6 



Farmers' Bulletin 872. 



evening. These moths feed upon nectar of various flowers and when 

 mature the}^ deposit from nearly 500 to almost 3,000 eggs. The 

 eggs (fig. 5) are laid on various parts of the plant and to some extent 

 upon weeds and upon the ground. They are white or yellowish in 

 color, oval, and covered with minute ridges running from top to bot- 

 tom and still smaller ridges across these. They are large enough to 

 be seen readily with the naked eye. The eggs hatch in from 2^ to 8 



days or even longer, 

 depending upon the 

 temperature. 



When first 

 hatched the larvae 

 or caterpillars are 

 extremely small. 

 They feed here and 

 there on the sur- 

 face of the plant 

 near where the eggs 

 were laid, but grad- 

 ually work toward 

 some tender por- 

 tion within which 

 they can bore. 

 Growth is rather 

 rapid, being com- 

 pleted in about 20 

 days. The larva3 

 shed their skins 

 four or five times 

 during this period. 

 AVhen full grown 

 they are about 1^ 

 inches in length. 

 The color varies 

 from pale green to 

 almost black. During the last few days of the life of the caterpillar 

 it is capable of consuming large quantities of food, and it is during 

 this period that it is most destructive. 



When fully fed the larvae leave the plant and burrow into the 

 ground, where they form a kind of cell in which they transform into 

 chrysalides or f)up8e of a mahogany brown color. (See fig. 6.) They 

 remain in this quiescent stage for about two weeks except in the case 

 of the last brood in the fall, which stays in the ground until warm 

 weather the following spring. The depth at which these cells are 

 formed by the larvae in summer varies from 1 to 4 inches according 



-Cotton boll with full-grown lx)llworui 

 tip. Natural size. (Quaintance.) 



iting into 



J 



