14 BULLETIN 808, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
MANNER OF INJURY. 
Eye plants are affected very much in the same way as are wheat 
by the wheat jomtworm and barley by the barley jointworm. The 
individual cells or galls in rye (PL V, A) usually are more clearly 
defined or outlined than are those of H. hordei. Presumably a seri- 
ous infestation would cause rye to lodge or fall as badly as barley 
or wheat, since rye is taller and therefore more top-heavy. The writer 
has never found a serious infestation of secalis, apparently because, 
as previously mentioned, no locality has been found where rye is 
grown consecutively on contiguous areas, in consequence of which 
secalis is obliged to resort to volunteer plants that spring up in waste 
places to maintain its existence at all. 
HOST PLANTS. 
After 3 years of repeated trials this species has refused to breed on 
any plant other than rye. Like vaginicola it prefers young tender 
plants for oviposition, absolutely refusing to oviposit in large plants 
or those that have headed. 
LIFE HISTORY. 
The writer has had this species under observation since 1912, when 
the first attempts were made to rear it in confinement. It was reared 
continuously from that time up until 1916. During 1 consecutive 
years of breeding only 2 or 3 males appeared among hundreds of 
specimens all of which were the progeny of 6 female and 4 male 
individuals with which the series was started in 1912. 
The larvae remain in the old stubble throughout the summer, fall, 
and winter, pupate in the spring, and emerge as adults about the 
middle of May. The egg is shown in figure 8 at h. 
The species secalis has been confused principally with hordei and 
undoubtedly also with tritici and websteri, 
THE RYE STRAW-WORM. 1 
The rye straw-worm is another early recorded species, having been 
first described in 1862 by Fitch (5) under the name Eurytoma hordei. 
There is no record that it ever caused serious injury to rye, and 
under the conditions that prevail to-day of scattered cultivation of 
this crop there seems little prospect that it will become a serious 
pest. In fact, like several other species, it seems to be having a very 
hard fight to maintain its existence. F. M. Webster collected web- 
steri in Illinois in 1884, and D. W. Coquillett took it in California 
1 Harmolita websteri Howard. 
