Bl-> 
"(4) Alimentary fluids of insect apparently do not provide the 
stimulus which causes continuation of growth after spore germina 
tion.+ No growth of the fungus has yet been obtained in cultures 
of millions of spores that have passéd through insect bodies or in 
cultures of organisms that have fed or might have fed on then." 
The sending out of a single short protuberance which has always 
failed to continue growth is interpreted here as being a germination 
process. 
Insects and a mite of potential economic importance found on 
wild cotton in Florida.--After the finding of the pink bollworm 
(Pectinophora gossypiclla Saund.) in Florida in the spring of 1932 
a survey of the wild-cotton situation was made and four insects 
and a mite not previously known to occur in this country were found. 
These are discussed in a paper te be published by C. F. Rainwater, 
Tallulah, La. Below the frost line in Florida Gossypium of one or 
more species closely related to our upland cotton (G. hirsutum) 
frows as a perennial and is likely to be found wherever there is 
high land. Under these conditions the following tropical insects 
were found to have become established: 
The larvae of the wild cotton borer (Rhodoneura terminalis Walk. ) 
attack and severely damage the stems, squares, blooms, and bolls of 
wild cotton by eating away the inner contents. They show preference 
for the fruit, attacking the stems only when fruit is absent. They 
enter the square or boll ncar the base and cat away the entire con- 
tents, and they enter the stem at the tip and tunnel downward from 
2to5 inches, causing it to wither and break off. This insect was 
found in Florida wherever wild cotton was found, the infestation 
ranging from practically nothing to 62 percent of the fruit. It had 
previously been reported on cotton in Mexico, Costa Rica, the Canal 
Zone, Haiti, and Santo Domingo. 

The flower-bud maggot (Contarinia gossypii Felt) was previously 
known from the West Indies, where it attacks only the squares and 
flowers. In Florida it was also found in the bolls. The attacked 
squares become yellow, and the base near the bracts has a tendency 
to become detached and dry up. The injured parts become dark and 
watery, ond have a very characteristic odor. The damage to the flowers 
4s similar to that of the squares and in both instances shedding us- 
ually fdllows. Inthe bolls the larvae seem to prefer the immature 
seed, The lint surrounding infested seed becomes discolored and 
decomposes and the bolls become soft and watery, sometimes dropping 
to the ground without opening. This insect also was found wherever 
wild cotton was found in Florida. 

