262 THE BOOK OF CORN 



the intensity of the attack. '1 ne vicinity of cucumoers, 

 squashes, and other of the commoner food plants of the 

 beetle may account for this seeming preference. 



Northern Corn Root Worm — It is not an uncom- 

 mon thing for the farmer to find his corn wilting and 

 falling over very easily during the months of June 

 and July. He wonders why it does not take root. The 

 fact is the roots have been destroyed by a slender white 

 worm not thicker than a pin, about a quarter of 

 an inch long, with a small brown head and six very 

 short legs. It begins its attacks on the roots in May 

 and June, eating its way beneath the surface, and kill- 

 ing the root as fast as it grows. Late in July or early 

 August the worm settles near the base of the hill, 

 where it transforms. In a few days a bright grass green 

 beetle emerges, scarcely more than a quarter of an 

 inch long. It climbs up the stalk and feeds on the fine 

 yellow dust or pollen and upon the fresh silk at the end 

 of the ear ; when the silk dries out, some of the beetles 

 creep down between the husks and feed upon the com 

 itself, while others fly to such weeds as are in blossom. 



The female lays its eggs in the ground in Septem- 

 ber and October upon or about the roots of corn. The 

 beetles die late in the fall. The eggs remain in the 

 ground over winter and do not hatch until after the 

 ground has been plowed and planted to corn in the 

 spring. The principal injury is done by the worms in 

 their attack upon the roots ; but some harm is done by 

 the adult beetles, when numerous, by eating the silk 

 before the kernels are fertilized by the pollen. They 

 also occasionally destroy a few kernels in the tip of the 

 ear. Although the roots penetrated by the worms die 

 and decay, thrifty corn will throw out new ones to 

 replace those lost, and this is most likely to occur in 

 moist rich ground in wet seasons. The damage is 

 therefore greatest on high ground and in dry weathei, 



