58 
PAPERS OX INSECTS AFFECTIXG VEGETABLES. 
Fig. 9. — The sugar-beet webworm 
{Loxostege sticticalis) : Moth. 
Twice natural size. (Reengraved 
after Insect Life.) 
GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE SUGAR-BEET WEBWORM AND 
NATURE OF ATTACK. 
The parent of this webworm (fig. 9) belongs to the lepiclopterous 
family Pyralida?, and is a tawny-brown, active moth, or " miller," 
with a wing expanse of about 1 inch. 
It is larger and more conspicuously colored than the garden web- 
worm which is shown in figure 10. 
The moths deposit their pearly-white 
eggs singly or in rows of from two to 
five or more, usually on the under side 
of the leaf. When deposited in rows 
they overlap more or less. Each female 
moth is capable, under normal condi- 
tions, of depositing at least 200 eggs. 
From these eggs hatch the small larvse, 
or "worms." When first hatched the 
"worms" are whitish, with black heads, 
but as they feed and increase in size 
they become green, with dark markings. 
The very young larva? eat small holes in the under side of the leaves 
without, however, cutting through the upper epidermis, but as they 
increase in size they consume almost the entire leaf, with the excep- 
tion of the larger veins and the petioles. The "worms " prefer the 
older leaves, and unless the food supply is nearly exhausted do not 
eat the young leaves at the 
center of the plant. YThen 
full grown the "worms," 
which are slender and 
about an inch in length, 
leave the beets and burrow 
in the soil, usually close 
about the infested plants, 
and spin tubelike cases in 
which they later pupate. 
The pupa? are slender, 
yellow-brown, inactive ob- 
jects, from which during 
the summer months the 
moths issue within a few days. The moths, after issuing, feed on 
the nectar in alfalfa or other blossoms and within a few days mate 
and are ready to commence depositing eggs for another generation 
or brood of "worms." 
c 
Fig. 10. — The garden webworm (Loxostege simi- 
'lalis i ; a, Male moth ; h, larva, lateral view; c, 
larva, dorsal view ; d, anal segment ; e, abdominal 
segment, lateral view ; f, pupa ; g, cremaster. 
a> o, c, f 3 somewhat enlarged ; (I, e, g, more en- 
larged. (After Riley, except c, from Chittenden.) 
