PESTS OP THE COTTON PLANT. 



the pupa is from fourteen to eighteen days, after which the moth 



emerges. 



The moth is less than half an inch in length, the antennae filiform, the 

 palpi upturned, the gen- 

 eral colour grey brown 

 with dark blotches and 

 suffusions, the wings 

 with long brown fringes. 

 The moth cannot easily 

 be distinguished from 

 other Tineid moths by 

 its appearance alone. 

 Moths fly at night and 

 dusk : they are attracted 

 by light and are readily 

 captured in lamp traps. 



The pink boll-worms 

 are most abundant when 

 the cotton forms bolls 



i 



FIG. 105. 



Pink Soil-worm Caterpillar and Cocoon, fliejormer 

 magnified, the latter natural size. 



in October or earlier ; the active period is during the rains and after ; 



in many parts of India the 



larvae hibernate in the cold 

 weather, but this is not the case 

 for instance in South Gujarat. 

 In Behar the larvae live through 

 the cold weather in the lint or 

 seed of the cotton, emerging as 

 moths only in March or April ; 

 their further activity depends 

 upon circumstances, the moths 

 laying eggs then if cotton is 

 available. There may be a 

 further period of rest during 

 the dry hot months before 

 the rains. Actually larvae have 

 been found active in all months 

 of the year, but there are two 

 main periods of rest, from 

 November to March and from 

 April to June, depending upon 

 climatic conditions and the supply of food. 



FIG. 106. 



Pink Boll-worm Moth. (Magnified six 

 times.) 



