INSECTS INJURIOUS IN 1896. 
OTTO LUGGER 
THE CHINCH-BUG IN 1896. 
During the early part of the year 1896 but compara- 
tively few chinch-bugs could be found in our state, and ow- 
ing to the general wet spring many of those that had win- 
tered over successfully became infected with a disease and 
died. This happy condition did not, however, prevail every- 
where, and some of the counties along the Mississippi and 
Minnesota rivers started with a fairly large number of 
these pests. Whether it is a coincidence or not one thing be- 
came very apparent: wherever large numbers of the disease- 
spores had been scattered during 1895, few chinch-bugs sur- 
vived autumn, winter and spring; and in some localities, 
where the bugs had been exceedingly numerous before, but 
few, if any, could be found early in 1896. Numerous letters 
that were received from farmers living in such localities 
plainly proved that the bugs had gone, had been killed by a 
disease, and on that account fewer boxes with disease- 
spores were asked for in such places than the entomologist 
would have been glad to distribute, if only to make assur- 
ance doubly sure. It is a very unfortunate fact that if farm- 
ers do not actually suffer losses caused by insects they will 
not apply remedies against the few they know to be in their 
fields, simply because these can not cause any great dam- 
age; they do not bear in mind the wonderful fecundity of 
_ their enemies and how rapidly they can multiply again and 
overrun their fields. It is this fact that, among other 
things, has assisted the destructive potato beetle in 1896, 
and enabled it to multiply so, that next year it will again 
become numerous enough in many fields to cause losses. It. 
