﻿200 
  CONTAGIOUS 
  DISEASES 
  OF 
  THE 
  CHINCH-BUG. 
  

  

  and 
  pupaB 
  of 
  the 
  second 
  brood, 
  were 
  all 
  mixed 
  together, 
  and 
  all 
  were 
  decidedly 
  hun- 
  

   gry, 
  as 
  their 
  intense 
  activity 
  and 
  the 
  swarming 
  armies 
  of 
  famishing 
  bugs 
  plainly 
  

   indicated. 
  To 
  gather 
  in 
  this 
  crop 
  of 
  bugs, 
  round 
  holes 
  about 
  six 
  inches 
  in 
  diameter 
  

   were 
  drilled 
  in 
  the 
  ground 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  fence; 
  and 
  as 
  one 
  hole 
  became 
  filled 
  with 
  in- 
  

   sects 
  it 
  was 
  closed, 
  and 
  another 
  one 
  was 
  opened 
  close 
  by 
  for 
  the 
  reception 
  of 
  more 
  

   victims. 
  So 
  matters 
  worked 
  to 
  our 
  satisfaction, 
  when 
  an 
  unexpected 
  assistant 
  came 
  

   to 
  help 
  us, 
  making 
  the 
  structure 
  of 
  more 
  fences 
  unnecessary. 
  The 
  above-mentioned 
  

   holes 
  were 
  quite 
  deep, 
  and 
  consequently 
  were 
  always 
  wet, 
  a 
  condition 
  of 
  things 
  not 
  

   at 
  all 
  suitable 
  to 
  starving 
  chinch-bugs, 
  and 
  they 
  soon 
  became 
  unhealthy 
  and 
  weak, 
  

   thus 
  presenting 
  the 
  best 
  conditions 
  for 
  any 
  disease 
  to 
  claim 
  them 
  as 
  its 
  victims. 
  

   And 
  such 
  a 
  disease, 
  produced 
  by 
  a 
  fungus, 
  was 
  not 
  slow 
  in 
  making 
  its 
  appearance, 
  

   as 
  could 
  be 
  seen 
  by 
  the 
  numerous 
  dead 
  bugs. 
  The 
  margins 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  holes, 
  but 
  chiefly 
  

   those 
  more 
  densely 
  crowded 
  with 
  captives, 
  soon 
  became 
  whitened 
  with 
  dead 
  bugs 
  en- 
  

   shrouded 
  in 
  white 
  mycelial 
  threads 
  and 
  dust-like 
  spores 
  — 
  in 
  fact, 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  the 
  

   upper 
  rims 
  of 
  these 
  holes 
  looked 
  as 
  if 
  recently 
  whitewashed. 
  Nor 
  did 
  the 
  disease 
  

   stop 
  there 
  ! 
  On 
  the 
  contrary, 
  it 
  spread 
  very 
  rapidly 
  to 
  adjoining 
  fields 
  of 
  timothy, 
  

   Hungarian 
  grass, 
  millet, 
  etc. 
  Even 
  the 
  course 
  followed 
  by 
  it 
  from 
  the 
  holes 
  could 
  

   be 
  readily 
  recognized 
  for 
  some 
  time 
  by 
  the 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  numerous 
  white 
  spots 
  left 
  

   in 
  its 
  wake. 
  

  

  The 
  fields 
  invaded 
  by 
  the 
  disease 
  afforded, 
  upon 
  closer 
  examination, 
  a 
  truly 
  edify- 
  

   ing 
  spectacle 
  to 
  those 
  not 
  interested 
  in 
  the 
  welfare 
  of 
  the 
  chinch-bugs. 
  They 
  looked 
  

   quite 
  panic-stricken, 
  and 
  moved 
  about 
  in 
  a 
  slow 
  and 
  dazed 
  way, 
  figuratively 
  speak- 
  

   ing, 
  as 
  if 
  badly 
  scared. 
  And 
  well 
  they 
  might 
  be 
  ! 
  The 
  victims 
  of 
  the 
  disease 
  could 
  

   be 
  seen 
  everywhere 
  by 
  the 
  thousands; 
  they 
  had 
  been 
  slaughtered 
  in 
  all 
  kinds 
  of 
  po- 
  

   sitions, 
  but 
  they 
  were 
  usually 
  fastened 
  to 
  the 
  blades 
  and 
  stems 
  of 
  the 
  grass, 
  or 
  to 
  

   the 
  leaves 
  of 
  young 
  clover. 
  All 
  showed 
  plainly 
  that 
  their 
  last 
  and 
  strong 
  determi- 
  

   nation 
  in 
  life 
  had 
  been 
  to 
  hold 
  on 
  as 
  long 
  as 
  possible; 
  their 
  legs 
  were 
  firmly 
  planted 
  

   upon 
  the 
  substance 
  where 
  the 
  bug 
  happened 
  to 
  be; 
  others 
  had 
  only 
  their 
  beaks 
  in- 
  

   serted, 
  and 
  were 
  dangling 
  by 
  it 
  free 
  in 
  the 
  air. 
  But 
  all 
  showed 
  the 
  characteristic 
  

   white 
  mycelium 
  threads 
  and 
  spores 
  of 
  the 
  disease. 
  Although 
  almost 
  exclusively 
  at- 
  

   tacking 
  chinch-bugs, 
  the 
  disease 
  was 
  not 
  slow 
  in 
  slaughtering 
  such 
  small 
  flies 
  as 
  

   found 
  the 
  society 
  of 
  such 
  malodorous 
  companions 
  to 
  their 
  taste. 
  A 
  story 
  with 
  a 
  

   moral 
  ! 
  Not 
  having 
  had 
  access 
  to 
  Prof. 
  S. 
  A. 
  Forbes's 
  articles 
  on 
  the 
  disease 
  of 
  the 
  

   chinch-bug, 
  I 
  am 
  unable 
  to 
  say 
  whether 
  Micrococcus 
  insectorum 
  Burrill 
  has 
  anything 
  

   in 
  common 
  with 
  the 
  friendly 
  fungus 
  causing 
  all 
  this 
  slaughter, 
  but 
  I 
  hardly 
  think 
  

   so, 
  as 
  the 
  disease 
  observed 
  here 
  has 
  no 
  similarity 
  to 
  the 
  flaccidity 
  of 
  caterpillars, 
  

   but 
  appears 
  to 
  belong 
  to 
  a 
  true 
  species 
  of 
  Entomophthora. 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  

  

  As 
  many 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  southern 
  part 
  of 
  this 
  State 
  were 
  overrun 
  with 
  chinch-bugs, 
  

   I 
  thought 
  that 
  a 
  good 
  opportunity 
  and 
  an 
  inviting 
  field 
  was 
  presented 
  to 
  purposely 
  

   spread 
  a 
  disease 
  — 
  an 
  act 
  not 
  usually 
  considered 
  a 
  kind 
  one 
  to 
  engage 
  in, 
  and 
  one 
  not 
  

   to 
  be 
  recommended 
  to 
  physicians. 
  This 
  was 
  exceedingly 
  simple, 
  as 
  all 
  that 
  was 
  nec- 
  

   essary 
  was 
  to 
  gather 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  diseased 
  bugs, 
  put 
  them 
  into 
  tight-fitting 
  tin 
  

   boxes, 
  and 
  mail 
  them 
  to 
  regions 
  infested 
  by 
  chinch-bugs. 
  Arrived 
  at 
  their 
  destina- 
  

   tion, 
  the 
  contents 
  of 
  the 
  boxes 
  could 
  simply 
  be 
  thrown 
  in 
  any 
  field 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  in- 
  

   fested 
  with 
  such 
  bugs. 
  This 
  was 
  done 
  with 
  specimens 
  of 
  the 
  diseased 
  bugs 
  collected 
  at 
  

   the 
  Experiment 
  Station, 
  and 
  18 
  different 
  places 
  in 
  southern 
  Minnesota 
  were 
  thus 
  made 
  

   centers 
  of 
  distribution 
  for 
  this 
  disease; 
  and, 
  as 
  it 
  seems, 
  with 
  remarkably 
  good 
  re- 
  

   sults, 
  as 
  the 
  disease 
  has 
  killed 
  off 
  the 
  bugs 
  to 
  such 
  an 
  extent 
  that 
  carefui 
  search 
  in 
  a 
  

   majority 
  of 
  places 
  failed 
  to 
  produce 
  a 
  single 
  living 
  specimen, 
  whilst 
  the 
  traces 
  of 
  the 
  

   disease 
  were 
  found 
  everywhere. 
  The 
  disease 
  spread 
  so 
  rapidly 
  that 
  even 
  corn, 
  grow- 
  

   ing 
  near 
  wheat 
  fields 
  crowded 
  with 
  chinch-bugs, 
  was 
  entirely 
  protected, 
  and 
  no 
  bugs 
  

   had 
  entered 
  it 
  in 
  all 
  the 
  places 
  visited 
  by 
  myself. 
  But 
  I 
  am 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  satisfied 
  

  

  