THK COTTON-SQUABE BORER. 41 
December 9. He also sent a pupa from Beeville November 29, the 
butterfly from which emerged December 2<>. 
Butterflies of this species arc always common about the cotton field, 
and may be seen laying their eggs upon the foliage. Injury is more 
prevalent, however, when- cotton adjoins or succeeds cowpeas, upon 
which plant the larva 1 feed readily, according to the testimony of 
planters preferring it to cotton. Injury to cotton squares is exactly 
like that done by young bollworms later in the season, but occur- when 
the first squares appear. Often when the squares have been destroyed 
a larva will bore into the young stalk. Local injury to young cotton 
is often quite serious. 
Life history. — The butterflies appear about the middle of April and 
eggs are laid in May. The larvae of this generation are most injurious 
to cotton, and butterflies from tbem emerge late in June and early in 
July. A third brood of butterflies emerges in August. Larvae are 
taken during September and October, and pupae later in the fall, so 
that it seems probable that the winter is usually passed in the pupal 
stage, in old leaves, under rubbish or bark, etc., though sometimes a 
butterfly emerges in December and may hibernate. Mr. Sanborn 
observed the butterflies October 15, 1904, more abundant than at any 
time during the summer. At that time they were feeding on castor 
bean blossoms. The different generations are by no means distinct, 
and quite possibly four ma}' occur in a season. After the first brood 
the larvae are so parasitized that injury to cotton is not usually appar- 
ent, though considerable damage was noticed October 8, 1904, at 
Clay. Tex. 
In addition to the food plants noted in the previous accounts — cotton 
and cowpeas —eggs and larvae have been taken on "goatweed" (Oroton 
capitatu8\ and a single larva, apparently of this species but not reared. 
was found boring into a half-grown peach in May. other fruit bearing 
marks of similar injury. 
The small yellowish or almost transparent e^o: is laid on the leaf 
stem just at or upon the base of the leaf. The female, in ovipositing, 
bends the ovipositor downward and forward, so that she may deposit 
her ego; upon the under side of the leaf though resting 14)011 the upper 
surface. No eggs have been observed upon the squares. The egg- 
hatch in from two to five days. The larva becomes full grown in fif- 
teen or sixteen days in midsummer, though twenty-nine days are 
required in May. The length of tlu^ pupal stage averages about ten 
day-. Thus the complete life cycle occupies about a month. 'Hie 
records of rearings are summarized as follows: 
