THE LESSER CORN STALK-BORER, 7 



as shown in Plate I, figure 2, no trace of plants could be found when 

 the photograph was taken, the larvae having killed them outright when 

 young. Those that did survive were much dwarfed and rendered 

 practically worthless, and in most instances were devoid of central 

 stems. 



In the latter part of April, 1913, fields of small corn near Lakeland, 

 Fla., were being attacked and ruined by these larvae, about 10 per 

 cent of the plants exhibiting evidences of injury at this time. The 

 plants continued to die for about 10 days, at the end of which time 

 in some portions of the fields fully 90 per cent were dead and the 

 stand everywhere was poor. The parts of the fields most lacking in 

 humus suffered the greatest injury. During the same year con- 

 siderable damage was done to cowpeas in fields near Columbia, S. C, 

 the soil in the infested fields being very gravelly and in some places 

 composed of almost pure sand. The injured plants, at the time of 

 the discovery, were wilting, which made it appear as though they 

 were suffering from want of moisture. At one place this species, 

 together with Diatraea zeacolella Dyar, destroyed the greater part 

 of a 7-acre field of corn. 



In 1914 about 2 acres of corn (PI. I, fig. 1), in a field on the State 

 farm near Columbia, S. C, was damaged very severely by the larvae. 

 In many instances the plants were apparently killed outright when 

 young, as in the case of the sorghum previously mentioned. Those 

 that recovered were very much dwarfed, became one-sided, and 

 gave rise to a number of suckers. The soil in this infested area is 

 composed almost entirely of sand, while the rest of the field is a sandy 

 loam. 



Under date of October 7, 1914, Mr. Edmund H. Gibson, of the Bureau 

 of Entomology, recorded larvae of this species as injuring seriously 

 corn in laboratory plats at Tempe, Ariz. Pulling up 15 stunted 

 and withered corn plants, he found the larva in every stalk. Later 

 in the month the larvae were more abundant on corn and were also 

 taken from sorghum sprouts and milo maize. On November 3 of the 

 same year larvae were collected from Johnson grass growing in a 

 barley field, and about 70 per cent of the grass was injured, although 

 the barley showed no evidence of injury. 



During July and August, 1916, about 2 acres of sorghum in a field on 

 the State farm near Columbia, S. C, was again practically laid waste 

 by the ravages of these larvae. The soil in this area also was of a 

 sandy nature. Some of the badly infested plants were from 1 to 2 

 feet tall and without a central stem, as late as September, whereas 

 plants uninfested were from 5 to 8 feet tall and in head. 



Under date of August 19, 1916, Mr. H. L. Dozier, of the Florida Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, informed the senior author that larvae 

 of this species were damaging cowpeas hi plats on the station grounds. 



