THE COTTON BOLLWORM. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



The so-called bollworm, the larva of the moth Ileliothis armiger 

 Hbn. , has long been known as an important enem}^ of cotton. As early 

 as 1841 it was found in the cotton fields around Tallahassee, Fla., 

 where, in the course of a few 3"ears, it became quite destructive. It 

 was seriousl}' injurious to cotton in Alabama in 1847, in Mississippi in 

 1850, and in Louisiana in 1867. By 1879 it had become the principal 

 insect enemy of cotton in Texas, and at the present time ranks second 

 in importance only to the Mexican cotton boll weevil. 



This insect was early the subject of investigation b}' the General 

 Government. In the Patent Ofiice Agricultural Report for 1854, 

 Townend Glover gave an excellent article on the bollworm, detailing 

 the principal points in its natural histor3\ The results of the work of 

 the Division of Entomology and of the United States Entomological 

 Commission on this insect from about 1878 to 1881 are displayed in Com- 

 stock's Report on Cotton Insects, and in the Fourth Report of the 

 United States Entomological Commission by Professor Riley. A sup- 

 plementary investigation of the bollworm was made by Professor 

 Mally,' under the direction of the Division of Entomology, in the early 

 nineties, and the results are set forth in Bulletins 24 and, 29 (old series), 

 issued in 1891 and 1893 respectively. More recently (1897) an account 

 of this species has been distributed in Farmers' Bulletin No. 47 (Insects 

 Affecting the Cotton Plant), by Dr. L. O. Howard. 



As a result of these several publications a knowledge of the boll- 

 worm's life and habits, and of the best methods to be employed in its 

 control, has been quite widely disseminated. Nevertheless, little if 

 any eflfort has been made b}'^ planters during the many years of bollworm 

 injury to check its ravages, and, along with the increased cultivation 

 of cotton from yeai- to year, often to the exclusion of any other crop, 

 the losses from this insect have tended to increase rather than to 

 diminish. 



The considerable injury done by the bollworm during the past two 

 or three yeai's, notably in certain portions of Texas, led to provision 

 by Congress for a further investigation of this insect b^^ the Division 

 of Entomology, and the writer was detailed to the work in Texas. 



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