22 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 425 



Lincoln counties, and in a small area in Big Horn and Yellowstone 

 counties. Areas of possible occurrence are scattered throughout 

 the central part of the State. The interesting point is that the 

 present Montana infestation falls within the small area of occa- 

 sional occurrence in the south-central part of the State, where, 

 according to Cook's calculations, it might be most expected to 

 occur. The known infestation in the State is eight years old, and 

 it has spread to the outer limits of this area of occasional occur- 

 rence. 



Assuming the correctness of Cook's conclusions, the alfalfa 

 weevil should never become a great pest in Montana, and measur- 

 able damage to alfalfa should occur only rarely and in limited 

 areas in the State. 



tiger moth (Callarctia blakei Grote) . — In 1944 larval speci- 

 mens of this tiger moth were submitted for identification from 

 Yellowstone and Choteau counties. In Choteau County it was 

 reported damaging a wheat field during the latter part of April. 

 An investigation revealed the larvae had invaded a field of winter 

 wheat either from adjacent stubble, or rangeland at the end of 

 the stubble, probably the latter. About five acres had been fed 

 over by May 3, but the young leaves had not been entirely de- 

 stroyed. Good growing weather enabled the field to recover and 

 by harvest it was not possible to distinguish the infested area. 



strawberry crown miner (Aristotelia fragariae Busck) .- - 

 This pest of strawberries previous to the autumn of 1944 had not 

 been reported to this office or observed in the field in Montana. 

 It has long been known in the Pacific Northwest, both in Canada 

 and in the United States, and it is no great surprise to find it in 

 this State. Almost simultaneously infested plants were sent in 

 from Charlo and Findlay Point in Lake County, for identification 

 and control measures. 



The adult of the strawberry crown miner is a small moth 

 with a wing spread of about a half inch. In itself it does not dam- 

 age strawberry plants. The larvae, however, bore through the 

 crowns of the plants causing poor development of the leaves and 

 a general stunting of the plant. These larvae are typical moth 

 larvae, pinkish in color, and about a half inch long. Their borings 

 open up the crown and roots to the attacks of injurious fungi. 

 Healthy, vigorous, young plants are seldom attacked. No artificial 

 control measures have as yet been developed. Infested plantings 

 should be plowed up and replanted, and where possible the old 

 plants should be raked and destroyed. 



EUROPEAN earwig (Forficula auricularia L.). — The spread of 

 this introduced insect in the State has been reported in the last 

 two leports of the State Entomologist. During the last biennium 

 it has appeared in two new areas, Bozeman and Great Falls. In 



