The Mississippi Creole. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1841-1851, 1848-07-28

expanded into leaves upon the sap Of which
they were greedily f%oasting [Herly and Spence.
Here we have evidence conclusive that al least
one variety, hibernate in the egg state, i
think it must be SO with the cotton-louse.
(ApIs g%ossypium Here | am in the dark and
want facts, but if they hibernate in the ego
state-they may be found on the plum bush,
grape vine and many others, We know, the
winged individuals appear in our cotton fields,
the latter part of April or first of MAY. Law
their eggs on the under part Of the cotton leaf.
and around the bud; larva hatched from the
eggs thus ipgeniously deposited, find quito a
banquet in the sap Of the tender cotton. In.
medlately after their exclusion from the cog.
they are soft, and without w~ings-color a pale
green, This Linneus, called the slarva state !,
adopting a Latin word Signifying a musk, be-
cause he knew from observation the real insect
to be masked, while in. this state. AT this
period Of their life they eat voraciously and
the greatinjury is done by sucking out the sap,
thus depriving the young plants Of a portion,
and very o ften the whole OF the sap, before it
can rea oh its proper destination. Many of the
young cotton plants now wither and cease to
grow, and soon die from exhaustion. others
though not killed, are entirely bereFt of their
caves, greatly impeded in their growth and do
not in fact, recover their wonted beauty for
several weeks. And to use the strong Ian.
guage Of the Edinburgh Review, they attack
the young plants with the evidence Of an ap-
poPlectlc stroke" and on many acres but few
plants escape the paralysis with impunity
Much however will depend on the weather At
the tiine-if favorable the injury will not be SO
great How long they remain in the larva
state | cannot say positively, but not longer
than Q or 10 ten days; they then cease eating,
as they have vitality enough to assume the
Pupa or third state, when it remains an %enclos-
ed insect, until it becomes mature in all its
parts; it now bursts through the case which
enclosed it, and enters upon the image and
last state-you now view it furnished with
wings capable of rapid and extensive Aights.
and as they have society, they often herd to.
gether in dense masses, and in severe warm
weather they are in full motion at an early
hour 10 the morning, and may be seen 10 large
swarms, resembling a swarm Of bees about TO
light. archaeological observers, may easily
~ stake the laRa Of one insect for another,
Those who are NOT saIsfRd with this explains
ton, i can only recommend their having re-
course to experiments themselves. IF we
take a stalk OF cotton, on which the pupa Of
the Aphides are to be found, and set it in a
quinine bottle, in one or two days, or it may
be IN two or three hours, (this must depend on
the age oil the pupOD when at length one
breaks through the shell which e%ncloses il, il
is altogether different from those which it has
previously borne-a little black gnat. This
explanation precludes the idea suggested BY
your friends, I" that Cotton-lice are the eggs of
the ant" and tho ugh it may strip the subject
Of every thing miraculous, yet by no means
renders 1t an uninteresting operation. | will
here close my somewhat prolix letter, and in
my next show the connection betweea the
Aphides and the ants.
| am very respectfully, yours, &c,
A PLANTER.
O. R., Madison County,