594 



INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS OP CALIFORNIA. 



Food Plants. — Various plants are attacked, including weeds, grasses, 

 garden and truck crops and orchard trees. Among the plants recorded 

 are cabbage, cotton and tomato. 



Natural Enemies. — Many insects attacking other species of cut- 

 worms, as tachinid flies, internal parasites and predaceous ground 

 beetles also prey upon the greasy cutworm. D. W. Coquillett records 

 an instance of an adult histerid beetle (Hister sexstriatus Lec.) 2TG 

 devouring the worms. 



THE ALFALFA SEMI-LOOPER 277 



Phytometra caUfornica (Speyer) 



[Autographa gamma caUfornica (Speyer)] 



(Phisia caUfornica Speyer) 



(Figs. 394, 395) 



Description. — The moths have a wing expanse of about 1J inches, 

 with the body a little over ^ inch long. The fore wings are light 



bluish- gray with rose or 

 rust-colored and light 

 markings, a very dis- 

 tinctive feature of which 

 is one shaped like the 

 Greek letter "gamma" 

 near the middle. The 

 hind wings and body 

 are dull gray. The eggs 

 are hemispherical and 

 pale yellow. 





a 



Fig. 394. — The alfalfa semi-looper, Phytometra call- The young Caterpil- 

 fornica (Speyer). Dorsal and lateral views of the ]„„„ „„„ i;™),*. re^ca^ 

 larva. Enlarged two and one half times. (After idrb dI e 11 5 nl gieen, 



Hysiop, u. s. Dept. Agric.) while the fully-devel- 



opedformsaredarkolive-green,withlight green head, three dark longi- 

 tudinal lines on the body and a dark spot back of each eye. There are 

 three pairs of well-developed 

 front legs, two pairs of abdomi- 

 nal legs just back of the middle 

 and one pair at the extreme pos- 

 terior end. When full-grown, 

 the larvaa attain a length of 

 about 1 inch. The cocoon is 

 loosely spun of white silk, the 

 chrysalis being brownish black, 

 or paler in color. 



Life History. — According to 

 J. A. Hysiop, of the United 

 States Department of Agricul- 



f 1lrp 277 +1™ i 11C! p f .t r»fl««P« tliP Fig - 395 - — Adult female of the alfalfa semi- 

 LUie, i/iiis in&ecL pdbbLS) Liic i ooper Phytometra caUfornica (Speyer). 



winter in the pupal and adult Natural .size. (Original) 



stages. The moths appear early in the spring and are especially 



active, laying eggs in April, May and June in the alfalfa fields. The 



2, °Inseet Life, IV, p. 76, 1891. 



- :T FJyslop, James A.. Bui. No. 95, pt. VII, Bur. Ent. U. S. Dept. Agric., 1912. This 

 insect is called a semi-looper at the suggestion of Dr. Dyar, because it is not a true 

 Iooper of the Family Geometi Idas, 



