128 MANUAL OF VEGETABLE-GARDEN INSECTS 



ber and sqiiasli. It lias hevn reported as attaekin.i:: the water- 

 melon in (ieor^'ia ; the pumpkin is said to be immune. 



The pickle worm hibernates in tlu^ j)ui)al stage in a flimsy 

 cocoon in a curled leaf of the food i)lant usually lying on the 

 ground. The moths do not emerge until rather late ; the early 

 part of June in Georgia and North Carolina. The moth (Fig. 

 77) has an expanse of 1 to 1|^ inches; the general color of the 

 wings is yellowish brown with a purplish metallic reflection in 

 certain lights; a large irregular spot on the front wing and 

 the basal two thirds of the hind wings are semi-transparent 



yellow. In both sexes 

 the tip of the abdomen 

 is ornamented with a 

 brush of long scales, 

 larger in the male. The 

 moths do not fly during 

 the day or in the early 

 part of the night ; they 

 are active and deposit 

 their eggs after mid- 

 night and go into hid- 

 ing at daylight. The 

 egg is about 2V inch in length, much flattened and elliptical 

 in outline. It is nearly white when first laid but soon 

 becomes yellowish. The eggs are deposited singly or in 

 masses of three to eight on the flowers, flower-buds or on 

 the tender opening leaves at the end of the vines. They are 

 loosely attached to the plant-hairs and can be easily brushed 

 off. They hatch in three or four days and the young cater- 

 pillars soon burrow into the tender tissue of the blossom or 

 bud. The greater number do not reach the fruit until after 

 the first or second molt. On squash many complete their 

 growth within the blossoms, but on cantaloupes and cucum- 

 bers the caterpillars that are feeding in the blossom buds usually 



Fig. 7: 



The pickle worm moth ( X 2). 



