INSECT INTRUDERS. 



grub from J4 to i inch in length, 

 thin and like a little piece of seg- 

 mented copper wire. This insect 

 from its appearance is known in 

 England as the ' Wire Worm ' and 

 it acts much in the same way as 

 the cockchafer, living entirely in 

 the soil and cutting through and 

 feeding upon the roots of seedlings 

 and young plants. 



The damage done by the root- 

 eating pests is usually visible above 

 soil owing to the fact that the 

 young plants commence to flag, 

 and if pulled by the head come 

 away, when they are seen to possess 

 no roots. Careful digging round 

 the area will probably disclose cock- 

 chafer or 'wire worm ' grubs or 

 the common noctuid A gratis moth 

 grub to be described shortly. 



The ' wire worm ' grub, when full fed, 

 pupates in the soil, forming no special 

 covering, and the nymph eventually 

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