20 
BULLETIN 98 . 
crushing them under the feet. They crawled in at the doors and 
became a household pest. Mr. Rauchfuss saved his garden by 
hunting the worms with a lantern at night. The field injuries 
were most noticeable in the cases of early sown barley, sugar 
beets and alfalfa of one year’s standing. At Fort Morgan Prof. 
Gillette found that there were two distinct forms of attack. Where 
virgin soil had been broken, the larvae were abundant in all parts 
of the field and the entire crop in some cases was taken, the 
young plants being eaten down to some distance below the surface 
of the ground. In other places where the ground was plowed the 
previous fall the field itself was not infested, but the worms mi¬ 
grated in from adjoining lands to a distance of several rods denud¬ 
ing the ground as they went. See Plate IV, Fig. 2. 
Pupation .—When the larvae have attained their full growth 
they make vertical burrows in the ground to the depth of about 
two inches and change to the chrysalis form with the head of the 
chrysalis pointed to the opening of the burrow. This change 
usually takes place in May or early June. Of course injuries 
cease when this transformation is accomplished. The chrysalis is 
dark brown and much shorter and more plump than the worm 
from which it came. See Plate IV, Fig. 3. 
The Adult Moths .—The adult moths appear in about a 
month. They have a ground color of blackish brown. In the 
species whose life history we have just been over, the front 
wings are marked with lighter brown. The front and back 
edges are margined with this and patches occur between these 
lines. The back wings are lighter than the front and are dusky 
in color, darkest on the outer margins. The eggs are laid shortly 
after the moths appear and the summer brood of worms live and 
produce the fall brood of moths. See Plate IV, Fig. 1. 
ENEMIES AND PARASITES. 
The rate of increase in cutworms, as in most insects, is enor¬ 
mous, blit this is offset commonly by the raids made upon them 
by their natural enemies. When the parasites fail to keep the 
insect down, things become serious for the farmer. The enemies 
may be divided into two classes; those which prey upon the 
worm, killing and eating it, and those which live within and 
upon the tissues of the worm, finally killing it. 
Vertebrate Enemies .—To the first class belong chickens, 
birds, ground squirrels and pigs. Under the conditions existing 
in Colorado, probably the birds are the most useful. Ouail, 
meadowlarks, bluebirds and bluejays are known to feed upon 
them. The flocks of blackbirds which constantly patrol the 
fields destroy immense numbers. When a field of alfalfa is flooded 
