3*4 



BUGS, INSECTS, ETC— REMEDIES FOR. 



one of the most common North American 

 insects. The moth (Figure 26), which is 

 very generally dubbed "The Miller," 

 frequently flies into our rooms at night; 

 and there are quite a number of our 

 farmers who, somehow or other, have got 

 the idea that this " Miller " is the insect 



Fig. 26 — Common Yellow Bear. 

 that infests their beehives— that it is. in 

 short, the Bee-moth. 



Though the moth is so common, how 

 few persons ever think of it as the parent 

 of that most troublesome of caterpillars, 

 which Harris has so aptly termed the 

 Yellow Bear (Figure 26.) These cater- 

 pillars are quite frequently found on the 

 Grape-vine. 



The Yellow Bear is found of all sizes 

 from June to October; and though quite 

 fond of the vine, is by no means confined 

 to that plant. It is, in fact, a very general 

 feeder, being found on a great variety of 

 herbaceous plants, both wild and culti- 

 vated, as butternut, lilac, beans, peas, 

 convolvulus, corn, currant, gooseberry, 

 cotton, sunflower, plantain, smart-weed, 

 verbenas, geraniums, and almost any 

 plant with soft, tender leaves. These 

 caterpillars are indeed so indifferent as to 

 their diet, that we have actually known 

 one to subsist entirely, from the time it 

 cast its last skin till it spun u on dead 

 bodies of the Camel Cricket. 



The best time to destroy these worms 

 is soon after they hatch from their little 

 round yellow eggs, which are deposited 

 in clusters; for, as already intimated, 

 they then feed together. 



SQUASH BUG.— The common squash 

 bug has been extremely injurious to the 

 squash family in many parts of the 

 Middle States, injuring the plants in 

 larva, pupa, and perfect states, by con- 



gregating in great numbers around the 

 stem near the ground, or on the leaves, 

 and sucking out the sap by means of their 

 strong beaks. The eggs of this insect 

 are deposited in little patches fastened to 

 the under side of the leaves in June and 

 July. It is stated, however, that all the 

 eggs are not deposited at the same time. 

 The young insects live in families, punc- 

 turing the leaves and stem, and draining 

 the sap from the plant. The perfect 

 insects hybernate in crevices of walls 

 andfences,and have been found in Ma- 

 ryland in midwinter under the bark of 

 rotting trees, from whence they come out 

 in summer to deposit their eggs for the 

 first generation. One of the remedies 

 recommended is to remove all the earth 

 from the roots as far as they will bear, 

 and fill up with a mixture of dry ashes 

 and salt, which will prevent the insects 

 from burrowing near the root. Another 

 remedy is to trim off the under leaves 

 early in the season, laying them in the 

 evening under and close to the plant; 

 the insects hiding under them can be 

 found and destroyed in the morning. It 

 has been suggested to lay pieces of boards 

 along the rows, a little raised from the 

 ground by small stones. During the 

 night the insects will congregate under 

 the trap; the boards and leaves, however, 

 should be examined very early in the 

 morning, for as soon as warmed by the 

 sun the insects will disperse over the 

 vines. 



CUCUMBER MOTH.— The larva of 

 cucumber moth was taken several 

 years ago in Florida boring holes in 

 the fruit of the squash and feeding on 

 the flesh inside. Last year the larva of 

 this insect was reported as very injurious 

 to melons and cucumbers in Missouri, by 

 eating holes in the fruit, from July to the 

 end of September, as many as four being 

 sometimes found in one cucumber. The 

 pupae are formed in slight cocoons of 

 white silk on leaves near the ground, and 

 the perfect moth appears in eight to ten 

 days, and probably hybernates as a perfect 

 insect. This larva is said also by Guenc 

 to feed on potatoes. To destroy this pest 

 it has been recommended to examine the 

 cucumbers and melons early in the season, 

 and to destroy the first worms that appear 

 and also all infested fruit. The upper 

 wings of the moth are of a yellowish- 



