Farmers' Bulletin 819. 



to burrow into the soil for pupation it is about an inch and a half 

 long. 



'Kie pupa, or quiescent stage (Fig. 1, e), which is spent in the 

 ground, measures about three-fourths of an inch in length and is 

 brown — almost the color of mahogany. 



The adult, or parent (Fig. 1, a), of the budworm is easily distin- 

 guished from other insects found in tobacco fields. It is a greenish 

 moth with a wing spread of about 1| inches. The forewings are of 

 a beautiful greenish color, obliquely crossed with three lighter lines, 

 and the hind wings are whitish, bordered with a brownish fringe. 



NATURE AND EXTENT OF INJURY. 



Injury to the plants, which is entirely the work of the larvae, or 

 worms (Fig. 1, h, c), takes })lace as soon as the tiny larvae, hatching 

 from eggs laid on the leaves, reach the bud, although usually it is 

 several days before planters become aware of the damage. The 

 leaves of the bud have been developed somewhat, and examination 



reveals the presence of the 

 small holes, which have in- 

 creased in size. When these 

 holes are made in the tips of 

 the leaves in the developing 

 bud, misshapen leaves often 

 result ; when the attack is 

 made elsewhere large, un- 

 sightly holes develop as the 

 leaf tissue expands (Fisr, 2'). 

 In both cases the leaves are 

 unfit for cigar wrappers, and 

 must be placed in the lower 

 grades, often at a loss of as 

 much as $1 a pound. In grow- 

 ing tobacco for cigars it is nec- 

 essary to produce entire leaves. So complete would be tlie loss in 

 Georgia and Florida if no control measures were practiced against 

 the budworm that the industry would have to be abandoned. Before 

 the present investigation was begun the budworm was controlled 

 entirely by use of the Paris green and meal mixture. In spite of the 

 use of this insecticide as a means of control, the average loss per acre 

 in shade-grown tobacco was estimated at $37.50. This was due in 

 part to burning by the poison and in part to incomplete control of 

 the insect. 



or 



Fig. 1. — The tobacco budworm : a. Adult 

 moth ; b, c, full grown larva, from sid^ 

 and from above ; d, seed pod bored into 

 by larva; e, pupa. Natural size. (How- 

 ard.) 



HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The tobacco budworm is a very serious pest in the tobacco-growing 

 sections of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana. Although 

 common in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, it is much 

 less injurious there than in the more southern part of its range. It 

 is rarely injurious in Kentucky and Tennessee. It has been recorded 

 from Missouri, Ohio, and Connecticut. Perhaps the earliest record 

 of injury by this insect dates back to 1797. At that time Smith and 



