9 



It would seem that this pest, feeding as it does within the leaf, is 

 not susceptible to treatment with poisons placed on the surface. This 

 would be true were it not for the habit of the larva to migrate from 

 place to place, as pointed out by Mr. Quaintance. He says: 



In feeding a larva does not pass its entire life at one place, but after eating for a 

 while it will chew to the outside, and after crawling around over the leaf will enter 

 the tissue again in a new place. A knowledge of this migratory habit is possibly of 

 value, as it suggests a means for treating this insect, in that it must chew the out- 

 side of the leaf to some extent in leaving and entering the leaf, and hence might be 

 poisoned. As a rule, the lower five or six leaves are infested worse than those higher 

 up on the plant. 



From the above it is evident that an arsenical spray, such as the 

 Paris-green mixture recommended for the flea-beetle, will also be 

 effective for the splitworm. It is well, however, to emphasize again 

 cultural methods and preventive measures. For example, if the 

 plants are sprayed before the eggs hatch, the very young larva? will be 

 killed in attempting to gnaw through the surface of the leaves. All 

 solanaceous weeds about the 

 field should be destroyed as 

 well as badly i 4 blotched*- 

 leaves and infested stalks. 

 After harvesting the crop 

 all stalks, stumps, and rub- 

 bish should be collected and 

 burned, since many of the 

 larva? and pupa?, and possi- 

 bly hibernating moths, will 

 be destroyed, which will 

 greatly reduce the numbers 

 of the pest likely to attack 

 the following crop. 



THE FALSE BUDWORM. 



(Heliothis obsoleta Fab.)« 



This pest is widely distrib- 

 uted in the United States 

 and southern Canada and is 

 a very general feeder. The 

 principal products subject to its attack are the ears of maize, cotton 

 bolls, the fruit of the tomato, and the buds and seed capsules of 

 tobacco. Other food plants recorded are pumpkins, peas, beans, and 

 hemp. Meyrick records the species from the islands of Hawaii, 

 Maui, and Lanai. and Blackburn from Maui and Oahu. 6 



Fig. 4.— The false bud worm [Heliothis obsoleta). a. Adult 

 moth: b, dark full-grown larva; c. light colored full- 

 grown larva: d, pupa— natural size (from Howard). 



a H. armiger and H. conferta are synonyms. 



& Fauna Hawaiiensis, Vol. I, Part II, p. 152, 1899. 



