Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 274, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 November 1919 — ARMY WORM and BOLL WEEVIL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ARMY WORM and BOLL WEEVIL

by Robert H.Moulton.

r—— —* UNDREDS of mllHons of H dollars of tribute are to be levied by enemies witbin our midst. Just when we looked confldently forward to the restoration of peace it brought home to ns that we have got to do ‘battle with other kinds of foes that cannot be halted by threat or the pa>rade of armed forces. Our nntagonlsts this time are hordes of the boll weevil and the army worm. From Washington comes the news that the army worm has appeared .again in Texas and that It has started to work its way northward right through the regions where our wheat fields flourish. It isn’t a problem of .guarding against the vast swarms which may have their origin in the far South, for those particular worms will really have but a circumscribed sone of aggressive movement; the task is .■to watch for them every where. The mildness of the past winter has favored the survival of many insects that .otherwise would have been killed. Therefore extra millions of these insects are alive and multiplying their kind. The army worm la particularly destructive te wheat, corn and other cereals, grasses and kindred forage plants. It is known to attack corn in e manner similar to the well known corn-ear worm. The young larvae devour the tender folded leaves and, as the worms Increase In size, they fre-1 iquently burrow right into the heart of the growing ear and destroy It. As far back as 1797 mention is made in a natural history of the army worm’s hurtful ways. During the summer and fall of 1845 the army worm busied Itself in Florida, and ten years later it aroused apprehension. According to the entomologists there may be from two to three generations of the army worm during a single summer. And the same experts assure us that each succeeding generation usually becomes more destructive than that which preceded it. The authorities are commonly agreed that the army worm, especially the fall army worm, is of southern origin, and this fact helps to explain why it does not appear yearly In conspicuously injurious numbers. Its instinct prompts it to strive continually to obtain a foothold farther north than its natural range, and here is where weather conditions play, an Important part in its life history and its propagation in higher latitudes. Ordinarily, if the season is against them, they are killed apd winter and therefore compara- ’ lively few are left to multiply theft , kind the fnllowtpg spring and summer. The early appearance of the army worm in Texas may justify the fear that states considerably to the north have become restocked by the flight of the parent moths from the southern breeding grounds in the warm swamp lands. The moth which produces the fall army worm is a member of the night-flying variety, and is of the* same family which Includes the parents of the baneful cut worm, an importation from the old world, with long years of American acclimatization. It Is the habit of these nocturnal moths to develop their eggs in clusters on grasses, but when jJUjpse .pc-. cur in very large numbers they do this on leaves and twigs of , trees as well as 6n the outer walls of buildhugs. The eggs are laid In lots of, from fifty to sixty. The larvae at first are frequently so dark as to escape observation, except when moving in j numbers; eqjd..their whereabouts are i further concealed by the normal habit of hiding in the deep grass during the day time and feeding mostly at night. This explains why one may go to bed with his field, garden, or lawn unmarred, only to arise at dawn to find the place devasted. The mature army worm ranges from an inch to an Inch and a half in length and is about a quarter of an inch through. The life history of the army worm is not a long one. The first of the larvae or worms are from eggs deposited the fall before. Their manner

of wintering is of Interest. When full grown the larvae work their way into the ground to a depth Hinging from a quarter of an inch to an inch and a quarter. In the spring the worms appear, work their havoc and, after a brief while, re-enter the earth. They remain in the cocoon state for several weeks, at the conclusion of which they emerge as moths, which, in their turn, lay eggs and start again the evolutional life of the army worm. In the period of its active career the army worm can do a deal of damage, and to eradicate the pest it is essential to kill the parent moths as well as to destroy the worms themselves. Luckily, the army worm has some natural enemies, and among these the sparrow is probably the most effective because of Its numbers. The bluejay comes next, and then follow the tachina fly and a certain variety of beetle. These foes will not suflice to keep the army worm within bounds when their name is legion, and it is needful then to resort to man-made expedients. Trenching the fields, a generous use of kerosene and ample, spreading of arsenical powders will aid in a crisis, but clean cultural methods will do much more toward eradicating the hibernating or slumbering pesjs. This is to say, keep the edges of the fields and the hedges of the gardens free from long grass and weeds, where the larvae lurk; fall plowing will kill those that have already entered the -ground for xvtntertng. Of efforts will not. avail if the ■ parent .moths .come, from the South in the springtiTtie-TVeearihotexpect to’ detect the eggs and" to destroy them before the worms are hatched out. Just when the spindles of the world are preparing to resume their prewar activities, just when so many of the nations are anxious to obtain more cotton fabrics, comes the unwelcome news that the cotton boll weevil is up and doing with increased energy. Again we have the past mild winter to thank in large part for this disturbing state of affairs, a very considerable percentage of the hibernating weevils having survived when with colder weather they would have been in great measure- -ext-ertwmated:-- ■ ■ • - ’ The experts tell us that the boll weevil in a single year may occasion a cotton loss of more than 400,000 bales, and at prewar prices this would represent a money sacrifice of quite $^3,000,000. Today, at the present price of cotton, the toll levied by these Insects would be equivalent to fully $70,000,000. No wonder the United States department of agriculture has pronounced the boll weevil to be the worst cotton pest in this country and, probably, the most destructive cotton insect In the world. This ravaging creature apparently will not feed upon any other plant—it just insists upon eating the precious cotton boll. Like many others of the conspicuously injurious insects present In this country, the cotton boll weevil Is not a native of the United States. Its. place of origin, so the entomologists

declare, was beyond question In the high plateau region of Mexico or Central America. The records Indicate that the insect in all likelihood occasioned the abandonment of cottongrowing In parts of Mexico and Central America. Our agricultural authorities inform us that since 1894 the boll weevil has extended its range from 40 to 70 miles, having made its first appearance near Brownsville, Texas, in 1892. During the first ten years after its advent into this country the annual rate of spread was 5.640 square miles. Since 1901 the annual infested territory has averaged 26.880 square miles. In 1904, an exceptional season, 51,500 square miles became infested. The weevil has a periodic thirst and apparently there is just one liquid that appeals overwhelmingly to its palate. On the underside of cotton leaves, on the midrib, or principal vein, and sometimes on two other veins, can be found a little elongated depression which usually looks sticky arid frequently holds a drop of liquid. On the outside of the squares at the base of each bract or leaflet are other little cups, and between the bract and the bud itself are three more cups. At the bottom of the flower cup still more of these tiny vessels are found. They are called nectar cups because they exude a sweet liquid. This is the tipple that the boll weevil is drawn to. The adult boll weevil Is about oneTouFfh bttt ’’O' size depends upon the amount of food that It contains while in the larvae stage The boll weevil passes the winter in the adult condition. In the spring and throughout the fruiting season of cotton the eggs are deposited by the females in cavities formed by eating into the fruit of the plant. An egg hatches under normal conditions in about three days and the grub immediately begins to feed. In from seven to twelve days the grub passes into its pupal stage, corresponding to the cocoon of butterflies and moths. This stage lasts from three to five days. Then the adult issues and in about five days begins the production of another generation. Males and femsk* are-produced in about equal numbers. The males feed upon the squares and. the bolls without moving until the food begins to deteriorate. The females refrain from depositing eggs in squares visited by other females. As many as fifteen larvae have been found in a single boll. A conservative estimate of the progeny of a single pair of weevils during a season, beginning on June 20 and extending to November 4, is 12,755,100! Government authorities have shown that the boll weevil can be held greatly in check by proper cultural processes and also by the use of insecticides which can be sprayed upon the plants at certain stages of their growth. By the latter process the weevil’s drink can be poisoned, and as it slakes its thirst at least once every day its i doom crin be sealed.