ENTOMOLOGY 169 



ears, the tassel and silk, and the ripe harvested corn ; about 350 dif- 

 ferent species are recorded from North America. It is unnecessary 

 to describe more than a few species which are always with us and 

 against which constant warfare has to be waged. 



Attacking the roots we find White-grubs and Wire-worms very 

 destructive, especially where corn is planted on old pasture land 

 broken up 'a year or two before. These insects have already been 

 described. Another serious enemy is the Corn Root-aphis, which is 

 attended by its ant protectors; it is especially injurious to the plants 

 when young. The winged forms migrate to various common weeds 

 such as plantain, pigweed, etc., showing the importance of keeping 

 fields and gardens free from these places of refuge. 



As soon as the tender blades of corn appear above the soil they 

 are liable to be cut off by those nocturnal marauders, the Cutworms, 

 which can be circumvented by the use of the poisoned bran-mash. 

 The grubs of the 12-spotted Cucumber 'beetle often infest the roots 

 of corn when the plants are young, and a great deal of loss is occa- 

 sioned by them. Later on, as the plants grow bigger, they may be 

 attacked by Grasshoppers and seriously injured. 



The Corn Root Aphis.* The corn root aphis is by far the most 

 injurious of the six species of aphids that infest corn. It sucks the 

 sap from the roots, impoverishing the plants, and doing the most 

 injury when the plants are small. The welfare of the root lice de- 

 pends largely on the care bestowed on them by ants, several species 

 of which attend them and protect the eggs over winter, besides car- 

 ing for the lice during the growing season. 



The best results seem to follow rotation, together with late fall 

 plowing in order to break up the nests of the ants. The aphids feed 

 on other plants and like especially smart-weed, pigeon-grass, and 

 purslane. Heavy applications of fertilizer are said to help the plants 

 to recover from the early attacks. The aphids spread quite freely, 

 but are worse when corn follows corn than when corn follows some- 

 thing else. Keep out the weeds above mentioned. 



Southern Corn Root-Worms. Two corn root- worms occur. One 

 of them is the Southern Corn Root- Worm, which is a first-class corn 

 pest, in parts of some of the states south of us. As it has not, thus far, 

 been guilty of depredations in Michigan, we will merely refer to Dr. 

 Forbes' full account of the creature, and state that it is said to bore, 

 when in the larval stage, into the stalk beneath the surface of the 

 ground, sometimes killing the plant outright, but oftener retarding 

 it so that it is still green when frost comes. 



Northern Corn Root-Worm. Tunnels in the roots themselves, 

 and is, when abundant, said to be even more serious. These root- 

 worms are small grubs, white in color, and about four-tenths of an 

 inch in length in the case of the Northern species, and about fifty- 

 six-one-hundredths in the case of the Southern species. (Mich. Bui. 

 258.) 



Wire-Worm. Low ground and more especially mucky ground, 

 is apt to be infested with wire-worms. These are slender, yellow, 

 little creatures, cylindrical in form, and in size varying from half 



For illustrations, see pages 213 and 375. 



