51 



AN OUTBREAK OF THE A]IMY WORM IN MARYLAND. 



BY J. ALSTON MOFFAT. 



It is seldom that we get an account of a remarkable occurrence in any 

 department of life from a reliable eye-witness so competent to convey to others 

 the facts seen by himself as is to be found in the following extracts taken from 

 the report given by Mr. W. H. Ashmead to the United States Government, through 

 the Entomological Department at Washington. 



Fig. 21. Fig. 22. 



Although Leucania unipunda (Fig. 21, the moth ; Fig. 22, the caterpillar,) is a 

 permanent resident in Ontario, and is frequently found quite abundant, it has 

 never been reported as attracting special attention from its destructive effects on 

 farm products here ; and yet there does not appear to be any reason why it may 

 not at some time do so. 



The army worm has caused great loss in the Maritime Provinces, whilst in 

 New York State and Massachusetts, where the climatic conditions must very 

 closely resemble our own, it has been at times particularly destructive, whole 

 fields being utterly ruined by it. Mr. Scudder made a calculation from what he 

 saw, that there must have been at least two million worms to the acre, destrojano- 

 an entire field in ten or twelve days. Therefore Mr. Ashmead's vivid description 

 of the tremendous power of a combined attack of these despised creatures, should 

 arouse those interested to the terrible possibility that may be awaiting them, and 

 to guard themselves as much as possible against it, for it is a well known fact 

 that slovenly farming is a great source of encouragement to all kinds of pests. 



The army worm had a public reputation long before the moth, which gave 

 rise to the destructive hordes, was certainly known to be the parent of all the 

 mischief. It was about the year 1861 that the late Prof. Fitch unmistakably 

 traced the connection between the two, and since then, by the careful industry 

 of others, its life history has been well worked out, but previously many 

 unfortunate moths had to bear the blame for that of which they were not guilty ; 

 and even yet the justly dreaded army worm is at times reported to have made its 

 appearance and causes great consternation in a locality, where, if the nature and 

 habits of different insects were better known, it would be readily seen that the 

 army worm, at any rate, was not to blame, and that the fright had been caused, 

 not so much from the attack, as from a want of a knowledge of how to distino-uish 

 between things that differ. If this had been possessed there might have been 

 ample evidence to show that there was no cause for alarm, as it was not in the 

 nature of that particular form to do any injury. 



On one occasion I had an opportunity of witnessing an occurrence which 

 forcibly illustrates this very condition of things. I had gone on a visit to the 

 country about the end of wheat harvest, when a hot and dry spell was prevailino- 

 and all vegetation was, more or less, exhibiting the effects of it, by a rusty tinge 



