TOMATO INSECTS 171 



of the body and drawing in the head, In which position It will 

 remain motionless for a long time. When mature the cater- 

 pillar goes into the ground a few inches and there in an earthen 

 cell transforms to a 

 dark brown pupa (Figs. 

 96 and 97) about 2 

 Inches in length. The 

 sucking tube of the 



future moth is inclosed ^^^' ^^' — Pupa of the northern tomato worm 

 p (XII). 



m a separate case irom 



one third to nearly half as long as the pupa, resembling the 

 handle of a pitcher. The number of generations varies with 

 the length of the season; In the North there is apparently 

 only one, in Maryland and Kentucky there are two and in 

 Florida there are said to be three or four. 



The southern tomato worm, PhJegethontius sexta Johannsen 



The moth of the southern tomato worm is similar to that of 

 the northern species but the ground color of the wings is 

 brownish gray instead of ash-gray. There is usually a small 

 white spot near the middle of the front wing and the interme- 

 diate lines on the hind wings are not zigzag and often coalesce. 

 The life history of this species is similar to that of its northern 

 relative. In Kentucky and Tennessee, the moths begin to 

 emerge from over-wintered pupse about the first of June and 

 continue to emerge over a long period, until the latter part of 

 August in some years. The oblique bands on the side of the cat- 

 erpillar extend higher up on the back and are not V-shaped. The 

 horn is usually strongly curved and reddish in color. The tongue- 

 case of the pupa is somewhat shorter than in the northern species. 



Control. 



The presence of tomato worms is readily detected by the 

 defoliation of the vine and by the droppings of the caterpillars 



