No. 4.] INSECTS AND GARDEN CROPS. 329 



The Squash-vene Borer (Mellitia satyrmiformis Hhn.). 



The presence of this pest to squash growers is easily rec- 

 ognized by the sudden wilting and dying of the squash 

 leaves during July. Its work is so rapid that frequently 

 the wilting and death of the plants is the first indication of 

 its presence, when it is not a familiar insect to the market 

 gardener. 



The squash-vine borer passes the winter in the ground, 

 inside a silken cocoon coated on the outside with particles 

 of dirt. The adult moths which come from these cocoons 

 appear around the plants during the first two weeks in July, 

 in Massachusetts (Harris), and proceed to lay their eggs on 

 difierent parts of the vines, though the stems are preferred 

 for that purpose. 



A female moth may lay over two hundred eggs scattered 

 about in this way, and from them little caterpillars will 

 hatch in from one to two weeks and begin to bore through 

 the stems. Feeding inside the plant, after four weeks or 

 more the caterpillar becomes full grown, whereupon it leaves 

 the stem and burrows down into the ground for two or three 

 inches, where it forms a cocoon within which to pass the 

 winter. In Massachusetts there is but one brood each year. 

 Further south, however, a tendency to produce two broods 

 is evident, and in the Gulf States there are doubtless two 

 full broods. 



Treatment. 



This would be an easy insect to destroy if the caterpillar 

 fed on the outside of the plant, where some arsenical poison 

 could be placed. Working where it does, however, this 

 method of treatment is not available, and others must be 

 employed instead, no one of which should be relied upon 

 alone, but all be used together. 



Fall harrowing of the fields where squashes have been 

 grown during the sununer is very eflcctive. This brings the 

 cocoons up from where the insects had placed themselves to 

 the surface, where they are exposed to freezing and thawing 

 during the winter. This, followed by plowing in spring to 

 a depth of more than six inches, will destroy many of the 

 insects. 



Good results are also obtained by planting a few summer 



