16 



be readily recognized by the two rows of triangular, velvety-black 

 spots extending down the back, as shown in figure 15. Four or five 

 broods occur in a year in Texas. These caterpillars have never been 

 reported as seriously injurious to cotton, but they often do consid- 

 erable local damage to the squares and bolls. B}^ picking them off of 

 the young cotton when chopping in the spring, they may be largely 

 controlled. 



Leaf-cutting ant {(Ecodoriia fervens Say.). — Especially in southern 

 Texas, cotton, as well as fruit trees and garden crops, often suffers 

 from the devastations of the leaf -cutting ants, which cut off pieces of 

 the leaves and carry them to their nests. Here they form the founda- 



FiG. X^.—Pa-pai-pema nilela:' a, female moth; 6, half-grown larva; c, 

 mature larva in injurerl stalk; d, lateral view of abdominal segment 

 of same; e, pupa— all somewhat enlarged (from Chittenden). 



tion upon which grows a fungus which is the food of the larvae. These 

 ants are one of the worst insect pests in the Tropics. Recently Prof. 

 M. T. Cook, entomologist of the Cuban department of agriculture, has 

 found that by sprinkling Paris green freely around the entrances of 

 the nests the ants will carry it into the nests and the larvae will be 

 killed by it at slight expense. This promises to be the best means 

 of controlling the ants where there are many nests, as in Cuba. The 

 remed}^ which has been most used for this and ants with similar 

 habits consists in injecting carbon bisulphid (locally known in Texas 

 as '"high life") and then closing the holes with earth. The heavy 

 fumes will descend into the nest and destroy the occupants. The 

 amount necessar}^ will depend upon the size of the nest, as an indi- 

 vidual nest is often quite large. 



