184 REPORT UPON COTTON INSECTS. 



Ants on the egg and larva, but the eggs are so much more numerous than the ants 

 that the eggs arc not missed. [J. A. Callaway, Snowdown, Ala. 



The small red ant. [Woebomc Young, Magnolia, Ark. 



The ant preys upon the egg and worm to a certain extent. [William A. Harris, 

 Isabella, Ga. 



Ants of many kinds are found preying on them in good weather, but not in bad, and 

 this is the reason given why the worm increases so much faster in rainy wet weather 

 than In dry and fair weather. The cotton fields have many enemies of the worm out 

 in fair weather devouring eggs and worms, but rain and rust drive these enemies 

 back to their retreats, and the worm breeds without let or hinderance. [Douglas M. 

 Hamilton, Saint Francisville, La. 



Of late years the ant has proved to be the greatest enemy both to the egg and larva. 

 I entertain the belief that they will ultimately destroy the worm should it prove to be 

 indigenous rather than of foreign origin. [Dr. I. U. Ball, Bayou Sara, La. 



Tne common ant maintains an equilibrium when it is not too wet. The ant will 

 destroy the eggs unless the rainy weather keeps it in its retreat. This is the reason 

 that a dry season is never a caterpillar one. [James C. Brown, Barnesville County, 

 North Carolina. 



The family in its different stages are preyed upon by ants. [A. W. Hunt, Denison's 

 Landing, Tenn. 



Tho little black ant will devour the eggs. [P. S. Watts, Hardin County, Texas. 



Some species of the ant will prey upon the egg. [O. H. P. Garret, Brenham, Tex. 



Ants. [P. S. Clarke, Hempstead, Tex. 



Ants. [Samuel Davis, Greenville, Tex. 



Ants prey upon the egg, larva, and chrysalis. [S. B. Tackaberry, Moscow, Tex. 



Nothing but the small ant. [S. Harbert, Alleyton, Tex. 



la dry weather the little ants that are to be found everywhere prey upon them when 

 they get knocked off on the ground ; or when the snn drives the ants up the stalk for 

 protection they attack the chrysalis, &c. [Natt Holman, Fayette County, Texas. 



Ants. [ J. H. Krancher, Millheim, Austin County, Tex. 



Ants are their common enemy. [George W. Hazard, Rutledge, Ala. 



In addition to this testimony to the efficacy of the ants, we will add that of Mr. 

 Trclease, who says : 



From their great numbers and indefatigable industry, ants are probably among the 

 most important of the enemies of the cotton-caterpillar. Individuals of many species 

 swarm everywhere on the cotton plants, to which they are attracted night and day by 

 Aphides and nectar. On many cotton leaves there are places where some larva has 

 oaten the parenchyma.of the lower surface, but the most careful search fails to dis- 

 cover the larva. Though not invariably so, these places are often eaten by very young 

 larvae of Aletia, and as these are not to be found, it looks as though they had been re- 

 moved by some enemy, probably ants, though I have never seen ants attack very small 

 caterpillars. In July a number of caterpillars were collected in the bottom-land, to 

 which they were principally couiined at that time, and placed on cotton growing in 

 dry, sandy soil, care being taken to see that there were no ants on this cotton when 

 the larva was placed on it, for my insects in breeding-jars in the house had suffered 

 so much from the depredations of ants that I was always afraid of their attacking 

 larvae that I wanted to study in the field ; and these particular caterpillars had been 

 removed to the cotton indicated because I wished to make observations on their habits, 

 and wanted them as near the house as might be, which at that time the only larvae to 

 be found in numbers were about a mile from where I was living. Within two hours 

 of the time of placing them on this cotton, each of these larvae was found by several 

 ants, and these soon collected numbers of their fellows, whose combined attacks so 

 worried the larvae that they threw themselves from the plants and were soon killed 

 and carried off by their small but persistent enemies. On several other occasions 

 partly grown caterpillars were killed and carried off in this way by this species and a 



