24 



FARMERS BULLETIN 890. 



assumption that they puncture the squares and bolls. They do 

 puncture the stalks and la}^ their eggs in the leaves just under the 

 surface, forming a blisterlike mark. 



INSECTS IN DECAYED AND DRY BOLLS. 



Cotton bolls which have become affected by anthracnose and 

 other diseases furnish an attraction to man}^ bugs and beetles, which 

 no doubt often are instrumental in spreading 

 the infection. Very few of these insects found 

 feeding in the rotten spots have any primary 

 importance to the . cotton plant. Dry bolls 

 which have matted fiber are often filled with 

 small beetles, little white "worms," and larger 

 pink ''worms." These are all feeders on de- 

 cayed matter. (The pink "worms" are not to 

 be confused with the pink bollworm ^ of cotton 

 which ultimately may become a pest in this 

 country, the larvae of which will be found in 

 the winter in bolls with healthy fiber, in seeds, 

 or in cells formed by uniting two seeds.) Boll- 

 weevil larviP, pupte. and adults frequently may 

 be found in cells in old bolls, which in addition 

 may serve as shelter for other pests. As some 

 of the insects which are merely scavengei-s in cotton bolls are 

 recorded as injurious on other plants, it is important that aU cotton 

 plants be disposed of as 

 soon after the cotton is 

 picked as is practicable. 



THE DOUBLE ROLE OF 



ANTS. 



Of course every cotton 

 field has its ant colonies. 

 When the ants are large 

 species, such as the leaf- 

 cutting ant 2 or the Texas 

 agricultural ant,^ the 

 colonies should be des- 

 troyed as described un- 

 der the paragraph on 

 the former (p. 13). The smaller ants which swarm over the 

 cotton plants are very helpful in ridding the plant of many enemies. 



Fig. .30. — a blister beetle, 

 Epkauta lemniscata. En- 

 larged. (Chittenden.) 



Fig. 31.— .\ cotton wireworm, Monocrepidiris vespertinus: a, 

 Larvii, or wireworm, side view; 6, same, top ^•iew; c, adult, 

 or beetle: d, pupa. Much enlarged. (Chittenden.) 



Pectinophora gossypiella Saunders. 

 ^Attatexana Buckley. 



Pogonomyrinei barhatus motefaciens Buckley. 



