ENTOMOLOGY 247 



is the red bug or cotton stainer. This insect was never prevalent 

 except in Florida, Georgia, and neighboring portions of South Caro- 

 lina and Alabama. It is probably a West Indian species. Of late 

 years, and more especially since cotton culture in Florida has given 

 place to extensive orange culture, it has largely transferred its atten- 

 tion to the orange fruit. Earlier generations of this insect dam- 

 aged the bolls by puncturing them and sucking the sap, causing 

 them to become diminutive or abortive. Later, however, they en- 

 tered open bolls, puncturing the seed and damaging the fiber by 

 their yellowish excrement. These stains were indelible and greatly 

 depreciated the value of the cotton in the market. The indelibility 

 and beautiful color of the stains at one time suggested the use of 

 the insects in making dyes. Experiments showed that the entire 

 substance of the insect could be converted into a rich orange-yellow 

 dye, which could be readily fixed upon woolens or silks by the alum 

 mordant liquor, and that an ochreous yellow lake could be made 

 from them by precipitating the coloring matter with gelatinous 

 alumina. There has been, however, no commercial adoption of the 

 results of these experiments. The best remedy against this species 

 is suggested by the fact that in winter it will collect in numbers on 

 piles of cotton seed, which can then be used as traps and the inseets 

 destroyed by the application of hot water. 



The Stalk Borer. This insect, which is quite different from 

 other common borers, being black, with white stripes in its early 

 stages, has been noticed boring into the stems several inches above 

 the ground and causing the plants to wilt. It commonly feeds in 

 various weeds, most commonly in the so-called bloodweed. 



The Snowy Tree Cricket. Mention should be made of the eggs 

 of this insect, which are deposited in the stalks of cotton and various 

 common weeds in the fall, since they have been frequently thought 

 to be eggs of the boll weevil. These eggs are laid in a long row, 

 leaving a long scar, composed of numerous punctures on the surface. 

 They are deposited in the fall after the cotton is about grown and 

 do no harm, so far as we are aware. The young which hatch from 

 them the following spring, as well as the adults, feed very largely 

 upon plant-lice, and are therefore more beneficial than injurious. 



The Cotton Square-Borer. During late May and in June cotton 

 squares are often bored into by a small green caterpillar which many 

 planters consider a stage of the bollworm and others have called the 

 sharpshooter. Injury from this cause is often quite serious for a 

 short time on a small area, as we have seen 10 per cent of the stalks 

 entirely denuded of squares in small fields where this insect is 

 abundant. The caterpillars hollow out the squares in the same 

 manner as does the bollworm, often destroying all of those on a plant 

 knee high and even boring into the stalk. They are bright green, 

 oval, decidedly flattened, covered with short hairs which give them 

 a velvety appearance, and with the head retracted under the front 

 of the body, being quite unlike any stage of the bollworm. They are 

 the lame of a dainty little butterfly which is very common around 

 cotton fields. The eggs are laid on the leaves and stems of cotton, 



