112 INSECT PESTS OF FARM. GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



Life History. In the North the moths appear early in June 

 and the females lay the small yellowish eggs in rows of from 

 ten to fifty in the unfolded bases of the grass leaves, covering 

 them with a thin layer of glue. Over seven hundred may be 

 deposited by one female, so that when the young caterpillars 

 hatch, in about ten days, the progeny of a few moths might 

 form a quite destructive army. The worms usually feed entirely 

 at night, and thus whole fields will sometimes be ruined before 

 they are discovered, though a few generally feed by day, as 

 they all do in cloudy weather. The leaves and stalks of grains 

 and grasses form their favorite food, the heads usually being 

 cut off, but various garden crops are often seriously injured if 

 they happen in their path. Though usually untouched, even 

 clover is not exempt. In from three to four weeks the 

 worms have become full grown and are then about 1J to 2 inches 

 long, of a dark gray or dingy black color, with three nar- 

 row, yellowish stripes above, and a slightly broader and 

 darker one on each side, quite resembling cutworms, to 

 which they are nearly related. They now enter the earth and 

 transform to pupae, from which the adult moths emerge in about 



two weeks. These lay eggs 

 for another brood of worms 

 which appear in September, 

 but are very rarely injuri- 

 ous. The moths which de- 

 velop from this last brood 

 either hibernate over winter 

 or deposit eggs, the larvae 

 from which become partially 

 grown before cold weather 

 and then hibernate. In 

 either case the young larvae 

 feed in the spring, not usu- 

 ally doing much damage, 

 pupate in May, and the 

 moths of the first genera- 

 tion appear in June as 

 already described. Thus in 

 the North there are three 



FIG. 94. An army 

 w o r m a bout 

 one-third en- 

 larged. (After 

 Chittenden, U. S. 

 Dept. Agr.) 



FIG. 95. a, head 

 of fall army 

 worm; b, head of 

 army worm 

 enlarged. (After 

 Chittenden, U. S. 

 Dept. Agr.) 



