observations on the species, butit is proba- 
bly safe to infer that the eggs laid in the fall hatch and the young larvee establish — 
themselves in burrows where they pass the winter and awake to resume feeding in~ 
the spring. By the latter part of May the bulk of this brood is full grown, and, as 
we have seen, the moths issue in swarms between the 7th and 20th of June. 
The insect is double-brooded, though scattering moths may be seen as late as last 
of June for the spring brood and as early as first of August and late as fore part of ~ 
October for the fall brood. 
The life history, as I have observed it and supplying by inference the winter con- 
dition of one brood, may be summarized as follows : 
Moths of the spring brood appear in June; early stragglers by the 1st, the bulk of 
the brood from the 7th to the 15th, and late stragglers till the Ist of July. These 
deposit eggs which hatch in eight days from time of deposition. The larvee require 
from five to seven weeks to become full-grown, forming in the meantime a web- 
lined burrow in the sod, within a portion of which or in sod close by they form a 
cocoon and change to the pupa stage. The pupa stage is passed in from twelve to 
fifteen days, the fall brood of moths appearing in August, early stragglers the Ist 
of the month, the bulk of the brood during the middle of the month and till the Ist 
of September, and late stragglers are seen till fore part of October. Moths of this. 
brood deposit eggs for the fall and winter brood of larvee, which larvee mature by 
the latter part of May, pupating during last of May and fore part of June. These pro- 
duce the spring brood of moths which appears in early June and the cycle is complete. 
Description of different stages.—Reference has already been made to the appear- 
ance of different stages, and technical descriptions of some of the stages in other | 
publications makes it unnecessary to go into detail here. I may state in brief, how- 
ever, the most striking characters, in order that the insect may be recognized by 
those interested. It may be said, however, that it so closely resembles other species 
i 
to impossible. Differences in habit, however, will assist in distinguishing them. 
The egg is .55™™ long and .80™™ in diameter. It is fluted or ribbed. longitudi- 
nally, the ribs numbering usually 15, rarely 16 or more. They are yellowish white, ~ 
becoming darker as‘they reach the time for hatching. 
The larva when newly hatched is .70™™ to .75™™ in length. The body is pale, - 
almost white, while the head and upper part of the first segment is dark brown or 
blackish. The body is provided with scattering fine hairs. When full-grown it is 
nine-tenths of an inch long when extended, of a light brownish color, the head and 
upper part of first segment darker, and the head blotched with blackish. The seg- 
ments following the first. have glassy, slightly elevated, darker spots, from which, — 
arise fine hairs. BN ae 
The pupa is bright reddish brown, half an inch in length, the terminal part obtuse 
and blackish. It is inclosed in an elongate oval cocoon made of a thin web and 
covered with green frass, which looks much like bits of grass cut fine, and indeed _ 
they seem to be but partially digested. A cocoon formed in a glass jar from corn 
rs. 
