12 
SPECIAL BULLETIN NO. 8 
Most of the eggs are deposited on the silks where the young caterpillars begin 
to feed and where they have easy access to the ear. When full grown they leave 
the ears and enter the soil where they change to the pupal, or resting stage, trans- 
forming later to moths. 
Methods of Control 
The remedy usually recommended for localities farther south is late fall plow- 
ing and thoro harrowing to kill the hibernating pupae in the soil, but as ,the insect 
is not yet know to survive^ the winter in Minnesota, it is uncertain whether or not 
the fall plowing in this state would be time and effort wasted as far as the corn ear- 
worm is concerned, altho benefit would be derived in the destruction of cutworms, 
grubs, etc. 
Fig. 10. Corn Ear-Worm 
Recent work at the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station demonstrated the 
value of dusting the silks with dry arsenate of lead. A mixture of 63 per cent of 
arsenate of lead and 37 per cent of sulfur is just as effective as pure arsenate of 
lead, and is cheaper. The dust was applied by shaking from an ordinary cheese- 
cloth bag. This was done every three days as long as the silks were fresh. While 
the cost of dusting would prohibit its use where corn is raised in large amounts, 
the workers at the Kansas station recommend the treatment as profitable on corn 
raised for show purposes or for seed or table use. 
THE CHINCH BUG 
The chinch bug as a serious pest is usually active farther south than Minne- 
sota, but, as there have been outbreaks in this state, there is no reason to believe 
that we will always be exempt. 
The chinch bug is rather small, the adults being one-fifth of an inch long or 
less, almost black in color with white wings folded across the body when at rest. 
The immature bugs, often seen with the adults, are smaller, wingless, and red 
marked with yellow, becoming darker as they grow older. This species should 
not be confused with the false chinch bug, which is about the same size but is gray 
in color, its young also being gray. 
