270 MANUAL OF VEGETABLE-GARDEN INSECTS 

 The Striped Cutworm 



Paragrotis tessellata Harris 



The striped cutworm is particularly a vegetable pest attack- 

 ing potato, tomato, sweet potato, radish, squash, cabbage, 

 lettuce, celery, spinach, bean, cucumber, melon, beet, carrot, 

 parsnip, onion and rhubarb. It is a serious enemy of alfalfa 

 in Colorado and may also feed on flax, buckwheat, clover and 

 corn. In Iowa it has been found injuring root-grafts of apple, 

 pear, plum and cherry. This cutworm is restricted to the 



northern United States and 

 Canada. 



The striped cutworm 

 hibernates in a partly grown 

 condition and becomes ma- 

 ture in May and June. 

 The full-grown larva is 

 1^ inches in length, pale 



Fig. 160. — The striped cutworm moth brownisll tinged with yel- 



^^ '^* low above, grayish on, the 



sides and greenish below. It has a median pale stripe 

 bordered with brown; a brownish subdorsal stripe, which 

 is bounded below by a light line; a narrow distinct 

 white lateral stripe and a broad white stigmal band. Pupa- 

 tion takes place in the soil, the pupal period occupying from 

 two to three weeks. The moths are most abundant during 

 July and August. The moth has an expanse of 1-^ to 1^^ inches. 

 The front wings are grayish to blackish brown sometimes with 

 a purplish tinge. The orbicular and reniform spots are distinct, 

 and between these spots, and extending to the second cross 

 line, is a contrasting dark brown or black area. There is a 

 tuft of yellow hairs at the base of the front wing. The hind 

 wings are brown becoming whitish towards the center and base 

 (Fig. 160). There is but one generation a year. 



