338 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



attention in this paper. I also communicated with Prof. 

 Packard, and by him was referred to Prof. Rilcy, the United 

 States entomologist, and from him I received advanced 

 sheets of iiis forthcoming report upon the army worm, to- 

 gether with the report of Prof. Thomas, the State entomolo- 

 gist of Illinois, for 1S81. From these sources and the writ- 

 ings of several modern authors upon the subject, I have, 

 after patient thought, deduced the following facts and con- 

 clusions. 



That, Avhile the army worm has no stated periods for 

 its migratory habits, it is alwa^'s to be found, especially in 

 the low lands, and along the borders of fields bordering upon 

 the low lands. When thus found in what appears to be its 

 normal state, its habits are like the cut-worm with which we 

 are all familiar; and here, as peradventure some may wish 

 to search for it, I will transcribe a brief description of its 

 several stages of development, in which all writers essen- 

 tially agree. The army worm moth is a night-flying moth of a 

 yellowish drub color inclining to russet, some say a fawn 

 color, with a small white dot near the centre of its forewings 

 and a dusky, oblique stripe at their tips; rather less than an 

 inch long to the end of its closed wings, and about an inch 

 and three-quarters in width when the wings are extended. 

 Mr. Treat, in his recent work published by Orange Judd & 

 Co., says the eggs are laid in the spring of the year, which 

 is in accordance with the opinions of Riley, Thomas, and 

 other entomologists. Prof. Riley, to whom belongs the 

 credit of actual observation, says the eggs are deposited in 

 the terminal leaves of grass or grain near its connection with 

 the stalk, and are smooth, opaque white, and covered with a 

 glistening adhesive fluid, and Prof. Cornstock says they are 

 laid in strings or rows of fifteen, twenty, or more. The 

 time to search for the eggs is in March or April, the time 

 varying according as the season is early or late. The time 

 required for the eggs to hatch is about two weeks ; if the 

 season should be very warm they may hatch two or three 

 days sooner. The worms when first hatched are white, head 

 large and uniformly black ; loops and spins a web, and drops 

 at the least disturbance. In its second stage, it still loops 

 and drops by means of a web ; the color of the head is 



