-3- 



Sorghum midge . This small fly is a serious pest on late -planted grain sorghum, par- 

 ticularly in the Southern States. We do not know of any problem in Illinois. Ef- 

 fective control requires precise timing of insecticides to kill the adults before 

 the eggs are deposited. The tiny, orange-bodied female flies lay their eggs in the 

 spikelets of developing grain heads shortly before and during bloom. The tiny mag- 

 gots feed on the developing seed. Infested heads will appear blighted and will pro- 

 duce little or no grain. Johns ongrass serves as a natural reservoir for infection. 

 Because of the critical timing required, chemical control for midge may not be ef- 

 fective . 



GENERAL INSECTS 



Grasshoppers . Small grasshoppers are numerous in many areas. Now is the time to 

 control them while they are still small and are concentrated in fencerows, road- 

 sides, grass waterways, and the like. Grasshoppers may be scattered throughout 

 some hay fields. Three to six per square yard are considered enough to cause eco- 

 nomic damage. When there are 17 per square yard, they eat a ton of hay a day in 

 a 40 -acre field. 



For control in fencerows, ditchbanks, roadsides, grass waterways, and other grass 

 sod area's^ where no crops are involved, a spray of 1-1/2 pounds of toxaphene per 

 acre can be applied whenever the grasshoppers are concentrated. Do not apply tox- 

 aphene to or near fish-bearing waters. These grasshoppers will stay in such areas 

 as long as there is green foliage to eat, but once this is gone they will migrate 

 into the crops. 



In corn and soybeans , if grasshoppers migrate into them later, apply carbaryl 

 (Sevin) at 3/4 pound or toxaphene at 1-1/2 pounds per acre. If the grasshoppers 

 should migrate from adjacent fields into beans, you can get control for the 

 longest period by using toxaphene, applied as a border spray. 



Do not feed toxaphene- treated com or soybeans as a forage to dairy cattle or to 

 livestock being fattened for slaughter. For ensilage com, use carbaryl, mala- 

 thion, or diazinon. 



Forage crops . On clover, alfalfa, and other forage crops , use 5/4 pound carbaryl 

 (Sevin) , 1/2 pound of diazinon, 1 pound malathion, or 3/4 pound naled (Dibrom) . 

 No interval is required between the application of malathion or carbaryl and har- 

 vest. Allow 4 days between application and harvest when using naled, 7 days for 

 diazinon. Do not apply carbaryl near bee hives . 



LIVESTOCK INSECTS 



Barn flies are already overpopulating many livestock farms. The number of these 

 flies will probably be high until mid or late September. 



The house fly and the blood- taking stable fly (needle- like beak) make up the bam- 

 fly complex. Both flies spend 90 percent of their time sitting on barn walls, sup- 

 port posts, fences, and the like, and only about 10 percent on the animals. Therefore, 

 there is no need to spray cattle kept on dry lot . Begin control efforts now before 

 the flies become any more numerous. The following program will provide good results: 



1. Practice good sanitation . Eliminate fly-breeding materials --such as manure, 

 rotting straw, wet hay and feed--as often as possible. Spreading this refuse 

 where it can dry makes it unsatisfactory for fly development. 



