11 



Eo-gs are deposited more or less generally over all parts of the plant. 

 The bollworm on hatching will ii.suall}^ at once devour the eggshell 

 from whicli it has just escaped. If the place of its birth be on a bud, 

 square, or flower, it may soon penetrate within. If on a leaf, stem, 

 or petiole, it soon 

 ))egins to crawl up 

 and down, here and 

 there, over the plant, 

 searching for the ten- 

 der buds or squares. 

 In the course of this 

 more or less aimless 

 wandering from one 

 leaf or part to an- 

 other, it feeds freely 

 enough to insure its 

 death if poison be 

 present on the plants. 

 The average distri- 

 bution of eggs over 

 the cotton plants, 

 therefore, has an im- 

 portant bearing on 

 the subject of boll- 

 worm control by the 

 use of poisons. 



During August, 

 1903, moths were 

 watched late in the 

 evening while they 

 were ovipositing on 

 cotton, and an accu- 

 rate record was made 

 of the number and distribution of the eggs placed on the plants. The 

 combined record of the eight moths observed is as follows: 



Distribution of bollworm eggs on cotton plants. 



Eggs deposited on — 



Leaves, upper surface 40 



Leaves, lower surface 44 



Squares 35 



Flowers 11 



Leaf stalks (petioles) 11 



Stems 15 



Bolls 5 



Weeds in cotton field 27 



Total number of plants deposited on 63 



191 



Fig. 4. — Roasting ear infested by bollworm — natural size (original). 



