INSECTS INJURIOUS TO TOBACCO 217 



Life History. The pupae pass the winter several inches below 

 the surface of the soi) and from them the moths emerge in May and 

 June, according to the latitude and season. The females deposit 

 their eggs singly, upon the lower surfaces of the leaves, from which 

 the little caterpillars hatch in from four to eight days. The char- 

 acteristic work of the larvae is too well known to every tobacco 

 grower to necessitate description. The caterpillars become full 

 grown in about three weeks, during which time thev moult some 



FIG. 182. Southern tobacco- worm (Phlegethontius sexia): a, adult moth; 

 6, full-grown larva; c, pupa natural size. (After Howard, U. S. Dept. 

 Agr.) 



five times. The full grown larvse are three to four inches long, of 

 a dark green color with white stripes on the side of the body, those 

 of the northern species having a V-shape, while those of the south- 

 ern species being simple oblique hands. At the tip of the abdomen 

 is a stout horn, from which is derived the name of hornworm, 

 which in the northern species is black and in the southern is red. 

 The pupse are formed in the soil, are dark brown, about two inches 

 long, and have a peculiar handle-like process, the sheath of the 



