﻿57 
  

  

  (3) 
  Spodoptera 
  mauritia 
  Boisd. 
  

  

  This 
  moth 
  occurs 
  commonly 
  in 
  these 
  islands, 
  in 
  fact 
  at 
  one 
  

   time 
  was 
  a 
  serious 
  pest. 
  Mr. 
  Perkins 
  says 
  that 
  their 
  numbers 
  

   were 
  greatly 
  reduced 
  after 
  the 
  introduction 
  of 
  the 
  Mynah 
  birds, 
  

   these 
  birds 
  feeding 
  largely 
  upon 
  the 
  caterpillars. 
  The 
  species 
  

   occurs 
  also 
  in 
  Mauritius, 
  West 
  Africa, 
  Southern 
  Asia, 
  and 
  

   thruout 
  Oriental 
  and 
  Australian 
  regions. 
  

  

  The 
  caterpillars 
  feed 
  upon 
  grasses, 
  and 
  I 
  have 
  found 
  them 
  on 
  

   young 
  sweet 
  corn 
  and 
  peas, 
  also 
  on 
  a 
  sedge 
  {Cyperus 
  rotundus), 
  

   commonly 
  called 
  "bulb 
  grass" 
  or 
  "nut 
  grass," 
  which 
  is 
  a 
  

   troublesome 
  weed 
  in 
  lawns 
  and 
  gardens. 
  At 
  the 
  Experiment 
  

   Station 
  of 
  the 
  Hawaiian 
  Sugar 
  Planter's 
  Association, 
  they 
  were 
  

   found 
  feeding 
  on 
  very 
  young 
  sugar 
  cane 
  seedlings 
  during 
  January 
  

   and 
  February, 
  1906. 
  They 
  were 
  first 
  discovered 
  on 
  January 
  3d, 
  

   when 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  the 
  tiny 
  green 
  larvae 
  were 
  found 
  on 
  very 
  small 
  

   cane 
  seedlings 
  in 
  propogating 
  boxes. 
  A 
  few 
  of 
  these 
  larvae 
  were 
  

   found 
  each 
  day 
  for 
  several 
  days 
  thereafter; 
  on 
  one 
  day 
  (Jan. 
  10), 
  

   twenty-five 
  were 
  found. 
  Although 
  very 
  small, 
  the 
  cane 
  plants 
  

   were 
  also 
  very 
  small 
  (one 
  to 
  two 
  inches 
  in 
  height), 
  and 
  if 
  a 
  

   larva 
  had 
  fed 
  for 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  days 
  upon 
  a 
  plant 
  before 
  discov- 
  

   ery, 
  the 
  plant 
  was 
  nearly 
  destroyed; 
  so 
  that 
  quite 
  a 
  little 
  trouble 
  

   and 
  some 
  loss 
  was 
  caused 
  by 
  these 
  caterpillars 
  during 
  the 
  months 
  

   mentioned. 
  Usually 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  caterpillar 
  would 
  be 
  

   found 
  on 
  a 
  plant, 
  but 
  occasionally 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  four 
  were 
  found. 
  

   Being 
  green, 
  and 
  so 
  small, 
  they 
  were 
  most 
  easily 
  detected 
  by 
  

   first 
  seeing 
  the 
  partially 
  dead 
  leaf 
  where 
  they 
  had 
  eaten, 
  as 
  they 
  

   began 
  near 
  the 
  apex 
  of 
  the 
  leaf 
  and 
  continued 
  downwards, 
  eating 
  

   the 
  mesophyll 
  and 
  leaving 
  the 
  opposite 
  epidermis. 
  On 
  being 
  

   disturbed 
  they 
  dropped 
  to 
  the 
  ground 
  by 
  a 
  fine 
  silken 
  fiber, 
  and 
  

   curled 
  up. 
  Several 
  of 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  were 
  reared 
  to 
  maturity. 
  

   Life 
  History. 
  — 
  The 
  eggs 
  of 
  this 
  moth 
  are 
  spherical, 
  vertically 
  

   striated, 
  and 
  laid 
  in 
  clusters 
  on 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  some 
  object. 
  They 
  

   are 
  usually 
  in 
  one 
  layer 
  and 
  in 
  regular 
  rows, 
  and 
  covered 
  by 
  a 
  

   few 
  hairs 
  from 
  the 
  body 
  of 
  the 
  moth; 
  100 
  to 
  300 
  eggs 
  per 
  cluster. 
  

   I 
  have 
  found 
  them 
  on 
  leaves 
  of 
  banana 
  and 
  oleander 
  at 
  a 
  distance 
  

   of 
  five 
  feet 
  from 
  the 
  ground. 
  At. 
  the 
  H. 
  S. 
  P. 
  A. 
  Experiment 
  

   Station 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  egg 
  clusters 
  have 
  been 
  observed 
  on 
  the 
  

   outside 
  of 
  the 
  insectaries, 
  one 
  as 
  high 
  as 
  ten 
  feet 
  from 
  the 
  ground. 
  

   A 
  hatched 
  cluster 
  was 
  found 
  in 
  a 
  shed 
  where 
  the 
  boxes 
  of 
  cane 
  

  

  