THE PINK BOLLWORM 
Fig. 1. — The pink bollworm (Pec- 
tinophora gossypiella ) : Adult. 
Much enlarged. (Busek.) 
Presidio and Brewster Counties, Tex. In all these cases the in- 
festations were caused by seed from the Lacuna. The insect has 
frequently been found alive in freight cars coming from the interior 
of Mexico to Texas border ports. 
DESCRIPTION AND LIFE HISTORY 
The pink bollworm has four stages; namely, egg, larva, pupa, and 
adult, or moth. The moth (fig. 1) resembles somewhat the common 
clothes moth of this 
country. From tip 
to tip of the ex- 
tended wings it 
mea sur es from 
three-fifths to four- 
fifths of an inch. 
It is of a dark- 
brown color, the 
f orewings ending 
in a rather sharp 
point. The hind- 
wings are somewhat 
broader than the 
forewings and end 
in an even sharper 
point. The eggs are very small objects, somewhat 
oval, about one-twenty-fifth of an inch long and 
one-fiftieth of an inch broad. The surface is white 
and finely wrinkled. The larva (fig. 2) when first 
hatched is glassy white with light-brown anterior 
markings. It grows rapidly, and when mature 
measures nearly a half inch in length. It is cylindrical, white, with 
the dorsal side of a strong pink color. 
The pupa (fig. 3) is about two-fifths of an inch in length, reddish 
brown, the posterior end pointed and ending in a hooklike process. 
Several insects are found in bolls of cotton in the United States 
which may be mistaken for the pink bollworm. One of these is the 
so-called pink corn worm or scavenger bollworm (Pyroderces rileyi 
Walsingham), 
which frequently is 
found in decaying 
bolls, especially 
those which have 
been injured by 
disease. It has 
not been known to 
attack healthy bolls. It does not normally make its way into the 
seed, and this fact will help in distinguishing it from the pink 
bollworm. Another insect which may be mistaken for the pink 
bollworm is the common bollworm of cotton (Heliothis absoleta 
Fab.). This is the same insect that feeds on corn and is known in 
some parts of the country as the corn ear worm. It bores holes 
through the carpels of the boll, feeds for a short time, and then pro- 
ceeds to another boll. In the early stages it sometimes assumes 
Fig. 2. — The pink hollworm : Outline drawing of 
showing structure. Much enlarged. (Busek ) 
larva, 
i 
