Insects in the Garden 333 



(2) Examine the stems of squash plants for eggs. If 

 any are found, remove them with the point of a knife, 

 holding a dish beneath to catch them as they fall, and 

 then destroy all the eggs as soon as they are collected. 

 Or instead, the eggs may be crushed by rubbing them 

 against the stem. 



(3) Kill all grubs that may get into stems. To obtain 

 these grubs, split the stems of infested plants halfway 

 open from one side. If only a few grubs are present, 

 they may be removed without killing the plant by care- 

 fully slitting the stem. If plants are badly infested and 

 sure to die, either dig out all larvae or completely destroy 

 the entire plant and the larvae within it by burning. 



(4) Help plants to resist the attacks of the borer. The 

 winter squashes that make long vines, and also to some 

 extent the summer squashes, can be rooted at the joints. 

 As the stem grows, cover the joints with soil ; roots will 

 form, and these will supply water and minerals to the 

 leaves even though the stem portions near the main root 

 may be badly infested, or much injured in digging for the 

 larvae. 



(5) Cultivate to kill the insect in the pupal state. In 

 autumn dig up and rake over the soil on which infested 

 plants have grown, in order to bring the cocoons to the 

 surface where the winter weather may kill them. In 

 spring spade deeply, turning the top soil under so as to 

 bury the cocoons so deeply that the moth cannot emerge. 



Other burrowing insects. There are several other 

 insects that damage garden plants by burrowing into 

 the stems of stalks. 



The larvae of a stalk borer burrows into the stems of 



