IXSKcTS INJUKIOUS TO THE LOCO WEEDS. 35 



singular thai the larva should have the dual habit of forming galls 

 on a shrul). as in the case of its occurrence eastward, and at the same 

 time boring into the root- of wee.]-, as is it- western habit. From 

 the experience of many persons who have been in correspondence with 



this office in regard to the habits of this insect, there can be no hesita- 

 tion in reiterating that it is the mos( potent element in the destruction 



of the loco weed of the West. In this connection it may be well to 

 mention briefly what some of our correspondent- have reported. Mr. 

 Thomas J. Quillian. Birmingham, Colo., wrote. April 9, 1889, that 

 from observations conducted by himself and a fellow stockgrower he 

 was led to believe that possibly the " worms " eaten by the stock pro- 

 duced the craziness (and sometimes death) instead of the plant, as 

 was generally supposed, this conclusion being more plausible because 

 upon opening the dead animals many " worms " were always found. 

 Mr. D. II. Ma rum. Woodward. Okla.. has written that in that vicinity 

 the plants begin to die about the last week in May. At that time the 

 -mall *' worms " are found in the roots, which they hollow out com- 

 pletely, leaving practically nothing but a shell. He suggested the 

 possibility of propagating these and other loco insects with a view 

 to destroying the weed. Mr. Thomas Carson, Bovina. Tex., writing 

 of the great loss in cattle in that section, stated that this insect, which 

 he had observed devouring the heart of the loco, was very efficient in 

 reducing the abundance of this noxious weed and had proved very 

 beneficial to the cattle interests. In closing, it should be added that 

 in the extreme west, as, for example, at Alameda. Cal.. this species has 

 been observed breeding on Lupinus u.rborea. 



THE LOCO ROOT-MAGGOT. 

 (Pegomya lupini Coq.) 



The loco root -maggot has been prominent among insects found 

 feeding on the root- of Astragalus moUissimus for a number of year-. 

 Doctor Marsh says that in the neighborhood of Hugo. Colo., it is 

 apparently the mo-t important agent in the suppression o\' the pur- 

 ple loco. It is probable that it will rank second to the false-indigo 

 gall-moth as a destroyer of this plant. On this head Mr. George 

 Hochderffer, Flagstaff, Ariz., who. on April 7. 1907, sent specimens 

 found at the root- of the plant, stated that hundred- of acre- ^( loco 

 ha.l been destroyed by this insect, and he believed not only that it 

 might prove to be a valuable friend to stockmen, but that it had 

 already proven so. 



It IS the larva of a specie- o[' anthomyiid fly closely related to the 

 seed-corn maggot: the adult being readily distinguished from that 



'•' /'< gomya fuscia pa /en. 



