April, ’18] 
BALLOU: PINK BOLLWORM 
237 
esculentus)' and holly-hock (Althea rosea). The record of pink boll- 
worm in Egypt being bred from pomegranate is evidently an error and 
probably resulted from the use of a breeding cage which had formerly 
been used in connection with gelechia-infested cotton seed for contain¬ 
ing a diseased pomegranate. 
In India, the pink bollworm is stated to feed upon the oily seeds of 
several trees, not being confined to the same natural order as the cotton 
plant. In Hawaii, the pink bollworm is said to feed upon the seeds of 
a Malvaceous tree, the Milo (Thespesia populnea). 
The egg of the pink bollworm is very small and inconspicuous. The 
eggs are deposited singly or in groups not often exceeding four or five 
together. They are laid on the food plant of the larva, the preferred 
situation on the cotton plant being on the boll. 
Life-History and Habits 
The duration of the egg stage is some four to ten days, after which 
the eggs hatch and the young larvae issue. 
The larva at first is yellowish-white in color with brown head and 
brown thoracic shield. Later, the body of the larva becomes tinged 
with pink, this pink color being deposited principally in broad bands 
across the back and extending down upon the sides. In well colored 
specimens the whole body appears pinkish. 
When first hatched the larva proceeds to tunnel into the boll and to 
penetrate into the interior of the seed. The duration of the larval 
stage occupies, in summer, about 20 to 30 days. During its life, the 
larva probably consumes more than the contents of one seed, but 
usually its feeding is all done within one boll. When very young bolls 
or flower buds are attacked they are entirely destroyed; very young 
seeds are also completely destroyed, while the seeds which are attacked 
at a later stage of their growth may be only partly consumed. 
The full-grown larva spins its cocoon and enters the pupal stage 
either in the boll or at the base of the boll protected by the bract, or, 
most often, they descend to the ground and pupate amongst the par¬ 
ticles of soil, bits of leaf, fallen flowers or other loose material on the 
surface. The pupal stage occupies about 10 to 12 days, after which 
the moth emerges. 
Two or three days after the emergence of the moth, egg laying begins. 
It is probable that this extends over only a few days more, the whole 
life of the moth not exceeding two or three weeks under ordinary condi¬ 
tions. 
The whole life-cycle occupies some four to five weeks at that period 
when the temperature and the condition of the plant is most suitable 
for the development of the insect. Later in the season when the 
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