﻿206 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  commensurate 
  gain 
  to 
  itself. 
  Of 
  the 
  cultivated 
  crops, 
  wheat 
  and 
  oats 
  

   appear 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  favorites. 
  Corn 
  is 
  perhaps 
  less 
  frequently 
  attacked, 
  for 
  

   the 
  reason 
  that 
  its 
  method 
  of 
  cultivation 
  is 
  such 
  as 
  to 
  discourage 
  the 
  

   insect 
  breeding 
  in 
  fields 
  of 
  it, 
  while, 
  as 
  shown 
  before, 
  the 
  attack 
  of 
  any- 
  

   field 
  after 
  marching 
  has 
  begun 
  is 
  determined 
  largely 
  by 
  chance. 
  Rye 
  

   and 
  barley 
  are 
  eaten, 
  but 
  apparently 
  with 
  less 
  rehsh. 
  When 
  pressed 
  by 
  

   hunger, 
  the 
  army-worm 
  can 
  readily 
  accommodate 
  itself 
  to 
  circumstances 
  

   and 
  devour 
  many 
  plants 
  differing 
  widely 
  in 
  character 
  from 
  its 
  chosen 
  

   forage. 
  The 
  most 
  important 
  of 
  these 
  are 
  : 
  flax, 
  clover, 
  beans, 
  peas, 
  

   strawberry, 
  leaves 
  of 
  fruit-trees, 
  watermelon, 
  cucumber, 
  rag-weed 
  [A?fi- 
  

   ^rosia 
  arfemiside/o/ia), 
  CTSinbeiry, 
  wild 
  Solsinum., 
  capsicum 
  pepper, 
  Amar- 
  

   antus, 
  asparagus, 
  and 
  onions. 
  There 
  are 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  other 
  plants 
  upon 
  

   which 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  have 
  been 
  successfully 
  reared, 
  and 
  upon 
  which 
  they 
  

   would 
  probably 
  feed 
  in 
  nature, 
  if 
  nothing 
  else 
  was 
  convenient, 
  to 
  them. 
  

   Some 
  of 
  the 
  food-plants 
  mentioned 
  above, 
  have 
  been 
  reported 
  as 
  not 
  

   eaten 
  by 
  the 
  army-worm, 
  while 
  others 
  report 
  them 
  as 
  occasionally 
  injured. 
  

   It 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  are 
  guided 
  largely 
  by 
  the 
  demands 
  of 
  

   nature 
  for 
  sustenance, 
  and 
  in 
  proportion 
  to 
  their 
  necessity 
  do 
  they 
  turn 
  

   to 
  whatever 
  is 
  at 
  hand. 
  

  

  Pupation. 
  

  

  Many 
  accounts 
  of 
  the 
  army-worm 
  record 
  its 
  sudden 
  disappearance, 
  

   *' 
  as 
  if 
  by 
  magic." 
  A 
  field 
  may 
  be 
  swarming 
  with 
  its 
  hosts, 
  and 
  in 
  a 
  day 
  

   or 
  two 
  none 
  will 
  be 
  seen. 
  But 
  if 
  one 
  will 
  examine 
  the 
  loose 
  surface 
  soil 
  

   in 
  a 
  recently 
  infested 
  field 
  or 
  will 
  look 
  beneath 
  the 
  brush 
  and 
  dried 
  grass 
  

   on 
  its 
  borders, 
  the 
  mahogany-brown 
  pupae 
  will 
  readily 
  be 
  found. 
  The 
  

   caterpillars 
  have 
  simply 
  entered 
  the 
  ground 
  for 
  pupation 
  and 
  will 
  soon 
  

   reappear 
  as 
  moths. 
  The 
  duration 
  of 
  the 
  pupa 
  state 
  is 
  governed 
  largely 
  

   by 
  the 
  temperature; 
  in 
  July 
  of 
  last 
  year, 
  it 
  was 
  about 
  20 
  days 
  in 
  this 
  

   State, 
  while 
  in 
  September 
  it 
  was 
  lengthened 
  to 
  about 
  30. 
  

  

  Number 
  of 
  Generations. 
  

   In 
  this 
  State 
  there 
  were 
  three 
  broods 
  the 
  past 
  season, 
  which 
  is 
  probably 
  

   the 
  usual 
  number. 
  No 
  observations 
  were 
  made 
  on 
  the 
  first 
  generation, 
  

   therefore 
  it 
  is 
  safe 
  to 
  assume 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  quite 
  a 
  limited 
  one. 
  It 
  

   was 
  the 
  second 
  that 
  attracted 
  attention 
  throughout 
  the 
  State 
  during 
  the 
  

   first 
  two 
  weeks 
  of 
  July. 
  They 
  completed 
  their 
  growth 
  and 
  pupated 
  

   before 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  month. 
  The 
  first 
  of 
  August 
  moths 
  were 
  emerging, 
  

   and 
  by 
  the 
  7th, 
  no 
  pupae 
  could 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  searching 
  in 
  what 
  had 
  been 
  a 
  

   badly 
  infested 
  field, 
  although 
  pupal 
  shells 
  were 
  abundant. 
  Numbers 
  of 
  

   moths 
  were 
  seen 
  in 
  Washington 
  Park, 
  in 
  Albany, 
  on 
  August 
  14th 
  and 
  

   17th, 
  but 
  a 
  week 
  thereafter 
  they 
  had 
  all 
  disappeared. 
  

  

  