68 
HABITS OF NEWLY HATCHED LARY^ ON COTTON. 
The feeding habits of the newly hatched larv^ have a very impor- 
tant bearing on the question of poisoning and have for this reason been 
rather careful!}^ studied. The habit of eating the deserted eggshell 
has already been described. After this follows a period of very pre- 
carious existence for the young larvae. They begin to wander about 
in search of suitable food, here and there rasping the epidermis of the 
leaf or involucre where they happen to be, and passing on to repeat 
the process. They are not satisfied to remain on the leaves, and very 
often reach some tender growing tip soon after hatching. This is 
usually to their liking, and the}^ remain and feed for some time upon 
the tender foliage. The}" do not sta}" long, however, and are soon 
again on the move after a short interA^al. If a square is next .found 
they at once crawl Vjeneath the involucre and begin feeding. Other- 
wise they may feed to a slight extent on a leaf, or another growing 
tip, until a square is finalty found. 
During the search for proper food many of the larvae perish; in fact 
the great majorit}" of them do. A number of times during the summer 
from 100 to 150 eggs or newly hatched larvae placed on a cotton plant 
have yielded only four or five larvae after a few days. This is much 
in excess of the number of eggs usually laid on a plant, and serves to 
show what an enormous number of the larv^ die in the presence of 
food in plenty. 
One thing which is important and should be borne in mind is that 
the larvae almost always feed to some extent on large leaves or tender 
foliage before the}" begin feeding inside the squares. If the}- are to 
be poisoned it must be largel}^ during this period of external feeding. 
EFFECT OF EXTERNAL CONDITIONS ON NEWLY HATCHED LARV.E. 
The 5"oung larvae feeding on corn early in the spring are often 
washed down by rain and submerged for considerable periods. To 
test their ability to withstand such conditions a number were experi- 
mented upon in the laboratory. Twent}^ newly hatched larvte were 
entangled in a bit of cotton and submerged for seventeen hours. All 
but four survived the immersion. Larger larvae can not stand such 
long periods, but when dropped into water make feeble attempts to 
escape, becoming stupefied after a few minutes. 
CHARACTER OF INJURY. 
The characteristic habits of the larger bollworms, like those of the 
newly hatched larvae, are utterly difi'erent on corn and cotton and must 
be considered separately. 
