The Bulletin. 19 



that many say the ants ruin their cotton. We have not been very badly dam- 

 aged by this insect this season, but last year (1907) they did great damage. 

 The only thing I know to combat it is to prepare the land well and to work 

 the cotton as soon as possible after a rain, so that the heat can get down to 

 the roots. Yours truly, 



George C. Philips. 



These two letters indicate not only that the Root-louse on cotton is ' 

 well known to growers, but that it is a truly important factor, and 

 that it is entitled to rank among the most serious insect pests of the 

 crop, at least in North Carolina. 



It is interesting to note that ants are commonly found in company 

 with this Root-louse, for this same louse in the Central States (where 

 it seriously affects the roots of corn) is* attended by a species of 

 ant, and this ant not only does not eat the lice, but it protects them 

 from enemies so far as it is able, and carries the lice or their eggs into 

 its ant hills in the fall of the year, cares for them through the winter, 

 and in spring transfers them again to the field and locates them on 

 the roots of young corn plants. The lice secrete from their bodies 

 a sweetish substance known as "honey-dew," and it is to obtain this 

 that the ants stay near them. The ants themselves do not ordinarily 

 hurt the plant, nor do they give birth to lice, nor do they destroy 

 lice. They are an entirely distinct species of insect which attend the 

 lice for the sake of the honey-dew. 



This being the case with this same louse in the Central States 

 on corn, there is every reason to suppose that here in North Carolina 

 the ants attend the lice on the cotton roots for the same purpose. 

 Growers who suppose that the ants eat the lice and are therefore 

 beneficial, are almost certainly mistaken, and those who suppose that 

 the ants attack the cotton are almost certainly mistaken, while those 

 who suppose that the ants are the parents of the lice, are absolutely 

 mistaken without any doubt or question whatever, since the louse has 

 no stage of its life when it is really like an ant, and no ant has 

 any stage of its life when it is like a louse. 



We are hoping to begin some studies of this Cotton Root-louse 

 this season, and at the time- these lines are written preliminary in- 

 quiries are being made, but .up to this time we have only definitely 

 ascertained the identity of the pest and learned a few general facts 

 concerning it. But. with the little knowledge we have so far gathered, 

 we feel considerable confidence in the remedial measures here recom- 

 mended, and we doubt whether later studies will materially change 

 them. 



Natural Enemies. — -Just what other insects kill and prey upon 

 the Cotton Root-louse we do not know, but we know that its cousin, the 

 Leaf -louse, is attacked by a number of enemies which subdue it when 

 settled warm weather comes. This Root-louse also is said to dis- 

 appear, or at least becomes harmless, when hot weather comes, and 

 this is possibly due to the fact that its natural enemies are able to 



