404 Report of the Entomologists of the 



white lines. By the time they are one-half grown they change 

 to a pale green color and the white lines on the sides of the body 

 become indistinct. These white lines usually disappear by the 

 time the caterpillar is full grown. The looper does not have as 

 many prolegs as most of the caterpillars, to which they are closely 

 related, hence they loop the body when traveling. There are a 

 few solitary hairs on the body. The head is small. When full 

 grown they are about one to one and one-fourth inches long. 



Pupa or chrysalis. — When first formed the pupa is light green 

 in color, but soon changes to a dark brown and sometimes black. 

 It can be found enclosed in a thin, white, transparent cocoon, 

 which is spun by the caterpillar, usually in the fold of the leaf. 



LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS. 



The life history of the looper is somewhat similar to that of the 

 cabbage worm, but in habits it differs considerably. This makes 

 it a more difficult pest to handle. It is known that part of the last 

 brood of loopers pass the winter in the chrysalis stage, but it is 

 quite probable that many of them live over winter as moths or 

 millers. The moths have been taken around the flowers of chick- 

 weed on warm days in December and also in March. About the 

 same length of time is required for the hatching of the eggs and 

 the growth of the caterpillars as for the cabbage worm. All the 

 stages except the chrysalid are shown on Plate XLII. The differ- 

 ent broods of the cabbage looper overlap and are mixed worse than 

 in the case of the cabbage worm. Undoubtedly the' number of 

 broods each year exceeds that of the cabbage worm, as indicated 

 by the moths and loopers being found at work earlier in the 

 spring and later in the fall. When full grown the loopers crawl 

 to the under side of a leaf of the plant on which they are feeding 

 and spin a loose silken cocoon around themselves, then change to 

 chrysalids. 



Moth. — In habits the moths differ considerably from the cab- 

 bage butterfly. They are rarely seen on the wing except during 



