6 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 484 



enough in the season to provide proper diagnosis of the situation. 

 Reports from other states indicate that Mormon crickets are 

 on a general upward trend throughout the western outbreak areas 

 of the United States and several outbreaks have already occurred. 

 All of the evidence indicates that Mormon cricket outbreaks may 

 occur in Montana within the next few years. 



GARDEN SLUGS (Agriolimax sp.) 



Garden slugs continue to be an important pest to home 

 gardens, particularly in the western three quarters of the state. 

 They are either becoming more numerous or people are becoming 

 more cognizant of slug infestations. Baits containing metaldehyde 

 are the primary recommendation for slug control. 



WHITE GRUBS (Phyllophaga sp.) 

 Occasional infestations of white grubs in gardens were re- 

 ported from various areas of the western half of the state during 

 the biennium. No cases of infestations attacking field crops were 

 reported. A soil treatment with either DDT or chlordane is cur- 

 rently recommended for white grub control. 



ARMY CUTWORMS (Chorizagrotis auxiliaris) 

 In 1951 small localized infestations occurred in Liberty, Choteau, 

 Judith Basin, Fergus, Phillips, and Prairie counties. Similar in- 

 festations occurred in Toole, Pondera, Hill, Cascade, and Yellow- 

 stone counties in 1952. Wherever infestations were severe enough 

 to warrant control, spray applications using lj/? to 2 pounds of 

 toxaphene per acre were used with apparent good success. 



PALE WESTERN CUTWORMS (Agrotis orthogonia) 

 No cases of pale western cutworm infestations were reported 

 or observed during the biennium. 



RED-BACKED CUTWORMS (Euxoa ochrogaster) 

 In 1951 the red-backed cutworm occurred in damaging num- 

 bers in sugar beet fields, grain fields, and gardens throughout 

 parts of western Montana. Damaging infestations were reported in 

 an alfalfa field in Prairie County, an alfalfa field in Mineral 

 County, and a grain field in Glacier County in 1952. A late after- 

 noon spray application of two pounds of toxaphene per acre was 

 reported to give satisfactory results. 



WIREWORMS (Elateridae family) 

 Reports of severe damage to small grains, winter wheat in 

 particular, have been received from nearly all counties in the 

 state during the reporting period. In addition, a few reports of 

 damage to potatoes have been received from the northcentral and 

 western areas of the state. 



