788 
Vol. XXX, No. 8 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Nymphula rantalis Guen., 1854, Delt. et Pyr. 
(Bdv. et Guen., Hist. Nat. Ins. Lepidop.) 
8 : 405. 
Ebulea murcialis Walk., 1859, Cat. Brit. Mus. 
pt. 18, p. 746. 
Scopula crinisalis Walk., 1859, Cat. Brit. 
Mus., pt. 18, p. 798. 
Botys siriusalis Walk., 1859, Cat. Brit. Mus., 
pt. 18, p. 563. 
Botys licealis Walk., 1859, Cat. Brit. Mus., pt. 
18, p. 563. 
Botys nestusalis Walk., 1859, Cat. Brit. Mus., pt. 
18, p. 784. 
Scopula thoonalis Walk., 1859, Cat. Brit. Mus., 
pt. 18, p. 785. 
Scopula dictimealis Walk., 1859, Cat. Brit. Mus., 
pt. 18, p. 785. 
Nephopteryx intractella Walk., 1863, Cat. Brit. 
Mus., pt. 27, p. 55. 
Botysposticata G. & R., 1867, Trans. Amer. Ent. 
Soc. 1: 22. 
Scopula occidentalis Pack., 1873, Ann. Lyc. Nat. 
Hist. N. Y. 10: 260. 
Botis communis Grote, 1876, Canad. Ent. 8: 99. 
Loxostege similalis Guen., Dyar, 1902, List N. 
Amer. Lepidop., No. 4354; Barnes and 
McDunnough, 1917, Check List Lepidop. 
Bor. Amer., No. 5025. 
Pyrausta caffreii Flint and Malloch, 1920, Bui. 
State Ill. Dept. Reg. & Educ., Div. Nat. 
Hist. Surv. 13: 304, figs. 43, 44 (vide 
Heinrich 2, p. 57). 
The larva of Loxostege similalis 
(the garden webworm), is a foliage 
depredator, feeding exclusively in the 
open or in an irregular fabrication 
formed by webbing leaves together with 
silk. It is not a borer as is the European 
corn borer, yet it resembles the former 
in appearance. The greatest resem¬ 
blance is structurally, the distribution of 
the setae on the thoracic and abdominal 
segments being most alike. The insect 
occurs in most of the Central, Western, 
and Southern States, but can also be 
found in Mexico and South America. 
It is particularly damaging in Cali¬ 
fornia, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, New 
Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. 
In the three last-named States second 
and third annual cuttings of alfalfa have 
been entirely destroyed in certain 
years. 8 
The garden webworm, apparently 
incorrectly named since it injures to 
a large extent cereal and forage crops, 
feeds on and injures beets, sugar beets, 
potatoes, corn, cotton, wheat, alfalfa, 
and, doubtless, garden crops. Its natu¬ 
ral food appears to be Amaranthus sp. 
(pigweed), and Chenopodium sp. 
(lamb’s-quarters). Since the year 1909 
the injury to alfalfa has steadily in¬ 
creased, becoming more serious and 
widespread. 
A striking difference between this 
larva and those of the corn-borer 
group is the habit which the caterpillar 
of Loxostege has, when full grown, of 
descending from its food plant to the 
surface of the soil, where it forms a 
small silken cocoon in the litter and 
within this it pupates. The European 
corn borer, as a rule, pupates within 
its burrow and never forms a defined 
cocoon. 
The larva is green-brown in color 
and three-fourths to seven-eighths of 
an inch in length. The pinacula on 
the dorsum are strongly chitinized, 
brown to black, and prominent; those 
on the pleura are pale and not so 
strongly chitinized. In Pyrausta 
larvae heretofore discussed the pin¬ 
acula on the various parts of the body 
are uniform with respect to one another 
in color and chitinization; there is no 
distinction between those of the dor¬ 
sum and those on the pleura. In 
nubilalis Seta IV+V on the ninth ab¬ 
dominal segment almost equals Seta 
III in size; in similalis IV+V is small 
and vestigial (pi. 2, A, E). 
In the latitude of Kansas and Okla¬ 
homa the insect apparently passes 
through four generations, whereas in 
Texas it seems to breed continuously 
throughout the year, summer and 
winter. 
FAMILY OLETHREUTIDAE 
EPIBLEMA SCUDDERIANA CLEMENS 
Hedya scudderiana Clemens, 1860, Proc. Acad. 
Nat. Sci. Phila. 12: 358. 
Euryptychia saligneana Clemens, 1865, Proc. 
Ent. Soc. Phila. 5: 141. 
Paedisca affusana Zeller, 1875, Verh. Zool.-Bot. 
Ges. Wien 25: 307. 
Paedisca scudderiana Kellicott, 1882, Canad. 
Ent. 14: 161; Walsingham, 1884, Trans. Ent. 
Soc. London, 1884: 140. 
Eucosma scudderiana Clemens, Fernald, 1902, 
Dyar, List. N. Amer. Lepidop., No. 5139; 
Kearfoot, 1905, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 28: 354; 
1905, Canad. Ent. 37: 208; Barnes and Mc¬ 
Dunnough, 1917, Check List Lepidop. Bor 
Amer., No. 7014. 
♦ Epiblema scudderiana Clemens, Heinrich, 1923, 
U. S. Nat. Mus. Bui. 123: 147, fig. 271. 
Epiblema scudderiana (the Bidens 
borer) is common throughout eastern 
Massachusetts and doubtless occurs in 
equal numbers over the North Atlantic 
States. Specimens have been received 
at the European Corn Borer Labora¬ 
tory from Maine, New Hampshire, 
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New 
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, and Michigan. With the excep¬ 
tion of two records, one occurrence in 
lamb’s-quarters ( Chenopodium sp.) and 
one from burdock ( Arctium sp.) the 
insect has been collected only from 
beggar-ticks ( Bidens frondosa) and 
goldenrod ( Solidago sp.). 
Field observations indicate that the 
insect is single brooded in Massachu¬ 
setts. In 1921 moths appeared the 
third week in June, the overwintering 
8 Information as to the distribution, food plants, and seasonal history was obtained from Farmers’ Bulle¬ 
tin 944 (16). 
