No. 2.] Notes. 101 



opening, but occasionally this is hidden by the involucre. Having devoured, or par- 

 tially devoured, the contents of one boll, the worm leaves it for another. Even if, 

 however, the damage to the contents has been slight, rain penetrates through the 

 opening, the boll soon rots and attracts other insects (principally Dipterous and Coleop- 

 terons), which finish the work of destruction. In this way an immense amount of 

 damage can be done by a single larva. 



" As the worms increase in size a great diversity in coloration, and also in markingr, 

 appears. Those individuals which have nearly reached their full growth vary from a 

 dark brown or rose color to a light green, the latter being, perhaps, the predominant 

 shade. Almost every conceivable intermediate stage of color is to be seen, while the 

 markings vary almost as greatly. It seems to be well settled that the green worms are 



most abundant in the spring, while later, as the cottou blossoms out fully the 



pinkish variety becomes more abundant, and the brown worms do not appear in force 

 until fall. 



"In markings the worms vary from almost perfectly immaculate, unstriped indivi- 

 duals, to those furnished with many spots and regular stripes. The commonest (we 

 can hardly say the normal) arrangement of the markings is as follows. Ou each side 

 of the body, extending from the head to the anal joint and including the spiracles» 

 is a broad, whitish, lateral or stigmatal stripe. Just above this is a lesser subdorsal 

 dusky stripe. Down the middle of the back is a narrower, dusky, mediodorsal 

 stripe, including a fine white line, and between this and the subdorsal dusky stripe, 

 in what may be called the dorsal space, are four or five very delicate whitish 

 lines, so delicate in fact as not to interfere with the general color of the body. Of 

 spots there are usually eight dorsally to each abdominal joint, normally black in 

 color, the four dorsal spots arranged trapezoi dally, the anterior pair closed together. 

 These spots are simply piliferous tubercles, and are very constant, a close examina- 

 tion of even the immaculate individuals showing them still to be present, though 

 colorless. Upon the meso-and meta-thoracic joints these tubercles are arranged 

 across the dorsum in a single transverse row. Of the stripes the most constant appears 

 to be the whitish lateral, all the others being more often wanting. That these color 

 varieties are not caused by a difference in food is shown by the fact that all the varia- 

 tions occur in specimens feeding on one and the same plant. Those feeding on matur- 

 ing corn are always dark, however, and the colors brighten in proportion as the 



larvae are exposed and not hidden in feeding The full-grown, well-developed 



worm averages 4 cm. (T57 inches) in length and about 7 mm. (0 27 inch) in diameter. 

 On arriving at full growth the worm works its way to the ground, and choosing a 

 spot where the earth is somewhat compact, rather than loose and friable, burrows 

 beneath the surface and forms a subcyliudrical, straight or sloping gallery to the depth 

 of from 3 to 6 inches. This gallery is slightly closed at its mouth and gradually 



widens towards its lower end, where the worm transforms to a pupa Deprived of 



all earth, we have known the Boll Worm to pupate nakedly, and in apparently as 



healthy conditition as though the surroundings had been normal.... ....Seliotkis 



armigera is an extremely variable species, as would naturally be expected from its 

 multitudinous food-plants and its almost unlimited distribution. Iu general color 



the moths vary from a dull ochre-yellow to a dull olive-green ...Many individuals 



exhibit almost immaculate front wings, while in others the typical markings are deepened. 



In a general experience covering some twenty years with this moth, as found 



in corn-fields iu the West, and covering some half-dozen years in the cotton-fields of 

 the South, we believe that the former are on an average brighter-colored and darker 

 than the latter. The markings of the hind wings, although much move constant than 

 those of the fore wings, vary principally in the breadth and depth of color of the 

 dusky band on the hinder margin, and in the size of the light spots within this band. 

 It is impossible to speak with any degree of definiteness concerning the num- 

 ber of annual broods of the Boll Worm in the Southern cotton-fields. A confusion of 



