NAKED WORMS EATING THE LEAVES 



175 



The Cotton Worm (Alabama argillacea Hbn.) 



Dark greenish caterpillars, striped with black, eat the leaves and 



tender shoots of cotton, attack beginning in a small way early in 



the season, and increasing as 



additional generations of the 



pest are developed. When 



quite small, the caterpillars are 



light green, marked with dark 



spots, and eat only the under 



surface of the leaf, but they 



soon change to the coloring 



noted above, and their work 



is extended to include all of 



the leaf tissue. 



The adult is a brownish moth expanding somewhat over an inch, and 



invades the Southern states, from Mexico, or points farther south. It 



is abundant only at rare inter\'als. Kggs are laid on the leaves, and the 



pupal stage takes place in a folded 

 leaf on the plant. There are three 

 to seven generations annually. 



The application of arsenicals 

 to poison the worms is effective. 

 The ordinary practice is to 

 apply dry Paris green, dusting 



Fig. 202.-Adultof the Cotton Worm. ^^ ^n the plants by means of 

 Original. bags tacked to a pole. 



Fig. 201.— The Cotton Worm. Original. 



The Alfalfa Caterpillar {Enrymus eurytheme Boisd.) 



The leaves of alfalfa, and sometimes of other plants, are eaten by a 

 dark green caterpillar, occasionally abundant enough to be destructive. 

 The worm is naked, one inch long, has a white stripe down each side, 

 obscurely broken by small red and black dots, and sometimes dark 

 stripes down the middle of its back. 



The adult is a j^ellow butterfly, expanding about two inches, its wings 



