THE ARMY WORM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 



BY CLARENCE M. WEED 



Early in July, the present season, complaints began to reach 

 the Experiment Station of the injuries inflicted by the Army 

 Worm* upon grain and grass fields. Whenever specimens 

 were submitted, they proved to be the true Army Worm. In 

 addition to the accounts received by us direct from correspond- 

 ents, there were many notices in the daily papers, showing the 

 presence of the pest in various parts of the state. The data at 

 liand indicates that there were local outbreaks, here and there, 

 over a large part of New Hampshire, especialh' in the south- 

 ern half and the region bordering the Connecticut river. 



Serious injury, especially in barley fields, was done during 

 July; and again in September, when another brood of worms 

 had developed, especial damage was reported to be done in 

 fields of Hungarian grass. 



As soon as the first outbreak was reported, I visited the 

 infested fields, studying the worms at work, and bringing speci- 

 mens to the station, where they were placed in breeding cages 

 to determine their life-histories. The results of these and sub- 

 sequent studies, as well as a summary of our knowledge of the 

 insect in general, are embodied in this bulletin. 



PREVIOUS OUTBREAKS OF THE ARMY WORM 



The army worm is believed to have occurred in New Eng- 

 land as long ago as 1743, a year when, according to early 

 records, there appeared '• millions of devouring worms in 

 armies, threatening to cut ofl^ every green thing." That the 

 pest was present in New Hampshire in 1770? is shown by the 

 quotation on the second page of this bulletin. There is little 

 evidence of its again occurring in New England in great abun- 

 dance until 1 86 1, when it was very destructive, as it was also 



* Lettcaiiia loiifuncta. 



