[6] REPORT 4, UNITED STATES ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 



August worms of darker color begin to appear. Last year (1879) he lost half of hi^ 

 crop by^ ravages of Aletia. The worms were first observed ' as early as June/ in a 

 low spot, a sort of sink-hole, in the middle of a field. In September they destroyed, 

 in a few days, one-half of his crop. He used no remedies of any kind. In hoeing the 

 cotton, every plant passes under the eye of the farm hand, who could, if he were in- 

 telligent or ordinarily observant, easily detect the worms when they first began, or 

 soon after, and with little labor they might be checked. Negroes are, however, not 

 competent to do this. They are superstitious, and very reluctant to destroy the worms, 

 because of their belief in its ' divine mission.' Possibly, Chinese laborers might be 

 trained to destroy the worms in this way. Dragon flies are seen every year to destroy 

 numbers of the moths. They are particularly abundant in Florida. 



''More dreaded, in this section of the country, than Aletia, is the ' Red Bug' {Dya- 

 dercus suturellus Herrich-Schaeffer), a coral-red Hemipteron, with elytra edged with 

 white. It appears in the field as soon as the bolls begin to ripen and crack. It sucks 

 only the seed, but stains the cotton, and injures the fiber. In some years they destroy 

 every boll; in others do little damage. They are more destructive in the southern 

 counties, and do not appear to range very far north of this point." 



Underneath Dr. McMeekin's gin house I found the "Red Bugs" in countless num- 

 bers and in all stages of growth ; many of the adults were in copulation, but the 

 eggs could not be found. They were running over piles of waste cotton seed, upon 

 which they lived exclusively. 



At Gainesv^ille a political convention was in session, and I met and conversed with 

 many cotton planters from different parts of the State. Few of these gentlemen had 

 information of much value to impart. In regard to Aletia, their knowledge had genk- 

 erally been derived from experience in other States, and I was struck with the small 

 importance attached to its depredations, especially in the southern portions of this State . 

 It was universally reported to make its appearance so late as to do but slight injury 

 in ordinary years. From Mr. W. H. Robertson, of Gainesville, I obtained the follow- 

 ing notes: "Aletia comes later now than formerly. In 1871-'72-'73-'74 the worms 

 did much damage. In 1874 the cotton was all eaten up by August 21. They began 

 to be very numerous about August 18. On August 21, having efaten all the cotton, 

 some of them went to work on sugar cane in an adjoining field, but soon died upon 

 it. In 1875, they were not observed until just before frost came, and were all killed 

 by the cold. The worms always appear first in a particular part of the field, usually 

 where the growth is rankest, and this with such absolute certainty that if not fouud 

 there they need not be looked for in other parts of the field. They never attack the 

 cotton until it has reached a certain raaturity. He has never seen the worms before 

 the end of June, usually not until late in August ; sometimes not before October. 

 Last winter, at Gainesville, there was frost, and even ice three or four times during 

 the winter, but it did not seem to do the least harm to vegetation, and did not kill or 

 injure young tomato plants. He thinks the frosts, which lasted only a few hours, 

 would not have killed the pupa of Aletia. 



" The ^Red Bug' (Dysdercua) has never been known to destroy a crop in this part of 

 the county. If cotton is planted three times in succession in the same field, the *Red 

 Bug' appears with certainty. It injures the sale of cotton, staining it yellow. Some- 

 times a few bales have to bo picked over because of it, but it never has done much 

 harm here. He used to have a few Boll Worms, but has not seen them for eight years. 

 Cut-worms are sometimes bad in sandy soil. Red Bug is only bad in rich ' hammock' 

 land. Never has had the Northern Army- worm. Some short-staple cotton is planted, 

 but usually long-staple, Mr. R. thinks the short-staple is more subject to attacks of 

 Aletia than the long-staple. No one uses Paris green or other poisons because of the 

 great difficulty of applying them on long-staple cotton, which makes a very heavy 

 growth. At this date (June 10), when riding through the cotton, the tops of some 

 plants can be locked over the saddle-bow, and later on it will be much higher." 



John S. Livingston (Orange Springs) says, "Red Bug {Dysdercus) was bad thirty to 

 thirty-five years ago, but has not done much damage since. The caterpillar (Aletia) 

 came after the Red Bug ceased to do injury. Twenty- two years ago Aletia was very 

 bad for the first time everywhere in the State. There had been a few for ten to thir- 

 teen years before." 



Isaac Roberts (6 miles from Gainesville) has lived here since 1833, at which time 

 this part of the State was wilderness, and no cotton raised. He thinks the caterpil- 

 lar was known to damage cotton where raised in more northern portions of the State 

 at that early date. In Alachua County, which at that time included all the country 

 between the Saint John's and Suwannee Rivers, cotton was not raised until after 1842. 

 The worm was here at the earliest date. He has never seen Aletia earlier than July, 

 generally not before August 1. It frequently does not appear until October, as was 

 the case last year (1879). He never has been damaged by Red Bug (Dysdercus), and 

 knows very little about this insect from personal experience. They are seen in his 

 cotton, but not in suificient numbers to do harm. 



