CUTTING OFF ENTIRE PLANT 141 
the wilted top usually lying near the beheaded root stalk. Corn and 
other field crops suffer the same fate. As a rule the worms them- 
selves are nowhere to be seen; but if one removes the soil to a depth 
of an inch or two near a dead 
plant, one will likely find a dark, 
naked worm, lying curled up and 
motionless. 
There are many species. The 
worms differ in markings, but 
their work is much the same. 
They are the larvee of night-flying 
moths of the family Noctuida. 
Their parents are on the wing in 
July and August, laying eggs in 
fields that are grown up to herb- 
age of almost any kind. A field Fig. 134.— Larva of Agrotis ypsilon. 
that has been allowed to run to nena: 
weeds is favorite ground. The young worms that hatch from these 
eggs feed for a few weeks in the fall, and then hibernate in the soil. 
In the spring they resume activity, and after the ground has been 
plowed and seeded, they are ready to destroy the first green plants 
that show up. 
Fic. 135.— Adult of Agrotis ypstlon, Original. 
In large areas, cultivate thoroughly in late summer, keeping the 
ground free of weeds, and plow deeply in the fall, following this with 
early cultivation in the spring. 
