Show PRETTY INSECTS COST MILLIONS butterfly does immense damage to alfalfa fields of different western states STRIP LEAVES FROM PLANTS chickens turkeys and many birds de stroy worms during feeding stage bollworm devours both worms and pupa prepared by the united states department ot of agriculture Ill what bat a beautiful creature crea 1 exclaimed a farm visitor indicating IL a gorgeous sorge ous yellow butterfly which had slighted alighted upon a nearby shrub and now raised and lowered his blacked black edged ed ed wings in slow graceful palpitations abe be in insect act appeared to be the tel very v spirit ot of the hot summer day his colors were the colors and shades ot of brilliant sunshine sun ghine and the deepest ac depest blackest shadow shadi iw set in a delightful contrast and its will was the will w III of the breeze that stirred the broad alfalfa meadows beyond the garden where host and guest aest had bad retired to enjoy the shade appreciation dampened beautiful yes responded the rancher but my appreciation is some ahat dampened by the knowledge that hat the pretty creature costs cost the alfalfa growers of arizona and california Califor rila about a year tear what this Tut butterfly terlly costs in other states kansas oklahoma texas and others im unable to say but it must be an immense sum rather it a high price to pay for beauty it we could endow a good many art galleries galle irles with that sum we could beautify our schools and hang Rem brandts in every classroom it there were ere enough of them to go around we could c bring thousands of the city children out into the fresh air and sunshine it if we had bad the price of that yellow fellow band and ills his mate how does he accomplish all this asked the interested listener its a harsh indictment to lay against a creature so apparently lacking in malice tell me about him where does lie he come from how does he be live and what are his peculiarities the rancher rose stepped through the hedge and came back with a handful of alfalfa freshly pulled from the nearby field yo you u can find out all you wish to know from farmers bulletin 1094 jut just published by the united states department of agriculture but I 1 think we have his life history and a catalogue ta of his crimes in this bunch of herbage heres the egg lie he continued indicating di a tiny brownish elongated abject upon the upper side of an alfalfa leaf the first stage sad and la is interesting only because the female butterfly lays from to ot of them in her lifetime it has been estimated that if all the eggs of a single female butterfly hatched and there were no losses in the progeny or in their eggs or young this first butterfly would be grandmother to insects before the end of the summer fortunately for us an insect parasite destroys a good many of the eggs r alfalfa cate api ila r female in adult or butterfly stage heres a ruined ess egg its black you see instead of bron the parasite has been there million dollar damage next Is the larva or worm stage staffe I 1 and it Is this form that the alfalfa caterpillar does the million dollar damage A number of these worms will strip most ot of the leaves from a crop in a very short time here Is a small worm evidently just hatched and here on tills this bud Is a larger one note the green color of its body and the white stripe down each tide bide ne he Is nearly an inch long and lias has made his growth by gorging upon the tender leaves and terminal buds of my alfalfa wherever there Is an unusually large number of these worms they will ent eat the stems too but their favorite food Is the tender portion of the plant while in this stage the larva la Is victim of many conditions and Is preyed upon by many creatures A fly lays its eggs upon the worm these hatch into grubs which penetrate and kill 1111 their host bost chickens turkeys and many birds destroy the worm during the feeding stage moisture and a hot heavy atmosphere will induce tie the spread of bf a disease among the see sec here are worms just ted with the disease note the lighter color of their skins and their sluggish movements in a few hours die and decompose into a black decaying mass you can understand why alfalfa hay loses its geedin te feeding edin value if it Is heavily impal 9 bated with these corpse corps esthe s alie animals dont like the flavor but the conditions that foster athla disease are valuable in controlling the th 0 pest upon irrigated farms water may be turned into the field to provide moisture which the heat will start the plague and kill the worms from this stage the worm miters enters the pupa period he spiris spins no cocoon as chany caterpillars do but hangs himself head up among the sterns stems and swings in a little loop of bilk like a steeple jack see this char chap youe heard beard of the bollworm so injurious to corn and cotton ile he comes to our aid in the fight against the alfalfa caterpillar and by one of those queer natural compensations does us a favor by devouring both worms and pupa odd it lay eggs all summer unless the worm Is dest destroyed myed the butterfly you have a admired emerges from the pupa in a few days and begins to lay jay eggs to establish a new cycle this goes on all summer control Is accomplished by cutting alfalfa close and clean wo clear out our fence corners and ditches and cooperate with our neighbors in clearing their land this leaves no shelter for the caterpillar to live in from oue one alfalfa crop to the next and the few which do survive find food mighty scarce and ninny many pe starvation disking with a harrow over the meadows after a crop lias has been moved destroys wany many of the insects in the egg gk worm or pupa stage besides killing I 1 A parasite of the alfalfa caterpillar the insects which are preparing to ravage the next crop the disking process as every eiery one knows Is a mighty good thing tor for the alfalfa we also use a brush drag well weighted and run it over the alfalfa meadows after the disking Is done the drag gets into the hollows and crevices where the harrow lias has not touched and crushes the insect in whatever stage it finds him even if the first cut has been ruined by the pest these methods of irrigation and cultivation will insure the reduction of the caterpillar in time to save the next cutting from his attacks these methods are becom by the department of agriculture and we hope to prevent most of the annual loss caused by the activities of yonder butterfly |