30 



The Bulletin, 



THE COTTON WORM. (Aletia argillacea.) 

 Order Lepidoptera. Family Noctuidw. 



Description. — A slender greenish caterpillar or worm from an 

 inch to an inch and a half in length, with small black dots, sometimes 

 showing stripes down the back, which feeds mainly on the top growth 

 of the cotton, sometimes becoming destructive in late summer and 

 fall. The caterpillar crawls with a looping or "measuring" motion. 



Injury in North Carolina. — In this State the Cotton Worm has not 

 often been destructive. It is a much more important pest in the ex- 

 treme Southern States of Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. However, 

 it seems to have attracted attention in Wayne and Halifax Counties 

 as early as 1863. In recent years, however, there has been no 

 serious outbreak until the fall of 1905, when it suddenly appeared in 

 great numbers in Pitt and Lenoir Counties, where it was sometimes 

 erroneously called "Army Worm." That it was abundant and de- 

 structive at that time is shown by the following : 



Greenville, N. C, September 13, 1905. 



I write to let you know that the Army Worm (Cotton Worm) is destroying 

 all of the late cotton in this county. They have just begun on my farm near 

 town. Yours truly, 



C. T. Mumford. 



This outbreak was investigated by Mr. R. S. Woglum, at that time 

 Acting Entomologist, and the results of his observations were pub- 

 lished.* From his notes, as well as from his published account, it 

 is evident that the damage was very severe on the top crop of the 

 late cotton. By the middle of October the caterpillars had prac- 

 tically all matured and the damage ceased. 



/ b V 



Fig. 9. — Cotton Worm Moth, a, with wings spread; 6, with wings closed. Natural size. 



(After Riley.) 



Life-history and Habits. — The adult parent insect of the Cotton 

 Worm is a flying moth as shown in Fig. 9. These moths can fly 

 freely for long distances. Although the worms are known to feed 

 to maturity only on cotton (which is grown only in the Southern 

 States) , the adult moths have been found at lights in towns and cities 

 in Canada, having evidently flown there from hundreds of miles to 

 the south, aided perhaps by favorable winds. As the insect is only 



^Entomological Circular No. 16, N. C Dept. Agr., "The Cotton Worm." 



