8 
BULLETIN 723, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
'''*<fM. / 
clothes moth of this country. From tip to tip of the extended wings 
it measures from three-fifths to four-fifths of an inch. It is of a 
dark-brown color, the forewings ending in a rather sharp point. The 
hindwings 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. 3) 
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 cy- 
lindrical, white, with 
the dorsal side 
strongly c olored 
with pink. 
The pupa (fig. 4) 
is about two-fifths of 
an inch in length, 
reddish brown, the 
posterior end pointed 
and ending in a 
hooklike process. 
There are several 
insects 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 
cornworm or scavenger bollworm (Pyroderces rileyi vValsingham), 
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 boll- 
worm. Another insect which may be mistaken for the pink bollworm 
is the common bollworm of cotton (Chloridea obsoleta Fabricius). 
This is the same insect that feeds on corn and is known in some parts 
of the country as the corn earworm. It bores holes through the car- 
pels of the bolls, feeds for a short time, and then proceeds to another 
Fig. 2. — The pink bollworm (PcciinopJwra gossypieUa) 
Adult. Much enlarged. (Busck.) 
Fig. 3. — The pink bollworm : Outline drawing of larva, 
showing structure. Much enlarged. (Busck.) 
