INSECTS. 
65 
insects hereafter mentioned. There are still others, which do not 
materially injure the crop itself, such as the span-worm, and others 
which only feed upon the petals or pollen of the flowers. There are 
also many insects found in the cotton-fields which do no damage 
whatever to the plant, but merely feed upon weeds and grass grow- 
ing between the rows, such as the caterpillar of the Argynnis colum- 
bina, which feeds upon the passion-vine, and that of the Zanthidia 
niceppe, which sometimes devours the Maryland cassia, and produces 
the beautiful orange-colored butterflies, seen in vast numbers hover- 
ing over moist or wet places on the plantations. 
A class of insects which is highly beneficial, comprehends the larvae 
of the lady-bird, the ichneumon flics, and many others, that are ever 
on the search for living victims amongst the noxious tribes, and 
which serve to keep the numbers of the latter within proper bounds. 
Thus, it is highly necessary to be able to recognise the injurious 
from the comparatively innoxious as well as the useful insects, and I 
have therefore thought proper to describe and figure most of those 
which infest the cotton-fields, as many of them feed upon or injure 
the plants in one state or another ; and, although they may do but 
little injury at first, yet, were they to multiply as fast as some others, 
they would eventually become as great a nuisance as the boll-worm is 
at present. According to a communication from Colonel Whitner, of 
Tallahassee, in Florida, the latter insect was scarcely known in that 
region before the year 1841 ; but it has since increased to such an ex- 
tent as to cause an immense yearly loss to the planters. 
Several methods of destroying insects on plantations and elsewhere 
have been recommended, one of which is the use of fire or burning 
torches. The innumerable myriads of nocturnal moths, being 
attracted by the lights, burn their wings as they hover around, and 
are either destroyed at once, or disabled from flying about to deposit 
their eggs in distant parts of the field. A species of lantern has been 
used for entrapping such as are attracted by light, and with some 
success. It is formed of a top, bottom, and back, made of wood, with 
a glass front and sides, a little more than a foot square, according to 
the size of the glasses used. The front is supported by a pillar at 
each corner \ on the inside of the back of the lantern is fastened a tin 
or glass reflector. The three glazed sides consist of two panes, slid- 
ing in grooves, made in the top and bottom boards, and meeting in 
the middle at an angle of about 1‘20°, instead of one pane, as in com- 
mon lanterns. These panes can be slipped in and out, so as to leave 
a space open between them, larger or smaller as may be desired. A 
lamp is placed in the centre of the bottom, protected from insects and 
wind by a common glass chimney, which protrudes through a hole in 
,the top. All the bottom of the box inside of the glass having been 
previously cut away, excepting a circular place on which to put the 
lamp, it is then deposited on a vessel or barrel covered with cloth, 
having an aperture cut in it corresponding with the bottom of the 
box, and the vessel beneath, containing molasses, or some other ad- 
hesive substance. The insects which may be flying about will be 
immediately attracted by the light, and approach the angle of the 
panes until they shall have entered the aperture, when, once within, 
6 
