INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN 



145 



same way as corn and the roots of melons and other cucurbs are 

 often so riddled by the larvae as to kill the plants. 



Injury to corn is done by the larvae in the spring, when they feed 

 upon the roots while the corn is but a few inches high, bore into the 

 crown, and boring into the base of the stalk through the young 

 leaves eat out the " bud." The latter injury often seems to be 

 more serious to corn than the injury to the roots, and has given 

 the insect the common local name of " budworm," which is 

 unfortunately applied to several other insects which do similar 

 injury. Larvae have been found attacking wheat, rye, millet and 

 Johnson grass in a similar way, the beetles seeming to be attracted 

 to fields containing Johnson grass before the corn appears, thus 



125. The southern corn root-worm: a, egg; b, larva; c, work of lar 

 at base of cornstalk; d, pupa; e, beetle all much enlarged except 

 (After Riley.) 



injuring such grassy fields more severely. Injury to corn seems to 

 be worse on low, damp spots. 



Life History. The beetles hibernate over winter and are 

 among the first insects to appear in early spring, appearing by the 

 middle ot March in the Southern States. Eggs are laid during April 

 in the Gulf States and from late April to early June in Kentucky 

 and the District of Columbia. The egg is dull yellow, oval, and 



