-664- 
and ornamental plants (ever 125 species), md the adults are known to feed on. 
rlore than 188 species of plants. Garden plantings of Irish potatoes were serious- 
ly damped hy the larvae during 1938. The adults emerged in the Elorala area 
from the latter port of May to August 15; however, 87 percent of the total emer- 
gence occurred during the 30— day period, June 21-July 20, The adult emergence in 
heavily infested areas ranged from 50 to 110 per square yard. A survey made in 
November 1938 showed an average larval population in cultivated fields of 86 per 
square yard, as compared to 184 per square yard in 1937* Larval pop'd.!? t ions in 
excess of 200 per square yard were present in 1938 in a number of fields. The 
fall has been exceedingly dry and many eggs deposited in August and September had 
not hatched by December 15* 
A new species of Naupactus . which was discovered in southern Mississippi 
in 1937, is now known to be generally distributed in the vicinity of Gulfport, 
This species is known to occur in only two Mississippi counties — Harrison and 
Stone, It caused serious damage to truck and garden crops during 1938 in the 
Gulfport area. The adults emerged from mid-May to early in October, and 50 or 
more emerged per square yard in the heavily infested area. Larval populations of 
200 or more per square yard are quite common. (R. C. Young, Bureau of Entomology 
and Plant Quarantine, U. S. D. A.) 
CORN EAR WORM 
The corn ear worm was in general only moderately abundant during the 
season and injury was unusually light in the northern part of the country from 
the New England Stcates westward to the central Great Plains. Eield examinations 
along the Atlantic seaboard indicate a high winter mortality, although survival 
in cages in New Jersey and Ohio was higher than in 1937* a year of great abund- 
ance of the insect. The insect also survived the winter of 1937-38 in cages in 
Kansas and Utah. Probably the rainy, cool weather prevented rapid reproduction. 
The warm dry weather in the fall favored development of the insect and heavy in- 
festations were reported from scattered localities. In California the ear worm 
was abundant and destructive throughout the year. 
ARMYWORM 
During April serious outbreaks of armyworms "'ere reported from the Gulf 
States. In Mississippi the damage to cotton was said to have boon the worst 
in 25 years. Heavy damage to oats, alfalfa, and other cmps was reported fr^m 
Louisiana, Alabama., and. Texas. These insects also appeared in destructive numbers 
very early in the season in Oklahoma and damage to wheat and oats necessitated 
poisoning. During May reports of damage were received from Tennessee and 
Kentucky eastward to the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia. Moth flights 
wero observed over ntch of this territory late in March, As the season advanced, 
damage was reported, from the entire Mississippi Valley as far north as Michigan 
and Minnesota* Along the Atlantic seaboard flights were observed in New York 
State late in May and damage from the larvae was reported from Pennsylvania north- 
ward through Hew England during June, July, and August, Throughout this area the 
principal damage was to oats, with serious damage to newly planted grass. In New 
Hampshire the outbreak was said to be the most serious since 1919, In the Central 
and Middle Atlantic States a second flight of moths occurred about the middle of 
August, and throughout this area there was damage during the fall months. Reports 
