78 



according to Mr. Parker, is the princii:)al drawback to the extensive 

 phmting of the velvet bean in that section for either winter pasture 

 or hay, as it leaves no foliage on the plants to be fed to stock or to be 

 cured, nor, in fact, vegetation to plow under for fertilizing. For sev- 

 eral years velvet beans have been planted, and invariably the caterpil- 

 lars alone w^ere benefited. Many fields and a small grove have been 

 badly damaged. In the groves 50 to CO per cent of the plants were 

 injured ; in open fields injury w^as still greater. 



Our correspondent had heard of several complaints of this cater- 

 pillar destroying velvet beans. A Mr. J. A. AVillis, Alger, Fla., had 

 had his crop ruined for several years. 



The caterpillar of this species is long and slender, c3dindrical, the 

 last pair of legs projecting backward and spreading. The body is 



sparsely coated Avith 



■itilf 



black 



arise 



white 



tuber- 



h 



Pig. 20. — Anfirarsia gemm((tilis: a. moth; b, larva, dorsal view; 

 c, head, seen from front; d, first abdominal segment, lateral 

 view— n, /(, enlarged; c, d. more enlarged (original). 



rather 



hairs wliicli 

 from small 

 button-like 

 cles. The head is 

 large, a little wider 

 and higher than the 

 body, rounded, and 

 with a slight notch 

 in the, middle. The 

 head is orange yel- 

 loAV or greenish yel- 

 low with a few 

 small blackish dots. 

 The general color of 

 the body varies from 

 dull green to olive l)rown, which becomes yellow in inflated speci- 

 mens. It has a number of fine white lines, one dorsal, two lateral — 

 separated by a blackish shade — and a distinct yellow and white pair 

 along the stigmata or breathing holes, Avith a little dark edging below. 

 It has eight pairs of legs. The mature larva measures about one 

 and one-half inches in length, and one-sixth inch in width. Alto- 

 gether it is an attractive species, as will be seen by the illustration 

 (fig. 20, h). The character of the head and the arrangement of the 

 stripes on the sides of the body are shown at r and d, respectively. 



The moth is also ornamental in spite of its somewhat somber 

 colors — dull brownish gray with darker brown shades arranged as 

 shown in the figure at a. The body is stout and narrowed to the apex. 

 The expanse of the fore-wings is about one and one-half inches. 



If the velvet bean should come into general use in Florida and 

 neighboring States, the extermination of this caterpillar is apt to 



