78 



according to Mr. Parker, is the principal drawback to the extensive 

 planting of the A'elvet bean in that section for either winter pasture 

 or hay, as it leaves no foliage on the plants to be fed to stock or to be 

 cured, nor. in fact, vegetation to plow under for fertilizing. For sev- 

 eral years velvet beans have been planted, and invariably the caterpil- 

 lars alone were benefited. Many fields and a small grove have been 

 badly damaged. In the groves 50 to 60 per cent of the plants were 

 injured ; in open fields injury was still greater. 



Our correspondent had heard of several complaints of this cater- 

 pillar destroying velvet beans. A Mr. J. A. AVillis, Alger. Fla.. had 

 had his crop ruined for several years. 



The caterpillar of this species is long and slender, cylindrical, the 

 last pair of legs projecting backward and spreading. The body is 



sj^arsely coated with 

 rather stiff black 

 hairs which arise 

 from small white 

 button-like tuber- 

 cles. The head is 

 large, a little wider 

 and higher than the 

 body, rounded, and 

 with a slight notch 

 in the middle. The 

 head is orange yel- 

 low or greenish yel- 

 low with a few 

 small blackish dots. 

 The general color of 

 the body varies from 

 dull- green to olive brown, which becomes yellow in inflated speci- 

 mens. It has a number of fine white lines, one dorsal, two lateral — 

 separated by a blackish shade — and a distinct yellow and white pair 

 along the stigmata or breathing holes, with a little dark edging below. 

 It has eight pairs of legs. The mature larva measures about one 

 and one-half inches in length, and one-sixth inch in width. Alto- 

 gether it is an attractive species, as will be seen by the illustration 

 (fig. 20, h). The character of the head and the arrangement of the 

 stripes on the sides of the body are shown at c and r/. respectively. 



The moth is also ornamental in spite of its somewhat somber 

 colors — dull brownish gray with darker brown shades arranged as 

 shown in the figure at a. The body is stout and narrowed to the apex. 

 The expanse of the fore-wings is about one and one-half inches. 



If the velvet bean should come into general use in Florida and 

 neighboring States, the extermination of this caterpillar is apt to 



Fig. 20. — Anticarsia gemmatilis: a, moth; 6, larva, dorsal view; 

 c, head, seen from front; d, first abdominal segment, lateral 

 view — o. b, enlarged; c, d. more enlarged (original*. 



