89 
ent this insect is not very' widely distributed, at least not in Illi¬ 
nois, but as it is a most injurious pest, precautions should be 
taken by all florists to prevent its becoming established in their 
greenhouses. It may easily be distributed with plants, either as 
eggs, larvae, or pupae. 
Fig. 3. Southern Fern - Cutworm, 
Callopistria fioridensis, twice natural 
size. 
Life History .—In confinement the moths deposit the eggs 
singly on the under surface of the new and tender leaflets. Upon 
hatching, the young larvae feed on the tenderer leaves, mostly at 
night, but during the day, when the older larvae usually hide in 
the earth at the base of the plant, they may often be found lying 
along the midrib on the upper surface of the fronds, near the 
base of the stalk. As a rule, in light houses most of the cutworms 
hide during the day in the soil; but in dark houses both the young 
and old larvae are more often found on the midrib of the leaf, 
in the position just mentioned. There are two forms of larvae, 
one pale green and the other velvety black. The green one has 
almost exactly the .color of the fern fronds, and is hence quite 
inconspicuous. The black form is comparatively rare. In one 
instance it was noticed that green larvae, upon molting, changed 
to black. They had been placed in a closed tin box with fern 
leaves, and upon examination some days later several were vel- 
