THE COTTON STATXER. 97 
seed rather than from the excrement of the hugs. The wrii 
observations support this view in regard to the source of the stain, 
for an examination of a considerable amount of seed cotton which* 
had been badly stained by the bugs showed almost invariably that 
the stain was most intense immediately surrounding the seed. (Pi. II, 
fig. 3.) Sometimes it is only the fibers at one end of the seed that are 
affected, but more often all of the fibers attached to a damaged seed 
are more or less brownish at their bases while at the outer ends they 
rarely show traces of stain. It is inconceivable that the excrement 
of the cotton stainers should stain the fiber in such a manner. More- 
over, according to the writer's observations the amount of excrement 
is too small to result in any appreciable damage. On one occasion 
as many as a dozen adult cotton stainers have been observed on a 
single plant feeding on the seed of the open bolls with no trace of 
stain that would be expected if the insects voided their yellowish 
liquid excrement with sufficient frequency to damage the lint. In 
the laboratory S specimens, including -f males and -i females. 
were confined in a cage, the bottom of which was covered about an 
inch deep with seed-cotton having pure white fiber. In 10 days, 
during which the bugs fed on a green cotton boll and a piece of orange 
rind, the cotton seed and the lint were unstained, although in one or 
two instances excrement had been voided on the sides of the cage. 
While there is undoubtedly some staining of the cotton fiber, due to 
the excrement of the bugs from the evidence at hand, the writer con- 
cludes that damage from this source is inappreciable. 
At present the cotton stainer is the most destructive cotton pest 
in Florida and presumably does occasional damage to cotton in 
Georgia and neighboring portions of South Carolina and Alabama, 
where its occurrence has been recorded by Dr. L. O. Howard.' 7 Its 
outbreaks are sporadic, however, and rarely occur over large areas. 
Dr. E. H. Sellards, formerly entomologist at the Florida Agricultural 
Experiment Station, reports that the cotton stainer was abundant 
in 1904, and in one instance it was claimed that the complete de- 
struction of 25 acres of long-staple cotton was due to this insect. 
In 1902, Smith & Johnson, of Hawthorn, ginned about 1,000 bales 
of long-staple cotton, of which about 200 bales were classed as stained. 
Fortunately, owing to the gregariousness of the bugs, the badly 
stained cotton is usually brought to the gins in concentrated lots. 
The staining of the cotton by the cotton stainer means a loss oi about 
one-half of its value when at its worst. Intermediate prices are 
brought for different degrees of damage. 
Mr. Johnson, who is a member of the firm mentioned above and 
who has had considerable experience with the cotton stainer. has 
« Bui. 33, Office Exp. Sta., i>. 349; also Farmers' Bui. 47, p. 30, 1800. 
*> Rep. ETa. Agr. Exp. Sta. for fiscal year ending June 30, L905, p. 27, 
22348— Bull. 8G— 10 7 
