220 



JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



\Vol. 8- 



to seriousty tlireaten the new alfalfa and the new wheat. They came 

 into these crops from adjoining fields, pastures and roadsides, and had 

 the farmers not been prompt in the distribution of the bran mash the 

 grasshoppers would have seriously injured the crops. The farmers 

 were in close touch mth the situation and just as soon as the grass- 

 hoppers moved into the edge of the alfalfa or new wheat, a strip of the 

 poisoned bran mash was scattered broadcast early in the morning along 

 the edge of the crop into which they were moving. If they had already 

 spread into the fields the bran mash was sown over the infested por- 

 tions. It was scattered in such a manner as to cover about five acres 

 with the amount of bait prepared by beginning with twenty pounds of 

 bran. Inasmuch as the grasshoppers kept coming into the alfalfa and 

 wheat from adjoining fields, it was necessary in several cases to make 

 a second and even a third application of the bait at intervals of from 

 three to four days. In practically all cases where the bran mash was 

 ■used the farmers were successful in destro3dng the grasshoppers. 



Army Worms 



The past season was an unusual one in Kansas for serious outbreaks 

 of insects, consequently there were several opportunities to thoroughly 

 test the value of poisoned bran mash for the control of insects other 

 than grasshoppers. One of the first insects to appear was the army 

 ^'ovm {Leiicania iinipuncta). It appeared in devastating armies in 

 many localities over a large portion of the eastern half of the state. 

 In some instances from ten to fifteen acres of corn and several acres 

 of garden crops were completely destroyed in a single night. -Alfalfa 

 fields of from ten to one hundred acres were soon devastated. For- 

 tunately, the army worms were discovered early enough in the season 

 to give a few days to prepare to meet them. Eight or ten days before 

 the farmers were aware of the danger threatening them, the army 

 worms were discovered in corn fields that previously had been in lye. 

 In fields of this sort the dust barrier was impracticable because the 

 worm.s were distributed all through the field. Poisoned bran mash 

 fiavored with oranges was at once sown broadcast. Within two hours 

 the worms were d>dng and the next day from 90 to 95 per cent of them 

 were dead. In other fields where the worms had already destroyed 

 the corn and were moving into nearby corn fields or into garden crops, 

 it was impossible to check them by means of a dust barrier or a ditch 

 because of rainy weather. A strip of bran mash was sown just in 

 advance of the worms. So effective was the bait that the corn and\ 

 garden crops on the other side of the strip were unmolested.^ 



1 It should be stated that while several of the experiments were being conducted 

 the army worms were feeding and moving during the day. It was cloudy and shght 

 rain was faUing part of the time. 



