370 REPORT UPON COTTON INSECTS. 



no difficulty in working their maxillae, forming small oval holes as in all of the fruits 

 previously mentioned. As the fruit of the jujube ripens, its hard skin cracks in places, 

 and these are utilized by the moths, which are thus spared the labor of forming open- 

 ings for themselves. In all of these cases the juices are removed from the fleshy part 

 of the fruit, reducing this to a fibro-spongy mass. When feeding, the moths often col- 

 lect in such numbers as to completely cover the fruit, and several may be seen at the 

 same time with their proboscides inserted into one opening in the skin of the fruit. A 

 curious thing that I repeatedly noticed, but which may not always occur, is that when 

 feeding on fruits the moths usually vibrate their antennae very little, while in feeding 

 on nectar they keep them constantly in rapid motion. Though I saw no instance of it 

 myself, I am informed that the moths sometimes feed upon decaying pomegranates, 

 but do not trouble those which are sound. 



When flying from one place to another, and especially after being disturbed, the 

 moth moves with a peculiar darting flight, which renders it exceedingly difficult of 

 capture; but when visiting the involucral glands of cotton or the glands on the peti- 

 oles of the coffee-weed, I have noticed that it often hovers with a steady motion from 

 the lower part of the plant upward, though in a few cases I saw this order reversed. 

 When at rest, as is the case from sunrise to sunset, the moth clings to the lower surface 

 of the leaves of cotton, the cow-pea, and such other plants as it finds convenient to its 

 purpose, or occasionally to the petioles or stems of these plants. When settled on a 

 leaf I have found that the moths most often stand with their heads turned toward the 

 base of the leaf. When standing on a leaf-stalk they likewise usually have their heads 



Eointing to the stem of the plant. When at rest on the stem I have noticed that their 

 eads are most often turned toward the ground. I have a few times noticed frightened 

 moths alight on the horizontal petioles of cotton-leaves, clinging to the sides of them 

 with their heads directed upward. 



The sense of sight appears to be quite well developed in these moths. Not only do 

 they often see an approaching person, but they possess some notion of color. Their 

 color sense is evinced by the following facts : One day, between sunset and dark, while 

 watching large numbers of moths, I noticed that many of them flew directly at the 

 bright-orange but odorless and uneatable berries of the thorny hedge-plant, but, 

 having reached the berries, they immediately flew away again. It was also no- 

 ticed that they select the red (ripe) jujube berries for food, discerning them at some 

 distance, though surrounded by green ones ; yet here the sense of smell may possibly 

 have aided them. When only one or two attack a peach I have observed that they, like 

 birds, choose the rosiest side. While standing without a coat, a little after sunset, I 

 found that numbers of moths flew against the sleeves of my white shirt, and when 

 standing after dark beneath a tree in which a lantern was hung so that its rays fell on 

 me, I found that many of them flew against my white hat. These observations seem 

 to show that at least the colors orange, red, and white are recognized by these moths. 

 This color sense is implied in the remedy spoken of in the Patent Office Report for lHr>,">, 

 page 76, viz., hanging white flags in the cotton-fields for the moths to lay their eggs 

 on. Though I often used an open lantern in making my observations, I did not find 

 that many moths of this species were attracted to it. Occasionally one would buzz 

 against it when there were hundreds all about it, but by far the greater number of them 

 ignored it entirely. Some few were attracted into the house by lights, but they formed 

 a very insignificant part of those within a few rods of the house, where they could 

 not fail to see these lights. My experience seems to show that an unsteady, flaring 

 light, as from a blazing pine-knot, is far more attractive than the steady light of a 

 lantern. 



Concerning the sense of smell in these moths, I have only negative evidence to offer. 

 At different times all through the season, and constantly until the first of July, baits 

 of the following sorts were exposed : vinegar and molasses in varying proportions ; 

 rum and molasses ; beer and molasses ; dried apples soaked in beer sweetened both 

 with sugar and molasses, vinegar or rum being added occasionally. These baits were 

 exposed in shallow vessels, smeared on the trunks of trees and on old stumps, &c., 

 while the last mentioned was hung in various places about the cotton-field. Some 

 were watched several hours 'after dark, others were poisoned .and the ground about 

 them examined early in the morning ; yet not above half a dozen adult Aletlas were 

 captured in this way, most of the victims being moths of other species, cockroaches, 

 a few beetles, and some small leaf hoppers. This seems to show that Aletia is not very 

 sensitive to odors such as these baits produce, and which are found so attractive to 

 many moths of the noctuid group. Early in the season overripe plums were crushed, 

 sweetened, and allowed to ferment before being exposed to the visits of insects; but 

 the species attracted by this bait were similar to those just mentioned. In early Sep- 

 tember, when the moths of Aletia were very abundant, scuppernoug grapes were treated 

 in the same way, and these did attract numbers of these moths. 



Whatever may be the sense or combination of senses guiding it in the instinct which 

 leads it to deposit its eggs on nothing but the cotton-plant, I cannot say, but so far as 

 I know, the moth never oviposits on anything else. 



