CUTTING OFF ENTIRE PLANT 



141 



the wilted top usually lying near the beheaded root stalk. Corn and 

 other field crops suffer the same fate. As a rule the worms them- 

 selves are nowhere to be seen ; but if one removes the soil to a depth 

 of an inch or two near a dead 

 plant, one will likely find a dark, 

 naked worm, lying curled up and 

 motionless. 



There are many species. The 

 worms differ in markings, but 

 their work is much the same. 

 They are the larvae of night-flying 

 moths of the family Noduidoe. 

 Their parents are on the wing in 

 July and August, laying eggs in 

 fields that are grown up to herb- 

 age of almost any kind. A field 

 that has been allowed to run to 

 weeds is favorite ground. The young worms that hatch from these 

 eggs feed for a few weeks in the fall, and then hibernate in the soil. 

 In the spring they resume activity, and after the ground has been 

 plowed and seeded, they are ready to destroy the first green plants 

 that show up. 



Fig. 134. — Larva of Agrolis ypsilon. 

 Original. 



Fig. 135. — Adult oi xiw'oli^ ypsilon. Original. 



In large areas, cultivate thoroughly in late summer, keeping the 

 ground free of weeds, and plow deeply in the fall, following this with 

 early cultivation in the spring. 



