130 MANUAL OF VEGETABLE-GARDEN INSECTS 



annually with sometimes a partial fifth when the fall is warm. 

 The first ^enerjition is always small in nnmbers and is usually 

 entirely overlooked. In the seeond and third generations the 

 caterpillars become very numerous and the loss is correspond- 

 ingly great. Cantaloupes harvested before the appearance of 

 the second brood of cater])illars usually escape injury, while 

 those that mature later are often entirely destroyed. 



Control. 



Attempts to control the pickle worm by spraying with arseni- 

 cals have been unsuccessful. The caterpillars feed very little 

 in the open and, therefore, do not eat enough of the poison to 

 be killed. The number of moths appearing the following season 

 can be considerably lessened by collecting and destroying the 

 vines as soon as the crop is harvested. The waste fruits and 

 fallen leaves should be raked up and destroyed with the vines 

 either by burning or by turning them into compost. Early 

 fall plowing of infested fields will also destroy a large propor- 

 tion of the larviie and pupjie. Rotation of crops and planting 

 cucurbits at a distance from fields infested the previous season 

 does not give as much relief as would be expected, because the 

 moths are able to fly a considerable distance in search of plants 

 on which to deposit their eggs. By planting the crop early, 

 much injury may be avoided and this method should be adopted 

 whene\'er practicable. 



In the case of cantaloupes, excellent results in protecting 

 the croj) have been obtained by planting squashes as traps 

 throughout the field. Scjuash \'ines with their large and odor- 

 ous flow^ers are more attracti\'e to the moths than other cucur- 

 bits. If enough squash vines are present in a field, the moths 

 will deposit nearly all of their eggs on them and the canta- 

 loupes will escape. For this purpose the squashes should be 

 planted at intervals of about two weeks so as to furnish an 

 abundance of buds and blossoms during July and August. 



