﻿' 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  STATE 
  ENTOMOLOGIST 
  211 
  

  

  parasite, 
  Smicra 
  albifrons 
  (Walsh). 
  Ophion 
  purgaturn 
  Say, 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  its 
  

   larger 
  parasites, 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  localities 
  it 
  is 
  often 
  quite 
  abundant. 
  In 
  

   Minnesota 
  its 
  cocoons 
  were 
  numerous 
  in 
  the 
  infested 
  fields 
  the 
  past 
  year. 
  

   The 
  following 
  species 
  are 
  also 
  recorded 
  among 
  its 
  parasites: 
  Ichneumon 
  

   hucanicB 
  Fitch 
  and 
  L 
  JlavizonatJis 
  Cress., 
  He7?iiteles 
  laticinctiis 
  Riley 
  MS., 
  

   Stibeutes 
  gentilis 
  Cress., 
  Limneria 
  oxylus 
  Cress., 
  Mesochorus 
  sciiulus 
  

   Cress., 
  and 
  Rhogas 
  ter7?ii?ialis 
  Cress. 
  Bassus 
  scutellaris 
  Cress, 
  was 
  ob- 
  

   served 
  apparently 
  ovipositing 
  on 
  the 
  army-worm. 
  

  

  Preventives 
  and 
  Remedies. 
  

  

  When 
  a 
  field 
  has 
  become 
  badly 
  infested 
  with 
  half-groWn 
  army-worms, 
  

   little 
  can 
  be 
  done 
  to 
  save 
  the 
  crop 
  beyond 
  cutting 
  at 
  once 
  what 
  remains 
  

   and 
  promptly 
  removing 
  it 
  from 
  the 
  field. 
  In 
  order 
  to 
  prevent 
  injuries 
  

   by 
  this 
  insect, 
  the 
  intelligent 
  farmer 
  will, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  possible, 
  combat 
  it 
  

   along 
  two 
  lines. 
  In 
  the 
  first 
  place 
  he 
  will 
  endeavor 
  to 
  prevent 
  it 
  breed- 
  

   ing 
  in 
  numbers 
  in 
  his 
  fields 
  by 
  so 
  cultivating 
  and 
  caring 
  for 
  his 
  crops 
  as 
  

   to 
  offer 
  the 
  least 
  favorable 
  conditions 
  for 
  hibernation, 
  oviposition, 
  and 
  

   the 
  subsequent 
  growth 
  and 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  caterpillars. 
  Secondly 
  he 
  

   will 
  make 
  effort 
  to 
  protect 
  and 
  favor 
  its 
  natural 
  enemies. 
  

  

  Destriictiofi 
  of 
  hibernating 
  forfns. 
  — 
  Whether 
  the 
  insect 
  passes 
  the 
  

   winter 
  as 
  a 
  moth 
  or 
  a 
  caterpillar 
  is 
  not 
  so 
  very 
  important 
  to 
  the 
  farmer, 
  

   provided 
  he 
  can 
  destroy 
  them 
  in 
  either 
  state. 
  In 
  nature 
  both 
  the 
  moths 
  

   and 
  caterpillars 
  shelter 
  themselves 
  largely 
  under 
  thick 
  grass 
  and 
  rubbish 
  

   as 
  winter 
  approaches. 
  The 
  burning 
  over 
  of 
  such 
  places 
  late 
  in 
  the 
  

   autumn 
  or 
  preferably 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  spring 
  must 
  result 
  in 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  

   large 
  numbers 
  of 
  the 
  insects. 
  This 
  measure 
  would 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  kill 
  

   many 
  other 
  injurious 
  insects 
  hibernating 
  in 
  such 
  places, 
  and 
  also, 
  unfort- 
  

   unately, 
  some 
  beneficial 
  forms. 
  It 
  is 
  believed, 
  however, 
  that 
  the 
  benefit 
  

   resulting 
  from 
  the 
  burning 
  would 
  far 
  outweigh 
  the 
  loss 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  

   destruction 
  of 
  our 
  insect 
  friends. 
  

  

  Proper 
  cultivation. 
  — 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  shown 
  in 
  the 
  preceding 
  pages 
  that 
  the 
  

   moth 
  exhibits 
  a 
  decided 
  preference 
  for 
  thick 
  herbage 
  of 
  some 
  kind 
  when 
  

   about 
  to 
  deposit 
  her 
  eggs, 
  and 
  that 
  such 
  areas 
  are 
  distributing 
  centers 
  to 
  

   other 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  infested 
  fields. 
  Many 
  such 
  places 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  

   in 
  the 
  neglected 
  weeds 
  and 
  grasses 
  springing 
  up 
  beside 
  fences, 
  or 
  they 
  

   may 
  occur 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  fields, 
  as 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  unequal 
  manuring. 
  

   The 
  good 
  farmer 
  by 
  keeping 
  his 
  entire 
  fields 
  clean, 
  and 
  avoiding 
  uneven 
  

   manuring, 
  will 
  not 
  offer 
  conditions 
  that 
  invite 
  oviposition. 
  

  

  