ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO. 49" 



Lucerne. This seemed less attractive and was not touched until Thursday. Clover, 

 beans and lucerne were put in the same box ; all were avoided at first, but, as hunger 

 increased, the beans were first eaten, then clover, and lucerne last. Beans in the box. 

 were not touched till Wednesday. 



Peas. They were not touched for two days. In a field sown with oats and pease, 

 the latter were not attacked, as long as the oats remained. 



Turnips. These were left untouched for a day ; as soon as a leaf of corn was put in 

 the box, the turnips were at once deserted. A turnip field bordered one of the infested 

 oat fields ; the caterpillars in leaving the latter passed through the former without feed- 

 ing upon a single plant. 



Potatoes, were left untouched in the boxes. 



Mangels adjoining one of the invaded fields escaped damage, though caterpillars 

 were constantly passing over and among the plants. In the boxes they were slightly 

 nibbled. 



Beets remained untouched for three days. 



Buckwheat was taken after a day's fast, when nothing else was presented • but as 

 soon as corn was added they immediately left the buckwheat to feed upon it. 



Carrots escaped for a day, but in two days were fairly well eaten. They would not 

 touch carrots in the presence of grass or corn. 



Cucumber vines were preferred to beans, and were almost as readily eaten as some 

 corn leaves. 



Celery was continually avoided, and the worms began to devour one another before 

 they would feed upon it. 



Maple leaves were avoided, but some apple were sparingly fed upon, after two 

 day's fast. 



Grape leaves were taken, when no other food was present. 



Strawberry leaves remained untouched till the third day. 



Currant leaves were avoided for three days and then eaten, but sparingly. 



Canadian thistles remained untouched. 



When no food was put in the boxes containing caterpillars, in 24 hours they began 

 to devour one another. Frequently in boxes containing unattractive food, heads were 

 found among the leaves, these no doubt belonged to bodies that had been devoured by the 

 survivors. 



From these experiments, it would seem that the food of the Army worm is 

 largely restricted to the gramineaz, and that th^y will noo feed up in plants from the 

 leguminosm and some other orders unless pressed by hunger. Consequently, there is 

 little fear of any other farm crop being attacked than oats, wheat, timothy, rye, barley 

 and corn. 



Having become fully developel caterpillars at the end of three or four weeks from 

 the time of being hatched, they pass into the ground, just below the surface or under 

 stones, clods, etc., and enter the pupa stage. In a field at the College many pupa cases 

 were found in cracks in the soil. 



This condition lasts two weeks, and then the perfect insect (imago) emerges from its 

 pupa case. 



The moth is fawn-coloredj with a small white spot neir the centre of each front wing. 

 The wings when spread measure one and a half inches across. 



It conceals itself during the day and begins to fly towards nigbA Many could be 

 seen flying around the electric lights in Guelph about the second week in August. The 

 female has a more pointed abdomen than the male and her antennae are smoother, and less 

 hairy, than those of the male. 



4 EN. 



