42 
THE ZEBRA CATERPILLAB,. 
{Mamestra picta Harr. ) 
The zebra caterpillar is a conspicuous garden pest, particularly- 
attached to vegetables, showing some preference for beets and spinach, 
Fig. 39. — Mamestra picta: a, female moth; b, abdominal segments of male m.oth; c, pale form of larva, 
lateral view; d, larva, dorsal view; e, pupa— all somewhat enlarged (original. Division of Ento- 
mology). 
oabbage, celery, peas, and asparagus, and feeding at times on nearly 
all forms of vegetation, including cereals, weeds, and the foliage of 
trees. As previously mentioned, it bears the 
distinction of being the first insect reported 
to affect beets in this countr3^ The moth 
(fig. 39, a) resembles in general contour the 
progenitors of cutworms belonging to the 
same group of insects. It has a wing expanse 
of about an inch and a half; the fore- wings 
and thorax are brown, shaded with darker 
purplish brown, and the hind- wings are white, 
tipped with pale brown at the margins. The 
larva or caterpillar (fig, 39, c, d) is somewhat 
variable, but the head is red and the ground 
color yellow, more or less strongly marked 
with black, the stripes on the sides suggest- 
ing the name of zebra caterpillar. The larva 
when first hatched from the Qgg is dull gray 
and looks quite unlike the mature form. 
Two views of the newly hatched larva are 
presented in figure 40, a., J, while the third stage is shown at c. 
This species is quite abundant in the North, becoming most trouble- 
a h c 
Fig. 40. — MamcHtra picta: a, b, 
newly hatched larva; c, larva 
of third stage— much enlarged 
(original, Division of Entomol- 
ogy). 
