laid by. Tlic hui'i-ow wliicli the slalk-horci' makes within the Hiein runs 

 upwards IVoni tlie ('uti'anc(> opciiiui;, and of course varies in size with 

 the ,i;i'()\\th of the lai'\a. Sonictinies in leaxin.t;- a stalk it makes a new 

 hole above that by which it entered, and it may in this way buiTow in 

 succession several different stalks and several dilTcrcut kinds of plants. 

 Corn is injured by it while tVom two to ten inches hi^h. 



Besides the corn, wheat, and bln(»-ii;rass already mentioned, it may 

 infest oats and timothy, \arious garden crops — includin<i' potatoes, 

 tomatoes, rhubarb, and spinach — blackbiM'rv and raspbei'i-y canes, the 

 thick-stemmed weeds — such as i'a,<iwe(Ml, burdock, and cocklebui- — a 

 considerable variety of (>;ard(Mi (lowers, and also the new iirowth of the 

 peach, currant, f;rape, ap|)l(\ willow, etc. lnd(>ed, its food plants are so 

 numerous as to indicate a practical indifference to kinds, the only neces- 

 sary condition bein<>; a relatively thick stem, soft enou<i-h to allow it to 

 enter and feed freely within. In the small ,ui-ains and larjier .urasses, 

 like oats and timothy, it makes its presence manifest by killinsi' or even 

 cuttino; off the stem within an ensjieathinij; leaf, thus causin<;' the head 

 and the whole plant above th(> injury to tui'u white, and |)i"(>sently to dry 

 up. It is only oue of se\(M'al insects which produce^ this a;eneral efTect 

 at this time, but its own injury may Ix^ at once (listinjiuished by the 

 I'ound hole which it leax'cs in the stem of the infested plant. 



It occurs throu<i;hout the I'nited States and Canada east of the 

 ixocky Mountains, but is most destructive in our own latitude, theadult 

 moth havinij; Ikhmi, in fact, oiMjiiiially described fi'om sp(M'imens sent from 

 Illinois to France. 



The caterpillar, when full jirown. pupates, as a rule, within its last 

 biu'row, comtnoidy below the openiiiii' at which it entered scHMuin^ly a 

 precaution against its destruction by the witheriuii,- and breaking away of 

 the upper part of the injured ])lant. The pupa (Fig. 25, c) is light 

 mahogany-brown, about thi'ce foui'ths of an inch in length, and bears at 

 the tip of the body a pair of spines. Fi-om it comes out a fawn-gray or 

 mouse-colored moth (I*'ig. 25, a), with the outer third of the wings ])aler 

 and bordered within by a whitish cross-line. OtluM' specimens (\-ar. 

 nchris) have some white s|)ots on the disks of the wings. The moth is 

 nocturnal, and has been taken by us flying about electric lights, and also 

 at sugar. The eggs ha\e not as yet been found. 



There is but one brood in a year, and by the end of Jvuie the cater- 

 jiillars are over half grown, and have mostly left the grasses in whicli 

 they made tluMr stai't and entei'ed the tliicker-stenun(>d plants, of course 

 ir.cluding corn. They live in this stage until late in .July, when pupation 

 begins, but larva> have been found until August 2S. The moths begin 

 to appear about the middle of August, and coiitimu" throughout Septem- 

 ber and October. Th(>v have n(»\-(>r been found in hibernation, and it 



