Show ALFALFA WEEVIL SEEKS NEW TERRITORY ali 2 A 0 V WORK OF LARVAE ALFALFA WEEVIL ENLARGED prepared by the united states department of agriculture tho the alfalfa weevil which since its accidental introduction into the united states slates tn ili 1001 has been con confined filled to alfalfa fields lit in the grout great basin of the ilia west lins has now spread beyond ilia limits of tills this natural division oud and Is iq advancing so steadily in spite of efforts made to combat its movement that entomologists of ilia united states department of agriculture fear that sooner or later every section of the country will be invaded by the pest tile spread of the weevil outside the great basin has been north into portions eions of idalio idaho lying in the snake river drainage system and south into portions of utah lying southwest of the continental divide though gicas of the department look on tho the spread of the weevil across the continental divide as denoting the passing of a landmark rather than as the surmounting of a barrier they point out that the pest Is nevertheless many miles nearer to important alfalfa grow ing districts which have hitherto felt sate safe from attacks by the insect description of weevil A description of the alfalfa weevil and method of combating its ravages are contained in a new publication of the united states department of agriculture farmers Fan ners bulletin tho the spread of the pest has as a matter of fact been slower than was at one time feared but its progress has been steady in utah and in small portions V W A spray pump in use of idalio idaho and wyoming where it now exists it has caused at times a loss of 50 per cent of the first cutting of nl al bulfa lind a total loss of the second cutting in order that farmers in those sections in which the weevil has not yet appeared may be able to recognize the post pest and to protect their crops from it the bulletin already mentioned contains cont alna details of its habits and of its appearance in the various life stages the weevil Is most t wally cisily discovered in me form fona of the full grown larva it Is then a green wormlike creature one fourth of an ail inch long with a black headband head and a faint white stripe down the middle of the back it feeds upon tile leaves of the alfalfa mainly during late may june and early july arid and may be found by sweeping tilt th tops of the plants will fin an insect net or by looking for the notches not clies in the leaves where it has fed when tile the larvae are numerous they destroy most of the tender growth and cause jhc thc th tops to appear white making tho the field look as if frostbitten when viewed from a distance the adult insect Is tin an oval brown beetle three sixteenths of an inch long with it a prominent snout its color frequently Is nearly black this beetle Is harder to discover than the larva but on the other hand it Is present in the field the whole year around in winter it can be found by digging around tire the crowns oud and roots of alfalfa plants control measures the alfalfa weevil does not hibernate definitely when the weather Is cool the adults are quiet but with warmer wanner temperatures they quickly resume their activities egg laying begins in early spring and Is usually ended by juno june 10 one efficacious method of controlling the per pest pert t therefore la Is to destroy the eggs by pasturing the first crop up to that time almo A similar result may bo be obtained by cutting the alfalfa greensand gree anad feeding it c ail a soiling crop it this Is not done dene the larvae hatch in large numbers about the last week of may liny or oi earlier and eat cat tile the alfalfa leaves leave so that tha the plant la a able blo to outgrow the injury after the field ta Is cut the larvae which have lieen been feeding upon the first crop gather upon the buds of the stub stubble tle und frequently con consume till nil of the second crop hy by that ali it time most of the Insect ln ieta ff havo have completed their growing period and have gone into the or resting stage the litter inter growth of tho the crop therefore dots does not suffer from them to protect prote crt the crop pasturing it has been said la Is effective in ili the early pert of tile season tile the field should be divided into two or three lots and caeli lot should he bo pastured alternately tile the animals being left in it until tl the e alfalfa has been eaten down close to the ground the number and of the lots should lie be proportioned to tho the producing power of the field and ami the number of animals to be pastured so that each lot may be grazed about once in two weeks pasturing should be continued until most of the weevil eggs linao been laid which in practice means a little later than the usual cutting time of the first crop this method has the additional advantage of providing an economical method of fattening live stock combined with tho the proper feed of 0 grain alfalfa pasture Is excellent for putting on weight ani and it Is said that many farms would probably bo be more profitable if their management centered about the pas turing of stock on alfalfa with tho ilia growing glowing of enough other crops to provide groin grain and forage throughout tho the year if the weevils are not killed early in the year they may ile be destroyed after the first crop lias has been removed by getting rid of nil all tile the vegetation in ili tho the field fidd crushing tho the clods and filling the cracks so as to expose the entire sur arce ance to the still this Is b lhost st done one by covering the field with a mist roukh mulch thi the dust duit being on an additional moana means of killing weevils we evils success obviously depends pen 19 upon doing the aie work when tha ground Is dry and the weather cather i warn unit bright the second crop may amny also bo be protected by spraying the stubble spraying may also be resorted to in ili tho the spring irom 50 to gallons per acre of a mixture nil turo of of line and wafer in the proportion of 4 ounces of powder to gallons oro aro used for tills this purpose the up best suited tor for alfalfa spraying Is IB described in detail lu in the bulletin already i men cloned still mother another recommendation made in ili this bulletin Is the sti mula tion of the growth of the alfalfa by cultivating the field in the spring this does doea not destroy the weevils but it serves to produce it larger and ear car liet yield when their attacks make early cutting necessary up to the present however more farmers aro anro concerned with preventing the alfalfa weevil reaching their fields than they tire are with controlling it in them no ono one knows exactly how tilt the weevils spread but certain facts lu regard to this matter have been ascertained it Is known for exum pie that the insects are often found in green alfalfa fresh from tho the field and in second crop hay rind among potatoes which have been in contact with it they are found also in cured alfalfa hay especially that of the second cutting potatoes often are hauled in cars upon a bedding of green til nl falfa hay and there Is danger that the weevil may inay bo be transported in this way on the other hand however there Is no evidence to show that the weevil spreads more rapidly along railroads than elsewhere |