Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-16

warm spring weather has started up vege-
| tation Il small buff and gray colored moth or
miller comes forth from that chrySais
! With fully expanded wings il would about
reach across a silver dollar There is no
| common name for it that we know
| of, but entomologists have affixed TO
it the scientific name of Heliothis
| armigera. In due time il pro
| ceeds to deposit eggs upon about the first
| green thing it comes across. II is not al
all particular as to the plant chosen for its
nest" Corn suits il 10 perfection. cotton
suits it very well; cookie burrs, jimpsou
weed, snap beans, tomatoes and even to-
bacco can either be made TO answer its pul'
pose all right. Those eggs soon hatch out
minute worms. varying somewhat III color
from light green TO several darker shades.
When the very young worms walk they
loop up their bodies good deal on the
measuring worm plan. So soon as out
of the eggs they fall 10 feeding upon the
fleshy parts of the plant where they first
appeared. They grow rapidly, and in few
days cease their feeding upon the surface
and proceed to bore into something. If we
find them bored into the bud of the young
corn we cali them corn bud worms if
into the soft ear call them corn
worms, if into the Young cotton square
we call them flare worms, = if into the cot
ton boil we call them boil worms, if into
bean pods we call them bean worms if
into tomatoes we call them tomato
worms, " and so on. But il is all the same
worm at last-corn worm, boil worm and
tomato worm-the larva of Helioths armi-
gera.
There is no regular color for the mature
boil worm. The prevailing color may be
said to De greenish, particularly early in the
season, but the green is more or less marked
by spots and stripes in various shades,
which give it quite a variety of appear
ances. As il grows up 10 larger size It
ceases to loop its body in moving, but glidas
evenly ::along. 1t remains as worm from
eighteen 10 twenty-four days, depending
upon the character of the weather, when,
being fully grown, it comes down from the
plant and burrows in the ground where ii
ready described. In from ten to fifteen
days spent as chrysalis it comes out as
new moth and proceeds TO start new brood
of boil worms.
There are from four to six annual broods
of the insect in Texas, each brood being
more numerous than the brood preceding
it. of course. The last brood of the season
coming on too late fora full run through
the transformations, such worms as are
fortunate enough to get into the chrysalis
state so remain through the winter to start
the boil worm business anew next spring
This is all there is of il.
As to remedies for the pest, Professor
Constock thinks the arSenical poiSonS, as
applied for the cotton worm. would destroy
the young boil worms while they were still
feeding upon the surface of the plants, but
after they had bored into the bolls it would
not be possible to reach them with poisons
placed upon the surface. The mature
moths feed upon a nectar exuding from Ger
tain parts of the plant. hence the usual
poisoning as resorted to for the cotton
worm would be apt to destroy goodly
number of the moths. As a consequence it
is but reasonable to suppose that the
planter poisoning for cotton worms will at
the same time be doing good deal towards
cutting down the work of boil worms
Lights in the field for the moth TO fly into
at night were highly recommended at one
time, but we think people have about
dropped that plan, under the impression
that it was not sufficiently effective to pay
for the trouble. The fact is. economic en-
tomology knows, as yet. of no entirely eff
fectual remedy for the boil worm.