Insects and insecticidesA practical manual concerning noxious insects and the methods of preventing their injuries . is insect are representedat Fig. 112. The larva (a) is a slender, whitishworm, about half an inch long, resembling the West-ern Corn Root-worm, to which, in fact, it is closelyrelated. It feeds promiscuously upon the roots and base of the stalk ofcorn, pupating in thesoil about the roots,and emerging short-ly afterwards as a3rellow beetle with 12black spots upon theback (c). There aretwo broods each sea-son, eggs for the firstbrood being depos- Fig. 112. Southern Corn Root-worm:
Insects and insecticidesA practical manual concerning noxious insects and the methods of preventing their injuries . is insect are representedat Fig. 112. The larva (a) is a slender, whitishworm, about half an inch long, resembling the West-ern Corn Root-worm, to which, in fact, it is closelyrelated. It feeds promiscuously upon the roots and base of the stalk ofcorn, pupating in thesoil about the roots,and emerging short-ly afterwards as a3rellow beetle with 12black spots upon theback (c). There aretwo broods each sea-son, eggs for the firstbrood being depos- Fig. 112. Southern Corn Root-worm: a, larva ; . 6, pupa; c, beetle. Magnified. ited by the female beetles in spring about the roots of young corn, andthe second brood of larvae generally developing uponthe roots of certain wild plants, especially those ofthe Composite family. The insect hibernates as anadult, and the beetles feed upon a great variety ofvegetation, often doing serious damage to cucum-bers, squashes, melons, and other garden —No practicable remedy has yet beenfound for this insect in its corn infesting stage. INJURING THE ROOT. 213 Wireworms. Elateridse. Sprouting kernels of corn are often attacked by ahard, slender, yellowish worm, commonly called thewire-worm, which eats out the substance of the seedor attacks the young roots. These are the young orlarvae of various species of brown, flattened, elongatebeetles, called click beetles, snapping bugs, or skipjacks, on account of their habit of snapping upwardin the air when placed on their backs. Eggs are laid bythese beetles in grass-lands especially, and the larvaethat hatch feed for several years upon the roots of vari-ous plants. They finally transform during autumnin hollow cells in the earth into pupae, and shortlyafterwards again change to beetles. They do not,however, leave their pupa cells at once, but remainin them until the following spring. Professor J. has found that in breeding cages, if thesecells be
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