90 



INDIAN CORN. 



Indian corn is attacked by the moth borer (Diatrae 

 saccharalis) in a manner very similar to that in which it 

 affects sugar-cane. 



The corn ear worm (Laphygma frugiperda. S. and A.) 

 Figs. 99 and 100 and the boll worm (Heliothis obsolete*, 

 Hiibn.), both of which have been mentioned as pests of cot- 

 ton, attack the developing ears of coin, and often cause a 

 very considerable amount of damage. The eggs of the boll 

 worm are laid singly on the tassel and silk of the corn, 

 and those of the corn ear worm on the leaves, in clusters. 

 (Pig. 100.) 



Figf. 100. Corn ear worm 



() Egg from side in upper figure, from above, in the lower, (b) egg cluster 

 (c) newly hatched larva; (a) and (c) much enlarged, (6) someuhat 

 enlarged. (From U. S. Dept. Ayric.) 



If the caterpillars are present before the ears form, 

 they begin feeding in the centre or throat of the plant. 

 The injury to the young leaves is plainly to be seen when 

 these have developed, in the irregular holes and ragged 

 edges which so often appear. Later in the season the 

 caterpillars attack the ears, entering at the silk end 

 (Fig. 101). Here they eat the young, tender grain, 

 sometimes destroying more than half the entire ear. The 

 caterpillars of both these species are cannibals to a certain 

 extent, for when two caterpillars come together in the 

 course of their feeding, especially when in the ear, one is 

 almost certain to kill and eat the other. 



Both these insects have a very wide distribution 

 throughout the West Indies. The boll worm is known in 

 nearly all parts of the world, and the corn ear worm 

 extends its range throughout the warmer parts of America. 



Control. It is a common practice in the West 

 Indies to drop a little fine dust or ashes into the throat 



