I Of) 



fact was published in (he Twenty-second Report, ol' this oflice. 'V\\v. 



species is trvated here, out of i(-s proper relation as a corn-root, insect, 



a,s a, conNcnience to those consnltin<;- these reports. 



This root-worm in the larval sUi^c is a whi(,e t,hick-l)odie,| frnil,, ;,,n 



eighth of an inch ion^-, with head and neck shi(>l(| smooth and hnrder 



tli;iii the rem;iininM- surface, Ix.th wliit.e aJ't.er a, molt,, but soon he.'oniin^- 



brownish or reddish. TIk; rem.'iinder of the body is ,soft,-skimied, ;i.nd 



wrinkled crosswise. Youn^ wliit,e-orubs resemble (,lie,se, but are l('.no(,r 



.•md more slender, ;iii(| |;i,ck the smooth and leathery neck-shield. 

 'I'lies(! root -worms injure; 



corn by <rna,win<!; away the soft 



surface j,issue of tlie t,a|)-root 



in an irrefi;ulai-, more or less 



windiriff line down one side. 



Spots may also be eaten out, to 



the middle, but, the root is 



never cut off, as by wliit,e- 



/;rubs,or burrowed lengthwise', 

 as by the c(jni root- worm. 

 Th(! plant is thus, of course, 

 stunted in it,s fz;rowth, and per- 

 manently injun^d to an (jxtont 

 varyiuf!; with tlie s(tv<!rity of 

 the att,ack. 'I'hus, in Tike 

 county, in June, 1 !)()(), when 

 uninjured corn was waist liiKh, 

 injured plants avera^^ed not over ei-hteen inches, and many were not 

 more than six or eif^dit inches hif-h, witJ. th(; lower leaves dry and brr.wn. 

 In another field, where uninjured corn stood about five fecit in hei^dd,, 

 pat,ches soine two or three acres in size injmed by those frrubs, averajrc;,! 

 only about eifrhteen inches high, the roots being giiawed and'ihe lower 

 leaves more or less dry. As many as twelve to ("ifrhtoen root-worms were 

 sometunes foun<l in a, single hill. These injmed fields were in most cases 

 on relatively higli and rolling land, when; t,lie soil was light and the 

 growth of the plant was slow; and usually the land had be(;n in sod th(; 

 previous year. In two instances, however, the root-worm was found in 

 fields which wen; in (;orn the year before. 



The larva lias long been known as injurious to strawberry roots, and 

 our recent field studies show that it feeds especially on timothy roots, 

 most frequently infesting corn planted on timothy sod. in some timothy 

 meadows one or more of tlu; root-worms wen; turn.'d up with every 

 spadeful of sod. 



Ilie adult (l''ig. S7j is a small, short, thick day-yellow })eetle, with 

 fine hues of punctures on the wing-covers. It is common on the lower 



I'KJ. 8(i. I ho (,'oliiHin.s no()(,-womi, (;<,l(iH,nH lyrun- 

 nra, larval iukI |,ii|.;.I Htrucl iihih; A, anloiiua of 

 iirva; Ji. labium mid iriaxillas; C, irianditilo- /j 

 abnim; A U() <)f alxloinen hencat.h; «, /,, al.doniirml 

 lutierclcs; /' , (i|) of pupa Ijeneatli. Knlarged. 



