﻿PACKARD.] 
  THE 
  NORTHERN 
  ARMY-WORM. 
  " 
  703 
  

  

  from 
  Saint 
  John, 
  yesterday 
  afternoon, 
  in 
  considerable 
  strength. 
  Notwithstanding 
  the 
  

   efforts 
  to 
  destroy 
  th6m, 
  they 
  were 
  marching 
  on 
  the 
  city 
  last 
  night 
  with 
  apparently 
  un- 
  

   diminished 
  numbers. 
  To-day 
  they 
  are 
  gone. 
  Considerable 
  damage 
  was 
  done 
  to 
  grass, 
  

   turnips, 
  and 
  other 
  root-vegetables. 
  The 
  'army-worm 
  recently 
  invaded 
  Grassy 
  Island 
  

   in 
  Saint 
  John 
  River, 
  from 
  which 
  an 
  annual 
  revenue 
  was 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  sale 
  of 
  grass. 
  

   This 
  year 
  only 
  one-tifth 
  of 
  the 
  usual 
  amount 
  will 
  be 
  realized. 
  There 
  has 
  been 
  no 
  gen- 
  

   eral 
  invasion 
  of 
  this 
  province, 
  and 
  the 
  alarm 
  has 
  subsided. 
  — 
  (Boston 
  Journal.) 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  represented 
  on 
  the 
  map 
  showing 
  the 
  distribution 
  of 
  the 
  north- 
  

   ern 
  army-worm, 
  its 
  probable 
  range. 
  Having 
  received 
  the 
  moth 
  from 
  

   Texas, 
  I 
  think 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  reasonable 
  doubt 
  but 
  that 
  it 
  also 
  inhabits 
  the 
  

   other 
  Gulf 
  States 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  and 
  including 
  jSTorthern 
  and 
  Middle 
  Florida. 
  

  

  The 
  army- 
  worm 
  appears 
  in 
  the 
  wheat-fields 
  when 
  the 
  " 
  wheat 
  is 
  in 
  tlie 
  

   milk." 
  Previous 
  to 
  this 
  the 
  young 
  larvse 
  are 
  not 
  noticed. 
  "When 
  less 
  

   than 
  half 
  an 
  inch 
  long, 
  the 
  worms 
  are 
  scarcely 
  recognizable 
  as 
  army- 
  

   worms," 
  the 
  general 
  color 
  being 
  green 
  and 
  only 
  feeding 
  by 
  night. 
  Eiley 
  

   states 
  that 
  "in 
  ordinary 
  seasons 
  they 
  are 
  reported 
  along 
  the 
  thirty-third 
  

   parallel, 
  as 
  in 
  Texas, 
  early 
  in 
  March, 
  and 
  about 
  a 
  week 
  later 
  with 
  each 
  de- 
  

   gree 
  of 
  latitude 
  as 
  we 
  advance 
  northward. 
  Then, 
  in 
  Southern 
  Missouri 
  

   they 
  commence 
  to 
  march 
  about 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  May 
  ; 
  in 
  Central 
  Missouri 
  

   the 
  first 
  of 
  June, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  extreme 
  northern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  about 
  

   the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  month. 
  In 
  the 
  more 
  northern 
  New 
  England 
  States 
  

   they 
  seldom 
  do 
  much 
  damage 
  before 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  July 
  (we 
  should 
  

   rather 
  say 
  first 
  of 
  August). 
  There 
  may, 
  therefore, 
  be 
  a 
  difference 
  of 
  

   over 
  two 
  months 
  between 
  the 
  appearance 
  of 
  the 
  worms 
  in 
  Southern 
  

   Missouri 
  or 
  Kentucky 
  and 
  in 
  Maine." 
  — 
  (Riley's 
  Eighth 
  Eeport.) 
  

  

  The 
  pupa. 
  — 
  The 
  middle 
  of 
  August, 
  the 
  larva, 
  full-fed, 
  descends 
  into 
  

   the 
  earth 
  a 
  few 
  inches, 
  and 
  there, 
  by 
  constant 
  wriggling 
  of 
  its 
  body 
  

   and 
  the 
  excretion 
  of 
  a 
  sticky 
  fluid, 
  constructs 
  a 
  rough 
  earthen 
  cocoon 
  ; 
  

   or 
  often 
  it 
  merely 
  constructs 
  a 
  rude 
  cell 
  of 
  dry 
  grass 
  just 
  below 
  the 
  sur- 
  

   face, 
  and 
  there 
  in 
  a 
  day 
  or 
  two, 
  probably, 
  as 
  is 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  most 
  

   moths, 
  the 
  mahogany- 
  colored 
  pupa, 
  nearly 
  an 
  inch 
  long, 
  with 
  wing- 
  

   covers 
  reaching 
  to 
  the 
  last 
  third 
  of 
  the 
  body, 
  with 
  two 
  spines 
  slightly 
  

   curved 
  in, 
  situated 
  on 
  the 
  last 
  segment, 
  emerges 
  from 
  the 
  outer 
  larva- 
  

   skin 
  or 
  mask, 
  and 
  lying 
  there 
  ten 
  or 
  fifteen 
  days, 
  till 
  the 
  tissues 
  of 
  the 
  

   future 
  moth 
  shall 
  be 
  formed 
  and 
  hardened, 
  discloses 
  the 
  imago 
  or 
  moth 
  

   the 
  last 
  of 
  August. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Fitch 
  shows 
  that 
  the 
  natural 
  habitat 
  of 
  the 
  army- 
  worm 
  is 
  in 
  grass, 
  

   in 
  low 
  lands. 
  Mr. 
  Eiley 
  substantiates 
  Dr. 
  Fitch's 
  opinion, 
  and 
  thus 
  

   accounts 
  for 
  the 
  occasional 
  undue 
  increase 
  of 
  the 
  caterpillar: 
  "During 
  

   an 
  excessively 
  dry 
  summer 
  these 
  swampy 
  ijlaces 
  dry 
  out, 
  and 
  the 
  insect, 
  

   having 
  a 
  wider 
  range 
  where 
  the 
  conditions 
  for 
  its 
  successful 
  develop- 
  

   ment 
  are 
  favorable, 
  becomes 
  greatly 
  multiplied. 
  The 
  eggs 
  are 
  conse- 
  

   quently 
  deposited 
  over 
  a 
  greater 
  area 
  of 
  territory, 
  and 
  if 
  the 
  succeeding 
  

   year 
  proves 
  wet 
  and 
  favorable 
  to 
  the 
  growth 
  of 
  the 
  worms, 
  we 
  shall 
  

   have 
  the 
  abnormal 
  conditions 
  of 
  their 
  appearing 
  on 
  our 
  higher 
  and 
  drier 
  

   lands, 
  and 
  of 
  their 
  marching 
  from 
  one 
  field 
  to 
  another." 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  "• 
  Thus 
  

   the 
  fact 
  becomes 
  at 
  once 
  significant 
  and 
  explicable, 
  that 
  almost 
  all 
  

   great 
  army- 
  worm 
  years 
  have 
  been 
  unusually 
  wet, 
  with 
  the 
  preceding 
  

   year 
  unusually 
  dry, 
  as 
  Dr. 
  Fitch 
  has 
  proved 
  by 
  record." 
  — 
  (Eiley's 
  Sec- 
  

   ond 
  Eeport.) 
  

  

  In 
  this, 
  as 
  probably 
  in 
  all 
  other 
  Insects, 
  the 
  unusual 
  prevalence 
  of 
  the 
  

   individuals 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  unusually 
  favorable 
  conditions 
  for 
  the 
  i^reservation 
  

   of 
  the 
  egg 
  and 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  caterpillar 
  and 
  chrysalis. 
  It 
  

   should 
  be 
  borne 
  in 
  mind 
  that 
  in 
  ordinary 
  years, 
  of 
  the 
  one 
  hundred 
  

   eggs 
  laid 
  by 
  each 
  moth 
  (if 
  that 
  be 
  the 
  approximate 
  number), 
  but 
  a 
  

   small 
  proportion 
  hatch, 
  being 
  eaten 
  by 
  birds 
  and 
  possibly 
  destroyed 
  by 
  

   egg-parasites 
  and 
  by 
  cold 
  and 
  damp 
  weather. 
  Should 
  fifty 
  or 
  seventy- 
  

  

  