210 



SOUTHERN FIELD CROPS 



192. Corn ear-worm, or cotton boll worm (Heliothis 

 obsoleta) . This is the same insect as the cotton boll worm 



(see Par. 359). The eggs 

 are laid by a large grayish 

 brown moth, which, es- 

 pecially towards evening, 

 may be found hovering 

 over fields of corn, cotton, 

 and cowpeas. The eggs 

 are placed on the silks 

 (Fig. 101), leaves, or 

 other parts of the corn 

 plant. After these hatch, 

 the young worms, or lar- 

 vae, find their way into the 

 tip of the ear and destroy 

 the tip grains. Their in- 

 jury consists, not only in 

 the grains destroyed (Fig. 

 102), but in admitting 

 rain to the ear and possi- 

 bly in giving easier access 

 to weevils. The remedy 

 usually recommended is 

 plowing the land in the 

 late fall or winter. The 

 object in this is to break 

 up the burrows under- 

 ground in which this in- 



Fio. 103. THE CORN EAR-WORM gect in the chrysalis, or 



PREYING ON THE TENDER LEAVES 



OF CORN. 



pupal condition, spends 



