17 



REMEDIAL MEASURES. 



This insect could be kept in check by trimming* and destroying the 

 terminal vines when these are found to be infested, while the larvae in 

 the lower portions of the stem could be removed by cutting- longitudi- 

 nally without serious injury to the stem itself. This latter measure 

 was employed by the writer to obtain specimens with comparatively 

 little injuiy to the plant itself, and certainly with less than would have 

 been accomplished by the larvae had they been left until maturity in the 

 stems. Such methods are, of course, irksome, but there is no other 

 recourse, as insecticides can not be applied so as to reach the insect 

 without an equal amount of labor. After the crop is gathered, harrow- 

 ing the plats where the plants were growing in the fall would tend to 

 expose the larvae or pupae to the elements, and then plowing deeply in 

 the spring would have the effect of preventing the moths from issuing. 

 This remedy has been tried against the squash-vine borer with success, 

 and there can be scarcely any doubt that it would be productive of 

 equally good results with the present species. 



THE SMALLER CORN STALK-BORER. 



(Elasmopalpus lignoseUus Zell.) 



Since the first recorded injurious occurrence of the so-called smaller 

 corn stalk-borer in the Southern States in 1881, the species was not 

 reported to be again troublesome, to the writer's knowledge, until the 

 past year, 1899. Neither has it to our knowledge been previously 

 observed to attack any other plant than corn, nor has it been recorded 

 from Alabama, in which State attack came to notice during the year. 



The notes which follow, concerning recent injury, show a much 

 wider range of food plants than the species was formerly known to 

 have, and imply some doubt as to whether eorn or other Gramineae are 

 its original or preferred food plants. 



REPORTS OF INJURY. 



August 16, 1899, we received from Prof. F. S. Earle, Auburn, Ala., 

 larvae of this species in stems of } 7 oung beans. The larvae were in all 

 cases found in that portion of the stalk below the surface of the earth, 

 a hole showing near, apparently j ust at, the surface through which the 

 larva had forced its excrement and in many cases made its escape 

 before reaching us, as only a small proportion of the stalks sent con- 

 tained larvae. From this sending were obtained moths which began 

 issuing during the last day of August and the first part of September. 

 Concerning injury, Professor Earle wrote under date of August 29 

 17591— No.^ 23 2 



