SECTION XLVII. INSECT ENEMIES OF THE 

 FARMER 



WHILE the injurious kinds number but a very small 

 fraction of the great group of insects, they are exceed- 

 ingly important both to our wealth and health. Perhaps 

 more than a tenth of all the crops raised each year in our 

 entire country is eaten or destroyed by insects. This 

 damage amounts to a direct cost of about ten dollars for 

 every man, woman, and child in the United States. 



The Hessian fly. Perhaps the most injurious species 

 of all is the Hessian fly, a minute insect which lives on 

 the stems of wheat and other grains. In some places 

 wheat cannot be grown because of the presence of this 

 insect and the injury it causes. The only remedy con- 

 sists in burning over the stubble after the crop has been 

 harvested and in delaying the planting of the fall wheat 

 until after frosts have occurred. 



The chinch-bug. This is another very important insect 

 that attacks grains. It is especially injurious to wheat and 

 corn. It is a true bug and hardly more than a fifth of an 

 inch long. Chinch-bugs often occur in such numbers as 

 to cause the death of the plants because of the enormous 

 amount of sap they withdraw. After the crops of small- 

 grain are harvested, these bugs move on foot in countless 

 numbers to the corn-fields. The fields can be protected 

 s 257 



