INSECT PESTS 173 



natural food supply of the worms is cut 

 off and they are compelled to feed on the 

 cultivated plants. These are severely in- 

 jured if the insects are abundant. 



WiREWORMS Melanotus communis are 

 a prominent pest of field crops. They 

 are the young of click beetles, also known 

 as snapping bugs. Wire worms are brown 

 hard bodied larvae of nearly uniform size 

 throughout. They bore into various seeds 

 after planting or work on the roots of 

 various plants, often causing serious in- 

 jury. The eggs are laid on old pasture 

 land, and the larvae which hatch from them 

 normally work on the roots of grasses. If 

 the sod is replaced by any other cultivated 

 crop, the larvae are forced to feed on that 

 crop for want of its normal host plant. 

 Sweet peas often suffer from this pest, 

 although the injury is not apparent until 

 they are in bloom. 



