248 INSECTS AFFECTING VEGETATION 



cowpeas, goatweed and various weeds. The larvae have also been 

 commonly found on hops, beans, and cowpeas, and seem to prefer 

 the latter to cotton. 



Fortunately for the planter, the large majority of the cater- 

 pillars are usually parasitized by flies about the size of the house- 

 fly and also by small, wasp-like hymenopterous insects. The para- 

 sitic flies lay their eggs upon the caterpillar, and the maggots hatch- 

 ing from them bore into the caterpillar and feed upon its tissues, 

 ultimately killing it and emerging from it or the pupa as adult 

 flies. Over 90 per cent of the June brood have been found thus 

 killed. It is usually hardly worth while, therefore, to attempt to 

 combat this insect, as it is not often seriously injurious in the same 

 locality year after year. Should remedial treatment be necessary, 

 thorough dusting with Paris green would probably answer the pur- 

 pose, as the young caterpillars, as do bollworms, feed to some extent 

 upon the foliage before entering the squares. 



The Cotton Leaf-Bug. This insect was the cause of consider- 

 able damage in northern Texas in August and September, 1904. 

 It punctured the squares and young bolls, either causing them to 

 drop, or making the bolls shrivel or decay where punctured. The 

 punctures in the bolls are indicated by small round black spots 

 resembling diseased places, which gradually become larger and 

 sunken. This insect has been known as a common inhabitant of 

 cotton fields for many years, but injury seems to have been rare. It 

 may be readily recognized by the bright red spots just beyond the 

 middle of the wing. The young are light green marked with red. 

 Several annual generations of the insect occur, but its habits outside 

 of the cotton field are unknown. No successful means of combating 

 it has yet been devised. 



Other Plant-Bugs. Similar injury to bolls, causing black spots 

 and shrinking or decay, is caused by the large green plant bugs 

 variously known as pumpkin bugs, stink bugs from the very dis- 

 agreeable odor emitted and by other local names. The most com- 

 mon of these is bright green in color, and is undoubtedly a decidedly 

 injurious insect, as it has been known to attack orange trees in 

 Florida and strawberries and other garden crops elsewhere. 



The leaf-footed plant-bugs injure the bolls in the same manner. 

 These insects are also serious enemies of peaches and tomatoes in 

 Texas. They breed commonly on thistles and should be destroyed 

 wherever found. 



Two other bugs somewhat resembling the so-called cotton 

 stainer, though of a slaty or bluish color, margined with yellow or 

 red, are frequently found in considerable numbers on the bolls and 

 do some damage. The young nymphs feed upon low-growing weeds 

 and have not been observed on cotton. 



Click-Beetle. A small species of click-beetle is frequently 

 found on cotton blossoms and squares and working around holes 

 made by the bollworm or square borer. It is of interest because 

 frequently mistaken for the boll weevil where that insect is not well 



