CORN INSECTS 211 



the winter (see Par. 360). This insect sometimes seriously 

 injures the " bud " or upper leaves of corn plants several 

 feet high (Fig. 103). 



193. Chinch bugs (Blissus leucopterus) . Fortunately 

 this pest, which is serious in the corn belt and sometimes 

 in the Southwest, seldom occurs in the southeastern part 

 of the United States. When present, chinch bugs crawl 

 in hordes from the wheat fields toward the growing corn. 

 The corn field may be pro- 

 tected by surrounding it by 



a narrow strip of plowed 

 land, kept constantly culti- 

 vated, so as to form a deep 

 layer of dust ; or by sur- 

 rounding the corn field with 

 a deep furrow, the bottom 

 of which is kept dusty by 

 frequently dragging through 

 it a heavy log. At inter- 

 vals in the bottom of this 

 furrow deeper holes may be 

 made. When the small in- 

 sects accumulate in these 

 holes, they are killed by the 

 use of kerosene. 



194. Weevils (C***^ 



oryza (Fig. 104), and grain Greatly enlarged. (Photo by W. E. 



moths. The rice weevil Hinds.) 



attacks the matured corn grain in the fields and con- 

 tinues its depredations in the crib, during almost every 

 month in the year. Some eggs are laid while the ears 



