THE BOLL WORM HIBERNATION. 373 



three broods feed usually in corn-fields. The first brood makes its ap- 

 pearance about the 1st of May or a little before, and feeds almost 

 exclusively upon the leaves and terminal buds of corn. The second 

 brood, appearing in early June, feeds upon the tassels and forming ears; 

 and the third brood, which corresponds nearly with the second brood 

 at the North, appears in July and feeds upon the hardening corn, bor- 

 ing through the husks and pupating underground, as its predecessors 

 have done. At the time of the appearance of the next brood, however, 

 the kernels of corn have become hard, and in preference the moths 

 oviposit upon cotton, which at this time bears many bolls of a suffi- 

 ciently tender age. Previous to this, however, worms will have been 

 found n])on cotton which have attained their full growth, with no other 

 food than the leaves and flowers of this plant. These cases are, how- 

 ever, exceptional, although by no means very rare. Other crops on the 

 plantation suffer from these worms during the early part of the season, 

 and in speaking of the early corn-feeding habits we are treating only 

 of the bulk of the brood. 



The first time, then, that the Boll Worms are to be seen in force upon 

 cotton is about the first of August, and these worms are usually repre- 

 sentatives of the fourth brood. Our observers are unanimous in stating 

 that from this point there are two broods on cotton, the second brood be- 

 ginning about the second or third week in September and entering the 

 ground to pupatefrom the first to the middle of October. Occasionally the 

 final transformation for the season may take place considerably earlier. 

 Thus Dr. G. W. Smith -Yaniz has reported a worm which entered the 

 ground September 22 and remained in the pupa state all winter. Nor- 

 mally, in fact, the Boll Worms disappear some time before the Cotton 

 Worms do. Here, again, in treating of the last two broods upon cotton 

 we speak only of the bulk of the brood, for some few larvae are always 

 to be found feeding upon the hard kernels of corn until late in the Fall. 



If, as we have stated, there are three normal broods a year as far 

 north as New Jersey, Ohio, and Northern Illinois, then in South Caro- 

 lina, North Georgia, Tennessee, and Arkansas there are probably four 

 broods, and as many as six in South Texas and Florida. 



HIBERNATION. 



There can be no doubt whatsoever that the normal method of hiberna- 

 tion is in the pupa state. We have already described the pupa cell, and 

 given the dates for the disappearance in the fall and the appearance 

 of the moths in^:he spring ; so little more need be said under this head. 

 Concerning the moths which, induced by a warm autumn, issue too late 

 to find food for their progeny, we are at a loss to say what becomes of 

 them. Judging from analogy, it would seem as if there were nothing 

 to prevent them from hibernating; yet the fact remains that among the 

 enormous number of moths either captured by us or our assistants; or 

 sent to us by correspondents, during the past four years, as hibernating 



