132 MANUAL OF VEGETABLE-GARDEN INSECTS 



the abdomen bears a conspicuous brush of elongate scales, 

 yellowish at the base and white, brown or black at the tip. 

 The eggs are laid on the buds, young leaves, stems and some- 

 times on the main stalk of the vine, singly or in groups of two 

 to six, sometimes overlapping. The egg is oval, about -^ inch 

 in length, flattened and pearly white when first deposited but 

 soon acquiring a yellowish tinge. The eggs hatch in three or 

 four days in warm weather and the larvse begin feeding on the 

 underside of the leaves or among the buds and sometimes bore 

 into the latter. The newdy hatched larva is about ^ inch in 

 length, light straw-color with the head light brown. The two 

 light stripes do not become apparent until after the first molt. 

 In the second stage the color becomes yellowish or greenish 

 from the ingested food. In the third stage the two white sub- 

 dorsal stripes become more prominent and serve to distinguish 

 the caterpillar from the pickle w^orm, in which they are not 

 present. In the fifth and last stage the larva is f to 1^ inches in 

 length and mottled greenish yellow in color. Shortly before 

 pupation, the larva contracts to about f inch in length and 

 changes to a light yellow or straw-color, the white stripes hav- 

 ing disappeared some days earlier. The caterpillars become 

 mature in about two weeks and spin loose silken cocoons usually 

 in a folded or rolled leaf in which they transform to brownish 

 puptT about f inch in length. The moths emerge in a week or 

 ten days. The life cycle requires a little less than a month in 

 the summer in North Carolina. The first brood of caterpillars 

 feeds to a considerable extent on the foliage and usually does 

 not cause much injury to the fruit. The larvse of the later 

 generations at first feed on the buds or foliage and do not attack 

 the fruit until the third stage. On reaching the fruit, they may 

 feed for some time on the surface but soon burrow through the 

 rind causing decay. In North Carolina there are three genera- 

 tions annually, the second, beginning the latter part of July, 

 being the most destructive. 



