REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 277 



come to light at tliat season. This, however, only proves the futility of 

 any attempts of this kind to destroy the moth at that season of the year, 

 for we know that moths were present and ovipositing on the cotton very 

 soon after the young plants emerged from the ground. This is shown 

 by the fact that May 21 a full-gTown larva was found in Dallas County, 

 Alabama, on some small cotton, which was planted April 30 and was 

 well up about May 8. On May 23 another larva was found in the same 

 field. As this cotton was immediately adjoining some which was planted 

 a month earlier, there is a possibility that the larvae were hatched on 

 the latter, and migrated to the place where found ; but in any case it is 

 evident that moths were flying and ovipositing on the cotton while it 

 was yet quite young. Other larvae were observed at this time ; one 

 May 23 on the older cotton, and another Jun^3. These particular 

 instances are cited, as there is no doubt of the identity of the larvae. 

 We believe, however, that they were found even earlier in the season. 

 Colonel Lewis, of Vernon Station, in the Canebrake region, Alabama, 

 found a full-grown larva May 17 ; and May 24 they were reported from 

 two other plantations in the Canebrake. 



Thus we see that there is not as long an interval between the disap- 

 pearance of the last brood in the fall and the appearance of the first 

 brood in the spring as was supposed. In fact the interval is as short as 

 possible ; for the moths oviposit on the cotton as soon as there is suffi- 

 cient food for the larvae. The first larva found by Mr. Trelease this 

 season had consumed several plants. 



A topic of scarcely less interest than the date at which the cotton- 

 worms first appear is the localities in which the first brood occurs. Ev- 

 ery planter with whom we have conversed on the subject informs us 

 that in each locality the worms first appear on a certain plantation, and 

 on a very limited part of that plantation. We examined several of 

 these places carefully, but found no striking local peculiarities. They 

 all agTee, however, in being on low land and where the cotton has a 

 thrifty growth. In connection with this testimony of the planters, we 

 must take into account the fact that they seldom observe the worms till 

 the latter part of June or even till July. It is evident, therefore, that 

 it is the first " crop " of worms that appear in the above described lo- 

 calities, and that the testimony has but little bearing on the origin of 

 the first brood. As yet we have but little data upon this point ; but 

 that which we have indicates that the first brood of worms is scattered 

 indiscriminately over those sections in which they occur. Specunens of 

 the first brood were found by Mr. Trelease on cotton growing on bottom 

 land, in a swamp, on an elevation rising from this, and on a ridge con- 

 siderably distant from the swamp. Thus no local peculiarities of the 

 soil seem to influence the distribution of the worms, except that where 

 the cotton is the earliest the moths first find a place to oviposit. 



We have, therefore, a very interesting problem presented to us. Why 

 is it that if individuals of the first brood of worms occur indiscrimin- 

 ately on cotton growing on wet and on dry land, that the greater pro- 

 portion of the second or third brood (the first crop) is found only on 

 low, wet lands ? The only explanation we can offer, so far, is that in 

 the wet lauds there is but little to check the natm-al increase of the 

 species ; while in dry lands the predaceons insects, especially ants, de- 

 stroy a large proportion of the larvae of the earlier broods. This point 

 will be referred to again under the head of "influence of weather." 



It has often been asserted, especially by those who advocate the theory 

 of immigration of the moth, that the cotton-worm appears first in the 

 western and southern portions of the cotton belt, and progresses regu- 



