24 BULLETIN 539, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
NATURAL ENEMIES. 
According to observations, the lesser corn stalk-borer apparently 
suffers very little from natural enemies. This condition is undoubt- 
edly a result of the excellent protection afforded the larvae at all 
times, both while feeding in their burrows and while resting in their 
tubes. One parasite, a hymenopteron, determined as Neopristomerus 
sp., has been reared in the laboratory at Columbia, S. C. This para- 
site emerged September 1, 1914, from a larva collected at Colum- 
bia, S. C. 
Another parasite was reared by R. N. Wilson at Gainesville, Fla., 
September 11, 1916, which was determined by Mr. A. B. Gahan as 
Orgilus laeviventris Cress. Mr. Gahan believes it probable that the 
parasite of Elasmopalpus lignosellus recorded by Chittenden (18) as 
Orgilus mellipes Say was in reality laeviventris. 
METHODS OF CONTROL. 
The ravages of this insect can be reduced markedly if not entirely 
controlled by progressive methods of- farming. Infested fields should 
be plowed very late in fall or early winter, after they have been freed 
from all remnants and waste material. The borders and terraces of 
the field should be gone over with a harrow to stir up the ground. 
This breaks up the winter quarters of pupas and causes them to 
perish. 
The practice of cleaning up and working these waste places is not 
only an excellent one for the eradication of this species but also 
contributes to the destruction of many other noxious insects that 
chance to be hibernating therein; and as usually very little attention 
is given to the practice of clean cultural methods and the cleaning up 
of such waste maces, the importance of such methods can not be 
overemphasized. 
In regions where this insect remains more or less active throughout 
the winter, it is advisable to plow out and destroy the infested stubble 
in case of corn, sorghum, etc. In all other cases fall plowing and 
thorough working of the ground are to be recommended. 
It is also of great importance that the sandy areas of the fields be 
made as rich as possible. A thorough application of fertilizer should 
be made in order to stimulate plant growth and make the plants 
more resistant to the attacks of this insect. 
Where it is necessary to plant corn, sorghum, and allied crops in 
fields subject to infestation, it is advisable to make such plantings as 
early hi the season as possible, thus enabling the plants to get a 
good start before the insect begins its depredations. 
