16 REPORTS OF OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS. 



before they had become half grown. Whether their demise was due to 

 disease or to the attacks of certain predaceous and parasitic insects, or 

 both, I have not learned. That they disappeared at this particular 

 stage of their growth remains a certainty, as I have been assured by 

 several correspondents who were greatly interested in the subject and 

 who watched them very closely. In this city also this second brood of 

 caterpillars was less numerous than the first, and, as in Omaha, they 

 dwindled from time to time so that comparatively few matured. 



The Eight- spotted Forester. — During July reports of injury by this 

 insect to vineyards reached me. About the second week of the month 

 a few of the grape-growers in the vicinity of Omaha became so alarmed 

 about the ravages of the larvae of this mofch that they asked me to 

 visit their vineyards at theii expense. I did so and found that the cat- 

 erpillars had been quite numerous and done much damage by devour- 

 ing the foliage in several of the smaller vineyards. At the time of my 

 visit (July 13) most of the caterpillars had disappeared; but such as 

 remained were much infested with the eggs of some Tachina fly. As 

 many as four to eight of theseeggs were frequently found upon a single 

 caterpillar. These parasitic flies had evidently been quite abundant 

 during the reign of the caterpillars. 



Some spraying with Paris green and London purple was done with 

 beneficial results; but most growers "trusted in Providence," and in 

 this instance, at least, fared fully as well as did those who " fought." 



The Stalk-borer. — While investigating the ravages of the eight- 

 spotted forester about Omaha much injury caused by the common 

 stalk-borer (Gortyna nitela) was also observed. The larvae of this 

 insect seemed exceedingly common, and were working on sweet-corn, 

 tomatoes, egg-plant, etc., many of the stalks of which were bored into, 

 causing them to die. In some instances two, occasionally even three, 

 of the caterpillars were found working in a single stalk. It is needless 

 to state that considerable injury resulted from their attacks. As a 

 remedy I suggested the collecting and burning of all injured stalks 

 containing larvae. 



Unknown Lepidopterous Larva boring in Stalks of Corn. — Late in 

 August a specimen of the work of some lepidopterous larva boring in 

 the stalks of corn was received from Mr. H. S. Smith, living near Pen- 

 der, this State, with the accompanying letter: 



" I today send you by mail an insect that is working on the corn to 

 a considerable extent, and that is at least new to me. It generally works 

 about the second joint above ground. Have now mostly left the corn — 

 not over one in twenty still in stalk." 



In a second letter (September 5) he wrote : " Would say that the insects 

 wanted have almost entirely left the corn. Only succeeded in finding- 

 two, which I send you. Found one that was being eaten by a white 

 maggot that looks like the larva of the common i bluebottle.' There 



