REPORT ON MISCELLANEOUS COTTON INSECTS 



IN TENAS. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Economic entoniology Ints heretofore been concerned with but a few 

 of the many species of insects affectino- the cotton phmt. Tlie h»af 

 caterpillar and bollworni, and recently the l)oll weevil, hav(^ l)een 

 exhaustivel}^ studied as being the most important insect enemies of the 

 cotton crop, but ver^' little attention has l)een given to numerous 

 others which frequently cause more or less injury. 



The reason for this is found in the manner of the g-rowth of cotton, 

 the methods of its culture, and the nature of the injury done l>y these 

 miscell!in(H)us insects. C'otton is one of the most rank growing of all 

 our staple crops, is cultivated over large areas, and matures its fruit 

 normally for over a month, Consequenth', any insect which does onh' 

 local injury, which does not entirely destro}' the young plant, and which 

 does not defoliate the older plants nor destroy the most of their fruit, 

 has ])een hardly worth combating; for the planter coidd better afford 

 to stand th(» loss than to attempt fighting these pests by artificial 

 means. 



But with the advent of the boll weevil, and the consequent necessit}' 

 for early cotton and intensive culture with reduced acreage, conditions 

 have somewhat changed, and injuries which before were unheeded are 

 now decried as further reducing the small mai'gin of profit in the 

 weevil district. Any insect which destroys the young plants, necessi- 

 tating replanting, or which checks their growth while young, prevents 

 an earh^ maturity and consequently exposes the crop more to the 

 attacks of the weevil; and later in the season when the weevil has 

 levied its hea^y tax upon the crop, any additional injury by insect 

 pests seems a most onerous loss to the planter. 



These considerations led to the investigation of the cotton insects of 

 Texas reported below. A single season is far too short a time in 

 which to thoroughly cover so large a subject over a State with such 

 varied conditions, and the writer full}" appreciates the incompleteness 

 of this report. However, he has endeavored to collect or refer to all 

 the available information concerning the economic aspect of the species 

 treated, so that these notes may form the basis for a further and more 

 exhaustive treatise upon cotton insects in the future. 



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