UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



July, 1922 



BIOLOGY OF THE LOTUS BORER (PYRAUSTA 

 PENITALIS Grote). 



By George G. Aixslie. Entomological Assistant, and W. B. Cartweight. Scien- 

 tific Assistant, Cereal and Forage Insect Investigations, Bureau of Ento- 

 mology. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introductory 1 



Systematic history 2 



Studies at Knoxville, Tenn 2 



Life cycle 4 



Feeding habits on the leaves 5 



feeding habits on the pods 6 



I'upation of the first generation 7 



Page. 



Pupation of the second generation 7 



Habits of the moths 8 



The egg 9 



Food plants 10 



Enemies 10 



Literature cited IS 



INTRODUCTORY. 



In American literature two distinct species have been confused 

 under the name Pyrausta j^enitalis Grote. One of them, the smart- 

 weed borer, has recently been described as new under the name P. 

 ainsJiei by Carl Heinrich (16^), of the Bureau of Entomolog\'. The 

 other, the lotus borer, described originally bj^ Grote (1) and later 

 redescribed by Smith (3) as Botis neIu??iMaIk. has been casually 

 studied by several observers, but up to the present time no complete 

 account of its biology has been available. The two species are closely 

 related and very similar, in many morphological and biological char- 

 acters, to the recently introduced European corn borer, P. mihilalis 

 Hiibner. It seemed possible that a close study of the life history and 

 habits of the two native species might bring to light some facts which 

 would help in determining the potentialities of the new pest. In 

 accordance with this plan the first paper dealing with P. ainsliei from 

 the biological side has already been published {18). The present 

 paper deals with the similar aspects of P. penitalis. Both the results 



^Reference is made by number (italic) to "Literature cited," p. 1" 

 101477—22 



