16 



As early as 1853 its distribution, according- to Guenee,^ was "Central 

 Europe, North America, South America, East Indies, New Holland, 

 and probabl}^ in other countries of the globe." 



At the March meeting of the London Entomological Society in 1869 

 specimens of the bollworm moth were exhibited by a Mr. Bond from 

 the Isle of Wight, Java, and Australia. 



Mr. Grote, a well-known student of the Noctuidae, to which family 

 our insect belongs, has expressed the opinion that it is native to 

 America, especially because it feeds here on some peculiarly American 

 genera of plants. Its rare occurrence in Europe as compared with 

 its abundance and destructiveness in America is also cited, and from 

 its occurrence in Australia and Java the query is raised: Has it not 

 reached Europe from America by a westward route ? As bearing on 

 this point it is to be noted, as has previously been mentioned, that 

 usually species introduced into a new country become much greater 

 pests than in their original home, and on this basis the bollworm 

 should be added to our already long list of imported pests. 



Mr. J. G. O. Tepper, of the Public Museum of South Australia 

 (in lit.), says: 



The species [Heliothis ohsoleta] appears to be indigenous throughout the continent 

 [Australia]; a specimen was brought by the Elder exploring expedition in 1892 

 from a till then uninhabited region in Central Australia, and c>f the pale variety. 



Mr. E. El. Green, the well-known student of scale insects, says: 



The very fact of extensive damage by any insect may of itself almost be accepted 

 as proof of its foreign origin. Looking over the list of the different scale insects 

 occurring in Ceylon,.! find that all of the more troublesome species have been pre- 

 viously described from some other country and are, therefore, presumably imported 

 insects. 



In America, however, we have numerous nativo insect species that 

 are first class pests, as the Colorado potato beetle, the plum curculio, 

 and others, so that the argument as applied to our conditions loses 

 much of its force. 



More data of this character could be presented, but would serve no 

 useful purpose in clearing up the question of the native home of the 

 bollworm. Hardl}^ anything can be inferred from a consideration of 

 the food plants of the insect, for it is practically omnivorous. Its pre- 

 ferred food plant in the United States is corn, and probablj^ also 

 throughout its range in other countries where this crop is grown. Its 

 second choice in this country is cotton, a plant which has for centuries 

 been grown in man}^ parts of the world. Its third choice is probably 

 tomatoes, a plant held to be native to Peru. 



Except in the United States but little has been recorded concerning 

 its parasites, and these are all native to America. 



«Lep. Npc, II, p. 181. 



