42 



OVIPOSITION. 



The eggs are laid usuall}^ in the earl}^ part of the evening, between 

 sundown and dark. During the summer months the moths are not 

 infrequently seen %ing and ovipositing on cloudy or dark days, or 

 ver}^ rarely even on bright ones, but this is the exception. Egg la^dng 

 l^egins some two or three days after emergence from the ground if the 

 female has been fertilized by the male; otherwise it may be delayed 

 for some days longer. Quite often solitar}^ females kept in confine- 

 ment in the laboratory deposited large numbers of infertile eggs, but 

 this probably rarely happens in nature. 



On account of the different circumstances surrounding oviposition 

 on corn and cotton, the process on these respective plants will be con- 

 sidered separatel3^ 



OVIPOSITION OX CORN. 



Although the moths which appear in early spring from hibernating 

 pupae lay a few scattering eggs on other plants, such as various garden 

 vegetables, b}^ far the greater number of them confine their oviposition 

 to young field corn. As soon as the corn has attained a height of from 

 10 to 16 inches oviposition begins, but it does not become general until 

 the plants are somewhat more advanced, like those shown on Plate IV, 

 figure 1. The earliest records in Texas for 1904 are: Victoria, March 

 26; Beeville, March 28; Austin, March 31; Calvert, April 2; Terrell, 

 April 22; Paris, April 20. After these dates the eggs become gradually 

 more abundant, although variable in number, scarcely ever being 

 entirely absent in corn fields until the ripening plants later in the season 

 become no longer attractive to the moths. 



The following table, compiled by Mr. F. C. Bishopp from counts 

 made on young corn during the spring of 1904, shows the average 

 deposition at that time: 



Table V. — Oviposition on early corn. 



Date. 



Locality. 



Height of plant. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 plants ex- 

 amined. 



Total 

 number 

 of eggs. 



Approxi- 

 mate 

 number 

 eggs per 

 plant. 



1904. 

 Apr. 23 

 Apr. 24 

 Apr. 25 



Corsicana, Tex 



li to 2 feet 



200 



150 



10 



66 



383 







0.33 





1 to 4 feet 



2.5 



Houston, Tex 



l^feet 



1 to 8 feet 







Apr. 26 

 Apr. 27 

 Apr. 28 



Victoria, Tex . ... 



150 ! 22 

 125 ! 40 

 125 40 



0.14 





2 to 3 feet 



0.32 



Waco, Tex 



8 inches to 2 feet 



1 to H feet 



0.32 



Apr. 29 

 May 3 



Arlington, Tex 



125 

 150 



32 

 150 



0.26 



Paris Tex 



1 to 2 feet 



1 









These records are practically^ the first which show any considerable 

 number of eggs present. Deposition throughout the remainder of the 

 season is shown in the two following tables, one from Calvext, Tex., 



