1899J I lARRiN(.'r()\ — lv\ 1 k.\ Limit. \]. Inskcts. 121 



verse markins^s and a small o\-al cj'e-spot ; the hind wings are 

 pale greyish; when at rest it is qufte inconspicuous. Dr. Riley 

 in his report upon Cotton Insects, has stated that this species 

 "is probably indigenous to South America and is an introduced 

 insect in the United States," where its appearance was first 

 recorded in 1793. For a century it has levied toll, reaching 

 thirt)- million dollars in some \-ears, upon the cotton plantations^ 

 but fortunately its caterpillars will not (ccd upon any other 

 plant, and its depredations are thus confined to the Cotton Belt. 

 Unlike the larvae, the moths arc more catholic in their tastes 

 especially in the matter of sweets, and not content with rilling 

 the nectaries of different plants they do considerable injur}- to 

 fruits. Dr. Rile\- says that : — " Frequently the fig crop is com- 

 pletely destroyed in some sections of the cotton belt, as is also 

 the August crop of peaches. The moths have also been known 

 to feed on apples, graces, melons and the jujube." This aptitude 

 for a more savory diet than cotton permits the moths to earn a 

 living almost anj-where, and accounts perhaps fur their 

 occasional appearance so many hundred miles from the scenes 

 of their earlier labours. It is, however, possible that the speci- 

 mens which occur here, perfectly fresh and unrubbed, have been 

 reared upon some other plant in more northerly regions. In 

 October, 1S80, the moths occurred quite abundantl\- in this city > 

 I captured many individuals at rest upon different buildings, and 

 the following year 1 found it both at Hull and Aylmer. 



While these autumn arrivals of Aletia do not survive our 

 winters nor propagate their species here, there is another resident 

 of the cotton fields that apparently is able to do so and which 

 may therefore become a permanent and unwelcome colonist. 

 This is a somewhat large moth, kn<nvn as the Boll worm, 

 HcliotliHs armigera Hub., which in portions of the cotton-grow- 

 ing region is almost more dreaded than the Cotton Moth itself.. 

 The species is distributed over a large portion of the world and 

 has been observed in Canada for a score of years. It has a \aried 

 menu, including such very important plants as corn and tomatoes. 

 In the ears of the former and the fruit of the latter the cater-^ 



