Ii6 INSECTS OF ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE 



sect with barriers and fungus diseases ; consult bul- 

 letins and circulars from the Kansas and Illinois 

 Experiment Stations. 



WiREWORMS ^ (several species) 

 Order — Coleoptera 



These pests are the larvae or grubs of click-beetles 

 of the family Elateridae; the grubs are yellowish, 

 cylindrical, and hard like wire, hence the name 

 wireworms; these wireworms live two and in most 

 cases nearly three years in the soil and near the end 

 of the third summer they change to pupae in cells 

 in the soil and later the pupae transform to the adult 

 beetles which remain in their cells until spring, thus 

 taking three years to complete their life history; 

 the beetles lay their eggs at the roots of grasses or 

 in the soil. 



Control — Difficult to control; conflicting evi- 

 dence regarding coating of seeds ; plowing and thor- 

 ough cultivation in August and later for 2 or 3 

 years will kill the pupae and finally check the pests ; 

 salt will not kill wireworms unless it is applied in 

 such large quantities that it completely unfits the 

 soil for growing crops, and even then is a doubtful 

 killing agent. 



The wheat stem-maggot ^ {Meromyza 



amcricana) 



Order — Diptera 



The winter is passed as a larva; the adult flies 

 emerge in May and deposit their eggs on wheat 

 plants ; second brood of adults appears in July and 

 deposits eggs on volunteer wheat and grasses; 

 adults from these eggs emerge in late August to 



* Comstock and Slingerland — Cornell Univ. Expt. Stat., Bull. 33. 



Hyslop— U. S. Bii. Ent, Bull. 156. 

 5 Marlatt— U. S. Dept. Agr., Par's' Bull. 132. 



