[12] REPORT 4, UNITED STATES ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 
As the earlier broods did riot fall under my observation, there may be a question as 
to their number, but the season of 1880 being an early one, it is probable that the first 
brood was no later in making its appearance than in former years, when grown worms 
were seen early in May. In this case the first brood will have begun in April. The 
two larva 1 found by Mr. Roberts on June 5, and which pupated on the following day, 
will then fall into the second brood ; and the moths appearing about the middle of 
the month, an interval of thirty days remains to be occupied by the third brood. 
During this period the eggs were scattered over the entire plantation, and as their 
deposition was probably continued many days, the succeeding generations became 
confused. 
The past season has been hot, and with an unusual amount of rainfall, particularly 
•during the month of August, conditions which are usually regarded as favorable to 
the development of Aletia, and unfavorable to enemies, but which at Centreville do 
not appear to have hindered in the slightest degree the spread of certain parasites — 
notably the minute egg parasite (Trichoyramma). 
My observations upon the egg of Aletia simply confirm what has been already noted 
by other observers,- and I have not thought it of advautage to multiply tables which 
would give results not differing materially from those shown in the one already pro- 
duced. I found the eggs almost invariably deposited on the under side of the leaf, 
often close to but very rarely upon a vein. Exceptionally they were found upon the 
upper surface of a leaf, and in one or two instances upon the involucre of a flower. 
In July an undue pioportion appeared to be deposited upon axillary leaves, i. c, 
those growing upon the main stalk, in the axils of branches. Such leaves are often 
aborted in size, have smooth surfaces, and, though very mature and tough, are seldom 
rusted or infested with plant lice. They appear to afford the most favorable food 
material to the very young larvse. The middle third of most plants bears the great- 
est number of eggs, although the lower leaves, even when much sanded, are often not 
disdained by the mother moths. These, as a rule, deposit but one egg upon a leaf; 
rarely two appear to be laid upon the same leaf by a moth, in which case they are 
found close together, and were probably deposited simultaneously. Upon leaves 
marked for special observation I have had three eggs deposited during the same night. 
The number found upon a single leaf will depend upon the abundance of moths, the 
condition of the plants, <fec. I have never observed more than seven unhatched eggs 
upon the same leaf. Eggs are laid during the first part of the night and early morn- 
ing. I believe few are deposited between midnight and 2 o'clock a. m. In the period 
of incubation I found little variation ; the young worms appeared on the»fourth day, 
seventy-two to eighty-four hours from the laying of the egg, hatching usually in the 
early morning. The young worms appear upon the outer or upper leaves of the plant 
when nearly half grown. 
Only green worms were seen until the fourth brood was well advanced, in the hit- 
ler part of July. Worms with dark stripes then appeared, and gradually became 
more numerous, until at the close of the fourth and throughout the fifth brood tin y 
outnumbered the green worms. Numerous tests failed to show any difference in time 
of development between the two forms. The worms were seldom seen feeding at 
night, and only on bright moonlight or starlight nights. Many specimens were, how- 
ever, bied from the egg to the moth in tight tin boxes, and this exclusion of light 
appeared to have no effect upon the coloration. Of those fed upon immature leaves 
a greater proporti®n remained uniformly green ; but the experiment was not conclu- 
sive, as not a few of those fed upon mature leaves remained equally light-colored, 
while dark forms occurred in all my breeding-boxes. I was unable to find the worms 
feeding upon other plants than cotton, either in the cultivated fields or woods in the 
vicinity. Although I sometimes failed to observe more than three or four molts, a 
variation from the normal number, five, was never satisfactorily made out. 
It is often asserted by the planters that cotton in the shade of trees is not eaten by 
the caterpillars. My own observations upon this point gave confiicting results. While 
in some cases I found cotton thus shaded entirely untouched, although the surround- 
ing plants were much ragged, in other marked instances shade appeared to exercise 
no protective influence. The following transcript from my notes gives one case in 
point. It records the discovery of a brood ceuter belonging to the fifth generation. 
August 20: I learned to-day of a portion of the field where caterpillars were to be 
found, and visited it. It is a small area of " bottom land," bordering upon the road. 
The cotton is somewhat ragged, and worms of all sizes are moderately abundant. 
There are worms just webbing up and pupae both vacated and living. Young Worms 
(one-third grown) are the most abundant, but eggs are scarce, and I saw but one or 
two moths. This is evidently a center of the brood following that in the ''young 
cotton," which is in the same field about a quarter of a mile distant. By the side of 
the road, and covering a portion of this bottom, stands a very large oak tree, with 
low. spreading branches, casting quite a dense shade. The tree has been girdled and 
is slowly dying, but lias not lost its leaves. The cotton rows under it are unbroken. 
The plants standing close about its trunk are very tall and rank, with largo and fully 
