ENTOMOLOGY 203 



pear, then the second crop of clover is pushed ahead of its normal 

 time a week or more, and the young ovules or seeds become hard- 

 ened before the second generation of midges have emerged and are 

 ready to lay their eggs. Also many larvae and pupae are no doubt 

 destroyed by the early cutting, and the ones that do succeed in find- 

 ing places for their eggs, have to put up with inferior and belated 

 heads, few in number. Now it is well known among many clover 

 growers that early cutting of the first crop is the best insurance pos- 

 sible for a crop of clover seed. 



During the past few years, the presence of the crimson clover- 

 seed chalcid has been reported in June clover in other states; and 

 failure to get a good crop of seed, when there seems to be no other 

 explanation, may be due to the presence of this pest. It is needless 

 to say that all volunteer clover should be destroyed. 



Clover-Hay Worm. Supposing that a crop of clover success- 

 fully evades tne leaf-beetle, root-borer, and all its other enemies, 

 and that it has been stowed away in the mow or stack. One would 

 think that at last it should be free from danger. There is, however, 

 one more insect pest to which it is exposed, viz., the clover-hay 

 worm. This pest, the larva of a pretty little miller or moth, feeds 

 on the dried hay, eating a small amount, but tying up by means of 

 webs, and thereby ruining, many times that amount of good hay. 

 It prefers the bottom and edges of a mow to work in, and here it is 

 likely to bind the hay into felted masses, which stock refuses to ac- 

 cept. It spins a silken thread wherever it goes and besides this spins 

 a cocoon of a tough nature, tucking it away in the hay, and between 

 the hay and boards, giving the hay the appearance of being molded. 

 The brownish caterpillar or larva is very active when captured or 

 disturbed, wriggling away and dropping suspended by a single 

 thread which it spins as it falls. 



The hay worm remains over from year to year in the old hay 

 and to control it we have only to feed out all the old hay and clean 

 the mow before each new crop is put in. In the case of stacks, burn 

 up the refuse and build the new stacks at a little distance. If only a 

 little refuse remains in the bottom of the mow, clean it out and burn. 

 Never put new clover hay on top of old when the hay worm is pres- 

 ent or has been recently. 



Clover Mealy-Bug. Occasionally we find old clover fields in- 

 fested by a mealy-bug, which lives on the roots. This tiny sucking 

 insect lends its aid in impoverishing the plants, usually in company 

 with the root-borer. Especially is this true in sandy land and in 

 fields that have stood several years in June clover or mammoth clo- 

 ver. We have never seen fields seriously injured by this creature. 

 It is usually kept in check automatically by rotation in this state, 

 where clover is commonly used for green manuring. (Mich. E. S. 

 Bui. 258.) 



The Cowpea Curculio. The cowpea curculio, hitherto known 

 as the cowpea-pod weevil, is found to be very abundant and destruc- 

 tive in some sections. This beetle is bronze-black in color, about a 

 quarter of an inch long, with the thorax and elytra decplv and abun- 



