106 



PESTS OP THE COTTON PLANT. 



plentiful, the insect becomes very abundant, increasing rapidly in warm 



weather. This insect has 



also been reported as 



attacking the flowers of 



Hibiscus at the Saharan- 



pore Botanical Gardens. 



There are no definite 



broods, insects of all ages 



being found together. 



Reproduction ceases if 



food is not abundant, 



the mature insects alone 



being found. This may 



also occur in the cold 



weather, though it is 



not invariable, and in 



Western India all stages 



may be found in the 



cold weather. 



FIG. 125. 



The Red Cotton Bug, 



If the insect becomes abundant, it weakens the plant and also 

 destroys the seeds. This is the principal damage it causes to cotton, one 

 that is not attributed to the right cause in most cases, as there may be 

 nothing to show what injured the seeds when they are picked. The 

 sucked out seeds are useless for either sowing or for oil extraction, and 

 there may be a very considerable loss from this cause. If the boll is 

 open and the insects congregate among the lint to reach the seeds, the 

 lint may be stained by the excreta, and this form of damage is more 

 readily detected. 



Remedies. Many methods of dealing with this insect have been 

 suggested, most of them impracticable. The insect being large and 

 vigorous, insecticides require to be very strong in order to kill it, and 

 this damages the cotton in some cases. A simple method of destroying 

 it in large quantities is to collect the insects by hand. Each cooly has 

 a small grain winnow (soop) and a kerosene tin with a small quantity 

 of kerosene. The insects are shaken off the plant with a smart tap into 

 the winnow ; the winnow is then jerked and the insects fall into the 

 lower upturned portion, from which they are thrown into the kerosene 

 tin. The method is extremely simple and readily understood. Very few 

 insects escape from the grain winnow, and once in the tin their death is 

 certain. The pest is so readily checked by this means that it need never 

 increase excessively. Where seed for planting is obtained from fields 



