A P V E \ II ■ V I 
BBPOBT OF I!, (i. BUBBARD. 
Detroit, Mich, August, 1881. 
Si i: : I have the honor to submit In rewith my report of observations made (luring 
the past season upon Aletia and other insect enemies of cot ton, in the State of Florida. 
These observat ions. begun in Putnam County in the early spring, were extended during 
the month of .June over portions of Alachua County, as f;ir as ( iaim sville, in the 
heart <>f the long-staple district, and terminated in September at Ontreville, in Leon 
County, near the Georgia line. During March and April I made an expedition along 
the east coast, from Daytona i latitude 2 ( J 1"> ) to .Jupiter al tin' southern end of Indian 
River (latitude 'J7 ). In this thinly settled portion of the State, however, cotton is 
only exceptionally grown, but as it is in this region perennial, occasional plants are 
met with, which have escaped from cultivation, and still persist in the neighborhood 
of habitations deserted during tin time ol the Indian wars. Only one cultivated field 
was seen near Daytona, in which the plants, being in the second year of their growth, 
had attained a more than average height, ami were at this date ( March 27) in full 
bloom. They appeared to be free from the attacks of insect enemies. Regarding 
the latter, the information obtained from the settlers along the coast was too meager 
and Unreliable to furnish a basis lor speculation. Alet ia appears to be unknown to 
them, and t hey complain only of tin- depredations of a '';<<7 >}>idtr." probably the 
rust mite. 
In Putnam ( "ounty, cotton has been raised for many \ ears, but t he acreage hasnever 
been large. The plants are killed OUtriffht only in exceptionally severe winters. 
The winter of 1879-VU having been very mild, cotton remained in Leaf and continued 
to bloom during the entire season. Notwithstanding these favorable conditions Aletia 
does not appear to hibernate here. The worms make their appearance every year, 
but alwajfl Very late, and are not noticed by the planters until September or October. 
At Crescent City, in the southern part of Putnam County, my observations, begun in 
February, were continued during the months of Marc h, May, .Inn*', ami the first half 
of .July. During this time I made almost daily search tor Aletia, but failed to find it 
in any of its stages. Only two fields of cot ton were planted the previous season, in 
both of which the caterpillars were first seen in September, shortly after a severe 
easterly storm. After stripping the plants of their leaves, they M webbed up" in great 
numbers upon surrounding objects. In one of the fields young orange trees were 
growing between the rows of cotton, and to these they did some injury by completely 
occupying the leavefl with their clu y sal ids. The cotton stalks put forth new leaves, 
and as there was no frost, continued to make a straggling grow th during the winter. 
Tin later broods of Alet ia appear to have been entirely dest roved by parasites. These 
in turn disclosed and disappeared, so that at the time of my examination none of the 
many pupa* examined were found to contain life of any sort. A small proportion had 
died from unknown causes. 
A much larger acreage of cotton was planted the following year (IStjO) in the same 
and adjoining lields as well as in other parts of the county. I therefore confidently 
expected to tind the first Cotton Worms in May or .Juno. None were seen, however, 
until my return on September V2, when a single full grown caterpillar of Aletia was 
discovered, a prolonged search failing to reveal another. During the first half of 
June I made a trip to Gainesville, journeying overland, through unsettled portions 
of Putnam and into Alachua County, on the southeastern borders of which I found 
the tirst eotton-lields. Dr. F. M. McMeekin (Hawthorne), a large cotton planter, and 
very intelligent observer, furnished valuable information, a portion of which I quote 
from my notes : 
"Aletia comes every yea:. The first worms are all green, slower in their devel- 
opment, and less voracious than later on. The planters all notice this, and some 
believe the early broods to be distinct from the later. They sometimes, when asked 
if they have the worm, reply that they have 1 the green worm.' By the middle of 
