ay eee) nose [\= Ey =) AGRICULTURAL ENTOMOLOGY FOR STUDENTS, FARMERS, FRUIT-GROWERS AND GARDENERS / BY HERBERT OSBORN, B.Sc., M.Sc. PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY AND ENTOMOLOGY IN THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, COLUMBUS, OHIO, AND DIRECTOR OF THE LAKE LABORATORY, CEDAR POINT, OHIO. ILLUSTRATED WITH 252 ENGRAVINGS AND A COLORED PLATE ih Ado EB GER PHILADELPHIA AND NEW YORK 1916 Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1916, by LEA & FEBIGER, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress. All rights reserved. ; ae Z HSC / eh Waa HBR ere PREFACE. Tus book is designed to meet the needs of students and others who wish to learn something of insect life especially in relation to farm crops and livestock. The author assumes that the students who read it will have had some traming in general biology and will have the guidance of teachers familiar with the subject in connection with adequate labor- atory facilities and opportunities for field studies. The details of laboratory and field studies have not been included since these are easily supplied by the teacher. For those making individual studies there are many available books covering the technic of entomological work. A glossary has been included which covers the subject as presented in these pages and in most of the reports and bulletins that are likely to be consulted by the average student. In order to make the scope of the book adequate it has been necessary to condense the matter to the most essential details, and to omit much that has value but which is not absolutely indispensable to the presentation of the important principles that concern the practice of economic entomology. The author acknowledges his indebtedness to many sources of information which are too numerous to mention individually, but he is especially indebted to Dr. Howard, of the Bureau of Entomology, for the privilege of using the illustrations secured from his office and for suggestions; to iV PREFACE Professors Washburn and Bruner for the loan of plates; to the Iowa Experiment Station for use of figures, and the Ohio Experiment Station for a number of photographs for original use here. Professors Hine, Metcalf, Barrows, Mr. Kostir and Mr. Drake have assisted in reading manu- script and proof and have generously given the author the use of photographs and drawings. EO: Cotumsus, Ouro, 1916. CONTENTS: CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 17 CHAPTER. If. Crass ARACHNIDA . Pape CHAPTER, IL. THE Six—FooTeD INSECTS a RR) OE ae ae ae i mer 38 CHAPTER) IV. LowrErR PTERYGOTA tee ¢ ES Go DM Seen cs See il CHAPTER, Y. OrDER HEMIPTERA cc goa Ree ces Re te, dae 93 CHARTER, Var NEUROPTERA AND ALLIES ear ee ae kom OO Meee ee a LG CHAPTER VII. COMMORTERAW SSERTURSH -. scikgm on lta Sah eee ses fy a O72 CHAPTER VIII. IGE PED OPT RAMEE ME ve Aa ics cs i eae ee Carl PRE or DG CHAPTER IX. OrpDER DIPTERA SR IPT ee eee arom Mir ca As lato a Ro os CHAPTER X. IS EE SWAN DEN VASES ay oa ctr 5 One ee ne ami ee a) a WB to < OONT CHAPTER Xa. PRINCIPLES OF Economic ENTOMOLOGY . ... . eect We CeOSSAR Valea era Pees wre NEE kr | ee es Le IDO JGNWDIDD SE, 5. ee ae TRI an Blip ate alt I aR en ete? 1220 AGRICULTURAL ENTOMOLOGY. CiHPAGE nae le INTRODUCTION. THE recent rapid growth in the subject of Agricultural Entomology makes it a difficult matter to bring together a comprehensive statement that will cover all of its different phases in a thorough manner. Some idea of its growth may be indicated by the fact that instead of a single ento- mologist employed in the United States Department. of Agriculture, as was the case forty years ago, there are now several hundred who are devoting their entire time to the investigation of entomological problems, practically all of which are related to agriculture. A similar development of this work has taken place in the State Experiment Stations, and there are also State Entomological departments working in almost every State, and in many of them two or three different organizations, each with a large quota of workers. Economic entomology in its wider sense covers all those phases of the subject which have to do with insects of importance in relation to mankind. The forms which have distinctly agricultural relation are so numerous and represent so completely all the different groups of insects that we are compelled to include a very general survey of the subject. Some idea of the size of the group of insects and of its place in biological study may be secured from the statement 2 (17) 18 INTRODUCTION that there are now known and have been scientifically recog- nized and described something over three hundred thousand species of insects, a number which far surpasses that of all other groups of animals together. Furthermore, the immense numbers of individuals in each species and the great facility which they possess for migration and rapidity of increase make them a very dominant group of animals. Not all insects, to be sure, have a direct importance to mankind, but there is so large a number that are very directly related to human interests in the way of destruction of property or menace to health that it is unnecessary to emphasize their importance. Many estimates have been attempted of the extent of loss of crops, livestock, forests, agricultural products, ete., and while none of these can be considered exact, it is increasingly evident that such estimates are conservative and in many cases the loss is greater than is recognized. One of the current estimates is that about 10 per cent. of the aggregate of farm crops in the United States is lost by insect attack, and if this be taken as an approximate proportion there is something like one billion dollars to be counted an economic loss from this source each year. It must be admitted that the entomologist has not been - able as yet to solve all of the problems of insect control. There will doubtless be many cases where a practical control of insects may not be reached for many years, but for a considerable number of the most common and serious pests it has been possible to discover methods by which a very large proportion of the loss can be prevented. One phase of entomological work, therefore, is the demonstration of these possibilities in order to secure a general adoption of control measures that have been proved successful. While it is manifestly impossible to include in a small book any full discussion of the many phases of entomology, it is the purpose of this work to present a basis for the under- standing of field observations, and especially for the under- standing of the many articles relating to economic insects which are now appearing in Government and State pub- INTRODUCTION 19 lications. Many of these publications are available and will be found to contain an immense store of information, much of it of very practical value, but its greatest utility will be found to rest upon some acquaintance with the general facts of insect life and insect habits. These are so dependent upon certain conditions of structure and development that acquaintance with some of the fundamental biological features of insect life are essential to the most effective utilization. Formerly all of the arthropods, that is, all animals with jointed bodies and jointed appendages, were grouped under the head of insects, and even yet this term has a pretty wide application in popular usage, although it is seldom used now to cover as wide a range as formerly. The Arth- ropods, as a whole, include crustaceans, myriapods, arach- nids, hexapods, or six-footed insects, and of these the air- breathing forms, all except the crustaceans, are still quite commonly treated as insects. The Onychophora is a tropical group including peripatus, the most primitive of tracheate animals, and would on this basis be considered as falling next to the crustacea. The most generalized next to these, the myriapods, might be counted as possessing the greater number of insect-like characters. This group, however, does not include any forms that possess wings, but in the matter of antennee and the tracheal respiration they are closely associated with insects. The members of this group are, for the most part, of comparatively little economic importance. A few of the species included in the group of centipedes (Chilopoda) are poisonous, and in tropical countries are of some importance on this account. The few species that occur in temperate regions have little importance except as they may feed upon other insects which occur under the litter at the surface of the ground. One species, the house centipede, a peculiar long-legged creature, which is occasionally found in cellars or around houses, usually where there is some dampness, is, however, of a certain amount of importance because of its feeding 20 INTRODUCTION upon insects, and is looked upon as rather serviceable in the destruction of flies. It is a quite ungainly looking creature, Vic. 1.—Scutigera forceps: Adult—natural size. (From Marlatt, Div. Ent., U. 8S. Dept. Ag.) with slender, flattened body, extremely long legs, and an apparent duplication of anterior and posterior ends. iurent duplicat f ant 1 post ds The millipedes (Diplopoda) are nearly cylindrical in INTRODUCTION 21 shape, are recognized as having two pairs of legs to each apparent segment and there is usually a large number of segments, 40 to 100 or more, so that the name thousand- Fic. 2.—Scutigera forceps: a, newly hatched individual; 6, one of the legs of same; c, terminal segment of body showing undeveloped legs coiled up within—all enlarged. (After Marlatt, Div. Ent., U. 8S. Dept. Ag.) legged worm is fairly descriptive. Most of these species are found in moist places and feed upon vegetable debris, but a few have been recorded as attacking vegetation, and one species has been credited with injuring seed corn. CED ACP Reale CLASS ARACHNIDA. In the strict technical sense the group Arachnida may be excluded from the Insecta, but in general usage, and to a large extent in entomological practice, these divisions are put together, and it seems desirable that the group should be given a place in any work dealing with the insects in general. The group Arachnida includes spiders, scorpions, harvest- men, mites, ticks, etc., and is characterized by the presence of four pairs of legs, the absence of antenne and compound eyes, and the lack of distinct metamorphosis, although in certain groups there is a considerable change from the newly hatched or six-legged form to the mature eight-legged stage. In general structure the Arachnida agree with other Arthropoda, but the head and thorax are usually merged into a cephalothorax separated from the abdomen by a more or less distinct stalk; in the Acarina, however, this separation is not marked and the body is without distinct separation of head, thorax, and abdomen. The economic importance of the group depends upon their attacks upon certain crops, from the fact that many of the species, such as spiders and harvestmen, are uniformly predaceous and serve as important checks upon injurious species; while other forms, such as the mites and ticks, are parasitic upon domestic animals and man, and some of the species occupy a most important relationship as carriers of infectious diseases. The subdivisions of the group are, for the most part, very well marked and represent ancient groups which have diverged quite widely from each other. The scorpions (Scorpionida), mostly tropical in distribu- (22) CLASS ARACHNIDA 23 tion, are represented by fossils in early geological times, and are noted as possessing poison glands. ‘They are recog- nized by the broad cephalothorax, a division of the abdomen into two portions, an anterior preabdomen of seven seg- ments, and a slender hinder postabdomen of six segments, on the last one of which there is a large poison gland and sting. The sting is distinctly venomous and fatal to insects or smaller animals, but seldom serious in its effect on the human species. The Pseudoscorpionida are minute forms resembling scorpions in the width of the body and the long pedipalps, but have no postabdomen or sting. They occur somewhat commonly under bark or decaying logs or occasionally in old papers or books, where they may secure book lice as food. The Pedipalpi, or whip scorpions, have a tropical or subtropical distribution and differ from the preceding groups in the presence of a long, slender bristle or whip extending from the hinder abdominal segment. In the group Solpugida there is an exceptional separation of head and thorax and the abdomen is distinctly segmented, while the chelicerze are greatly enlarged and strongly chelate. These are not only largely tropical, but are particularly characteristic of arid regions. One species occurs in the Rocky Mountain region as far north as Colorado. They are carnivorous in habit, but not of particular economic importance, as they occur usually in small numbers and in locations which do not offer opportunity to capture espe- cially injurious insects. The Phalangida, or harvestmen, often called “daddy- longlegs,’ are somewhat large and resemble spiders in appearance, but the abdomen is not distinctly separated from the thorax and the legs are in most species extremely long. They feed on insects, especially on flies and other small forms, and are to be counted as distinctly beneficial. On account of a strong pungent odor they are disagreeable to handle, but their presence in gardens and other places where insects abound may be considered as distinctly desir- able. 24 CLASS ARACHNIDA Order ARANEIDA. This group includes the familiar spiders which are very generally distributed over the world, and occupy a rather conspicuous place among other animals. Their body is sharply divided into cephalothorax and abdomen, and the four pairs of legs are usually nearly equal in length. The Hiren: Epeira scolopetaria, showing normal position of spider in web head downward.