Climbing Cutworms. 667 



taken in the fall from beneath tbe sod in a pasture field which was 

 badly infected with cutworms ; " doubtless, in most cases, this is the 

 way the young cutworms are introduced into gi'eenhouses. In 1893, 

 a correspondent in Bolivar, N. Y., wrote us that nearly 100 fruits 

 on his tomato plants in his greenhouse had been badly damaged by 

 cutworms ; they preferred the fruit to the leaves. From specimens 

 sent we bred the moth of this variegated cutworm. 



In November, 1890, something began eating the chrysanthemum 

 blossoms here in the University conservatory. The florist thought 

 it the work of mice, and traps were accordingly set. After two or 

 three nights spent in fruitless attempts to check the depredations 

 of the culprits in this way, it was discovered that it was the work of 

 this cutworm. It would climb up the flower stalks in the evening 

 and, upon reaching the blossom, would firmly grasp the stalk just 

 below with its pro-legs, and then reach out as far as possible onto 

 the petals and eat them down to the base ; the outer portion of the 

 petals, which they could not reach, usually dropped to the ground, 

 often to be eaten by cutworms just coming from their day-retreats. 

 One cutworm would thus quickly damage these beautful blossoms, 

 and frequently two or three of them would completely destroy a 

 whole blossom in a single night. It was found they had been feed- 

 ing on the young shoots before the blossoms opened. 



In one instance this cutworm climbed cabbage stalks and bored 

 in various directions through the forming heads, and were found 

 coiled up in the moist places they had eaten out for themselves. 



In 1886, it assumed the climbing habit in Missouri with very 

 serious results to the buds of fruit and shade-trees. In 1888, it 

 damaged grafts and ate off the tips of fruit trees in British Colum- 

 bia, and it also committed serious depredations the same year in 

 Arkansas by devouring the foliage of potato vines. In California 

 it has twice appeared in very destructive numbers on the grape 

 vine, once in the spring of 1893 and again in 1895 ; in some cases 

 the vines were entirely defoliated and the young shoots cut ofi:'. 



The above accounts of the depredations of this variegated cut- 

 worm show that its- varied habits render it a very serious pest, as it 

 may cut oif field and garden crops, or it may appear as a climber 

 on the choicest greenhouse plants or out of doors on fruit-trees and 

 especially in vineyards. 



The moth, like all owlet-moths, is nocturnal in habit and is readily 

 attracted to lights. They feign death when distui'bed and can thus- 



