2O0 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES FROM THE DIVISION OF 

 ENTOMOLOGY, BOARD OF AGRICUL- 

 TURE AND FORESTRY. 



By Jacob Kotinsky. 



THE TOBACCO SPLITWORM, AN ENEMY OF TOMATO, EGG PLANT 

 AND POHA IN HAWAII. 



Phthorimaca operculella, Zell. 



The writer has frequently found a caterpillar within toma- 

 toes bought in the market. After several attempts he has suc- 

 ceeded, in March of this year, to rear a pretty, silvery grey moth. 

 A; month later a large number of the moths were raised from the 

 splitworm found at work in ^gg plant leaves and from a number 

 of them hidden beneath the calyx leaves adhering to the fruit. 

 In January of this year, Mr. R. V. Woods, a valuable and oblig- 

 ing correspondent of this office, from North Kona, Hawaii, sent 

 us some stems of Poha or Cape Gooseberry (Physalis peruviana, 

 L.) into the upper portions of the stems of which a caterpillar 

 was found boring and from this caterpillar the above moth was 

 bred. Specimens of each of these were sent to the United States 

 Bureau of Entomology and were there kindly identified with the 

 above by Mr. A. Busck. In the "Hawaiian Forester and Agri- 

 culturist," Vol. II, pp. 76-79, also Bulletin 10, pp. 7-9, of the Ha- 

 waii Agricultural Experiment Station, Mr. Van Dine records the 

 insect as occurring in Hamakua, where it is injurious to tobacco. 

 He also gives there illustrations of the larva, pupa and moth. 

 It is well to bear in mind that the food plants above enumerated, 

 including tobacco, are members of the same plant family, 

 Solanaceae. Its habits in the various plants, however, do not 

 seem to be identical, since it lives upon the leaves of the &gg plant 

 and tobacco, in the fruit of tomato and the stems of poha. As 

 Orientals are principally engaged in the cultivation of vegetables 

 upon these islands, we hear very little complaint of insect injury 

 to that class of plants. As a matter of fact, however, the writer 

 has observed more instances of damage to tomatoes by this cater- 

 pillar than by the melon fly {Dacits cucurhitac, Coq.), which he 

 has observed in only one instance in tomatoes. Upon the tgg 



