15G 



ECONOMIC (;h'()(ir ;. 



('I'lic uiiiiiipoil.'iiil coi'ti iiisccis: visilniils whose |)rcs('ric(' is not merely iicci- 

 (Icnlal, but wliicli, on tlw^ other hand, do not. injure (ho corn jjiant in a way to Kivo 

 tli(Mii any aj)i)recial)Ie (economic conHecjuencc. A few species are inciudi^d wliich 

 hav(! been oiico or twice locally injurious, but wliich are scarcely deserving of a 

 place in the preceding section of this n^port.) 



wii.i) Hi<]i<:s. 



Jfdh'Hiift Urouxii Tx^p. 



'I'his ,sm;t!l, dull, blnckisii \)vv, with luirfow wiiiic or yellow bauds 

 across the abdomen, has been seen by us occasionally crawling over the 

 silks, loaves, and husks of corn, gathering the pollen of the plant, a]^par- 

 ently the only object of its visit. It appears very early in spring and 

 continues until (juite late in fall, making its collections from a great 

 vari(>ly ol' (lowca-s, evideidJy with no special preference for the corn plant. 



ANTS. 

 Formicidcr. 



Most dir(>ct injuri(>s to corn by ants arc^ economically insignificant. 

 Their attentions to the corn ])lant-loiise, Aphis maidis, I'otnul on the 

 leaves, tassels, and silks of corn, an^ dotibtU^ss helpful to these insects 

 as well as to themselves, but the corn U'af-louse is itself of slight hnpor- 

 tance, rarely doing any injury d(>seiving of special attention. The corn 

 root-louse {Aphis maidiradicis) , on the other hand, is one of th(> most 

 dangerous insects infesting the roots of corn, and often greatly dimin- 

 ishes the yield of the infested field. The ants which attend it are indis- 

 pensable to its prosperity, and are thus indirectly highly injurious to the 

 crop. These root injuries, however, have been treated in an earlier 

 rei)ort. 



l''in. 143. The (Common 

 1 louHO-iuit, Monoinorium 

 phdraotiis, worker. lOn- 

 liirKcil iiH iiidiuatOil. (Mar- 

 lalt, U. S. Dei)t. of Agri- 

 culture.) 



Fio. 144. Tl'O Common llouse-:iii(, Mono- 

 morium phanionis, fomiile. JOnliirKetl lis iu- 

 <licat«(l. (MarlHtt, U. S. Dept. oif Agricul- 

 ture.) 



