THE COTTON WORM OR COTTON CATERPILLAR. d 



ington, D. C, between September 19 and October 29. On Sep- 

 tember 23 they were observed at Pittsburgh, Pa., and at Pliiladel- 

 phia on the same date. By September 25 they were found in great 

 numbers in New Haven, Conn., and on October 13 at Orono, Me. 

 Large numbers of specimens were observed in September at Mil- 

 waukee, Wis., and also at Ottawa, Canada. 



Many of the moths which flew northward were found upon fruits 

 of various kinds, wliich they punctured for the purpose of feeding. 

 Peaches, apples, grapes, and other fruits were attacked in this 

 manner and fears arose among fruit growers that an important new 

 pest had appeared. 



POSSIBILITY OF AN OUTBREAK IN 1912. 



The cotton moth is of South American origin and does not survive 

 the mnters in the United States, except when the temperatures are 

 above the normal or when individuals obtain unusual shelter. 

 Whether there ^vill be an outbreak in 1912 depends upon two con- 

 tingencies: First, whether any of the moths bred in 1911 succeeded 

 in surviving the winter in tliis country; and, second, whether a new 

 invasion from South America takes place. 



Careful searches for the moth have been made in favorable locali- 

 ties in the southern part of the cotton belt during the past winter. 

 This investigation has extended from Brownsville, Tex., to South 

 Carolina. No live moths have been found. Mr. J. D. Mitchell, of 

 this bureau, placed chrysalides of the moth in rearing cages at Vic- 

 toria, Tex., in the fall of 1911 and found that by the end of January 

 they were all killed by the cold. These two facts seem to indicate 

 that all of the moths produced in the United States in 1911 failed to 

 survive the winter. 



It is extremely difficult, however, to find the moth in hibernating 

 quarters, and the failure to find specimens is far from conclusive 

 proof that they do not exist; but there is another consideration 

 which bears out the conclusion that the moths bred in this country 

 in 1911 were all killed during the winter. This is that the history of 

 the outbreaks of the cotton worm in the United States show that the 

 insects were all killed during winters in wliich the temperatures fell 

 below the normal. The winter of 1911-12 was abnormally cold 

 throughout the cotton belt. 



Our conclusion, therefore, from all sources of information on which 

 dependence can be placed, is that the only fear of an outbreak during 

 1912 is in a reinvasion of the United States from more southern 

 localities. There is one fact which seems to indicate that there may 

 possibly be such a reinvasion. The chronology of the outbreaks of 

 the insect in this country from the earlier accounts shows a distinct 



