102 



PESTS OF THE COTTON PIANT. 



beetle is gradually formed. The beetle that emerges is of a dark 

 bronze colour, hard, with legs, wings and antennae. It measures one-third 

 of an inch in length and is recognisable by its colour, its size and 

 its truncated appearance in 

 front. 



It emerges through the 

 thin bark left by the grub. 

 Having mated, the female 

 beetle lays eggs and dies. 



These beetles are not 

 easily noticed in the] cotton 

 fields. They fly actively 

 and are sometimes found on the leaves of the plant. There may be 

 as many as four irregular broods during the cotton season; the 

 first is a small one and only few plants are destroyed ; the second is a 

 large one, the beetles of the first brood laying many eggs ; the third 

 brood is large but is liable to suffer much from parasites; the fourth 

 brood may be very small and is not important, the cotton having been 



FIG. 115. 



Stem Sorer Larva. 



FIG. 116. 

 Pupa in stem. 



FIG. 117. 



Stem Sorer Pupa. 

 (Magnified three times.) 





FIG. 118. 

 Hole where Beetle emerges. 



picked before its arrival. These broods are quite irregular and not well 

 marked, since the beetles do not all come out at once. The destruction 

 to the plants will be noticed when flowers come out ; it may be seen 

 earlier, depending upon the growth of the cotton, 



