Noctuidse 
Fig. 130. —Boll-worm feeding upon a tomato. 
(After Riley.) 
United States, and being of a singularly gluttonous habit in the 
larval stage, has become the object of execration to farmers and 
horticulturists. It 
is a very promis¬ 
cuous feeder, but 
shows a special 
fondness for 
young Indian corn 
in the ear and for 
cotton bolls. On 
account of the 
latter peculiarity 
it has received the 
name we have 
applied above. It 
attacks the fruit 
of the tomato when still green, and causes it to rot on the vines. 
It also feeds upon pumpkins, peas, beans, hemp, and, it is said, 
upon tobacco. 
An excellent ac¬ 
count of its habits 
has been given by 
Prof. C. V. Riley in 
his “Third Annual 
Report ” as State 
E n t o m ologist of 
Missouri. It is from 
that paper that we 
have extracted the 
figures, which are 
herewith given, and 
which serve to illus¬ 
trate the life-history 
of the insect. The 
Fig. 131 .—Heliothis armiger. a. Egg viewed from mot u r;in( ™ n u nvpr 
the side; b. Egg viewed from on top (both eggs m0lR ran g es ail over 
magnified) ; c. Larva; d. Pupa; e-f. Moth. (After the United States and 
Rlley> ) southern Canada. It 
is most abundant in the southern portion of our territory, where 
there are from three to four broods annually. It is here in the 
223 
