44 
‘*The moths spend the winter evidently in hibernation,” since exam- 
ination of the ovaries of many of the females appearing in the fall 
failed to show the ova developed in any case. 
During the same season Mr. Vernon Bailey, of the Biological Sur- 
vey of this Department, observed this beet army worm in large num- 
bers on the foliage of young sugar beets in a field near Eddy, now 
Carlsbad, N. Mex. According to Mr. Bailey’s notes (which were 
accompanied by specimens), the first occurrence was noted June 19, 
1899, and the larvee were doing much damage to sugar beets in the 
Pecos Valley near Roswell and Eddy. Extensive areas, including in 
some cases entire fields, were destroyed, necessitating replanting and 
sometimes the abandoning of the crops. The crop of that region was 
generally injured. Mr. Bailey informs the writer that a sugar-beet 
factory started at Eddy has since been put out of operation, and sugar 
beets have been raised there since only toa limited extent for feeding 
stock. The cultivated portion of the valley lies mainly in the Lower 
Sonoran life zone, but is so near the Upper Sonoran zone as to have a 
mixture of the species from the latter. 
During the summer of 1901 Mr. A. N. Caudell, of this office, spent 
some time in the collection of insects in portions of Colorado, and 
gathered some material found injurious to cultivated crops. Among 
this was the beet army worm, all stages of which were found on sugar 
beet at Palisades, Mesa County, and at Delta. At the latter place 
larvee were captured also on table beet, although they did not occur 
on this variety of the plant in injurious numbers. 
In a letter dated February 4, 1902, Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell fur- 
nishes the writer the information that this species, which he listed on 
page 35 of Bulletin No. 24 of the New Mexico Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station, as occurring in Mesilla Valley, New Mexico, had been 
reared by him from the larva depredating on cultivated onion. 
EARLIER RECORDS. 
The first record that appears to have been made, unpublished hith- 
erto, however, was by Mr. D. W. Coquillett, when employed as 
field agent of this Division in California. May 25, 1882, he found the 
larva at Anaheim, Cal. The following day the lary spun their 
cocoons, and moths began issuing on the 14th of the following month. 
At the latter date more larvee were found, of all sizes, feeding on 
corn, Chenopodium album and Amaranthus retroflerus. Some of the 
largest were placed in rearing cages, and June 22 crept beneath the 
litter in the cages and spun yery thin cocoons. ‘The moths issued 
the second week in July. An extended search for larve was made in 
the field July 8, but without success. November 5 still other larvee 
were found in the above-mentioned locality feeding on a species of 
