Page 231 - Our Vanishing Wild Life

Ol'R ANNUAL LOSSES BY INSECTS 209
THE CUT-WORM, (Peridrotna sancia) Very Destructive to Crops
or ear-wurm, cut-worm, army worm, stalk worm, grasshopper, and plant lice, in all a total of about fifty important species ! Several of these pests work secretly. At husking time the wretched ear-worm that ruins the terminal quarter or fifth of an immense number of ears, is painfully in evidence. The root-worms work insidiously, and the moles and shrews aresupposedtoattackthemanddestroythem. Thecorn-rootwormis charged with causing an annual loss of two per cent of the corn crop, or $20,000,000; the chinch bug another two per cent; the boll or ear-worm two per cent more. The remaining insect pests are charged with two per cent, which makes eight per cent in all, or a total of $80,000,000 lost each year to the American farmer through the ravages of insects. This is not evenly distributed, but some areas suffer more than others.
Wheat.—Of all our cereal crops, wheat is the one that suffers most from insects. There are three insects that cause to the wheat industry