The Bulletin. 25 



R. F. D. No. 3. Apex, N. C, August 1, 1904. 



I send you some bugs found on cotton. They have damaged it one-half, I 

 think. They started in one corner of the field and are spreading. They 

 attack the bolls and blooms and squares. They can fiy. 



Respectfully. W. F. Upchurch. 



The three complaints made in 1905 were from Wake and Gran- 

 ville Counties, but contributed nothing further to our knowledge of 

 the injuries caused by the insect. 



Life-history and Habits. — This beetle belongs to the family 

 Chrysomelidse, the same large family to which many other pests 

 belong, such as the Potato-beetle, Melon-beetle, Flea-beetle and the 

 Elm Leaf-beetle. Most of them are of active habits, crawl briskly, 

 fly readily, and feed on the flowers or leaves of plants. Some species 

 are found on a considerable number of plants, while others confine 

 themselves strictly to one or only a few kinds of plants. 



Professor Smith, reporting on the Georgia outbreak of 1905, says 

 that a favorite place of feeding of this Xew Cotton Beetle was in the 

 opening blooms, from which they would eat the entire center. The 

 insects were present in great numbers for a few weeks and then sud- 

 denly dropped out of sight. 



The further life-history of this insect, the place of depositing 

 the egix-^, the food habits of the young or larva, the method of passing 

 the winter, etc., all these points, so far as we know, are still a 

 matter of conjecture and in need of further study. With such a com- 

 plete knowledge of the insect it might be easier to devise some method 

 of combating it, though with our present meagre knowledge we are 

 almost helpless. 



KEMEDIBS. 



With an insect as active as this, which attacks the constantly 

 growing and unfolding parts of a plant, it is very difficult to make 

 any effective treatment. This is all the more impracticable on cot- 

 ton where no expensive measures could be used with any profit. If 

 cotton were relatively of as high value and grown in as limited areas 

 as lettuce in a hot bed or as strawberries in a home garden, the enemy 

 might lie easily controlled. 



Prom our present limited knowledge and experience we believe 

 that in most cases this pest will not be seriously destructive. A 

 considerable part of the flower of a plant (especially the petals) may 

 be eaten away without actually diminishing the crop of bolls. We be- 

 lieve, therefore, that the grower can afford to take a little risk with 

 this insect and wait a few days (keeping it under frequent observa- 

 tion) to ascertain, if possible, whether they are present in numbers 

 and activity sufficient to really mean serious loss to the crop; but 

 having concluded that some action is necessary, we have two methods 

 to suggest, both troublesome, and neither justifiable except where 

 serious injury is threatened. If the insect is widely distributed 



