June, ’24] 
franklin: spotted cutworm 
407 
In Massachusetts most cranberry bogs are covered with water during 
the winter. Sometimes this winter flood is let off in early April and some¬ 
times it is held until late May or early June. On ten of the infested bogs, 
comprising a total of 165 acres on which the crop was a total loss, 
the winter flowage had been let off between May 28 and June 5; one in¬ 
fested bog, on which an area of only 5 acres was seriously affected, had 
been drained of winter flowage in April; one bog of about ten acres had 
the winter water let off in April, was flooded again May 16, and finally 
drained June 1st. One bog was drained of its winter flowage in April 
but water backed in onto the lower part from an adjoining bog, the latter 
having been held under water until May 28. A heavy infestation ap¬ 
peared on the bog drained May 28 and also on the low part of the ad¬ 
joining bog which had been drained in April. These facts suggest that 
damp soil in very late May and early June invites infestations of this 
insect, possibly because the female moths prefer to lay their eggs in 
damp or slimy earth. They also show that the pest does not attack 
cranberry bogs much unless the winter water is held until late May. 
About 700 larvae were collected for rearing. These worms were 
nearly all full grown, and pupating began almost at once, continuing from 
about August 1 to August 25. The greatest number of larvae pupated 
the second week in August. The time spent as a pupa averaged 
19 days, being never less than 17 nor more than 24 days. Pupation took 
place in the rearing cans about three inches below the surface of the 
sand. On the bogs, pupae were found at depths of one to four inches. 
Adults in the rearing cans began to emerge August 20 and continued 
coming out until nearly the middle of September, the height of the emerg¬ 
ing period being through the first week in September. The moths died 
rapidly without laying eggs. One female was kept alive much longer than 
the others by feeding her with a sugar solution, and she deposited several 
eggs on sand and on the sugar container. These eggs were spherical, 
about .75 mm. in diameter and fluted. They were laid September 15 
and hatched September 29. The young larvae would not feed on clover, 
newly sprouted corn, ferns or cranberry leaves and they died in the 
first instar. 
No adults were seen on any of the infested bogs. 
Over 70 per cent of the worms gathered for rearing bore eggs of 
dipterous parasites, as many as eleven being found on some. In most 
cases the host failed to reach pupation. Records were kept of all the 
parasites that emerged. The Red-tailed Tachina Fly', Winthemia 
quadripustulata Fabr., was the most abundant, about 65 per cent of the 
