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mining caterpillar. The feeding of this insect is confined 

 within the stems, stalks or twigs of the host plants, and usually 

 the first evidence of its presence is the wilting of the infested 

 portion. The parent female moths emerge during September 

 and deposit their eggs upon the stems of weeds and grasses. 

 These hatch the following spring, and the young larvse on find- 

 ing suitable food plants soon begin their tunneling operations. 

 These caterpillars are readily recognized by the peculiar mark- 

 ings of the body. The larva is whitish brown in color, and is 

 marked with five white stripes, one along the middle of the 

 back and two on each side. The side stripes are absent on the 

 first four segments of the abdomen, giving the larva an appear- 

 ance of being injured there, because of this darkened area. 

 As the caterpillar matures these stripes become fainter. 

 Usually the injury to crops is only in the outer rows, to which 

 the larvae have migrated from weeds and grasses growing along 

 the edges of the garden. 



Control. — From the life history and habits it is obvious 

 that clean farming is the most practical means of control. 

 Do not allow weeds to grow in or about the garden. Burn 

 over grassland immediately surrounding the garden or field 

 to be planted, in the late fall or early spring. Late fall plow- 

 ing should be practiced. Where the garden and its borders 

 are kept clean of weeds there will be little damage by this 

 insect. 



6. European corn borer, Pyrausta nvhilalis Hbn. 



As far as determined, the European corn borer occurs in 

 this country only within a radius of 15 miles of Boston, where 

 it has seriously attacked sweet corn for the past three or four 

 years. As it promises to be a very important pest, everything 

 possible should be done by the individual gardener to check its 

 multiplication and spread, in order to protect our great western 

 corn crop. 



When full grown the caterpillar is 1 inch in length; the body 

 is flesh-colored, with the upper surface somewhat smoky or 

 brownish, and on each side of the median line is a narrow 

 light-colored stripe. On close observation a transverse row 

 of four light brownish spots or tubercles, with two smaller 

 ones immediately behind them, can be seen on each abdominal 



