The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-08-23
TO DESTROY WORMS
R0TANIST WILCOX RECoM-
 NENDs WARFARE.
Bulletin from the A. P. I. Contains Valuable Information on Habits of Cotton Destrsyers-How
 to Destroy Them.

Auburn, Aug. 1.
 The following important bulletin on the cotton worm was issued from the Ex- pertinent Station today:
 The well known cotton worm, Aletia ar gillacea. has made its appearance this summer in certain sections of this State in considerable numbers. The well known ravages of this cotton pest make 1t. very desirable and even imperative that prompt measures be taken to destroy the worm wherever found. A recent visit by the undersigned to certain cotton fields about Montgomery, made at the request of Mir. R. R. Poole, Commis- sioner of Agriculture, showed the pres ence in some fields of enough worms to do much damage if prompt measures pc not at once taken to combat the pest.
 The eggs of this cotton worm are usu- ally laid on the under side of the leaf in groups of to f. though later In the summer the number of eggs to single leaf may increase to as many as %. The egg is only 4.6 millfmeter wide, circular and much fiattened. The eggs are mark cd by large number Of ribs and are of a bright bluish-green or sea-green color when first laid. The young worm or larva eats its way out through one side of the egg about three to four days after the egg is laid. The eggs are more apt to hatch out in the morning when the dew is still on the leaves and in general 1t may be- said that humidity favors the matching of the eggs.
 When first. matched the worm is only about Is nm. long and of a uniform, pale dingy yellow color, marked with poi ished, black, slightly elevated spots, each bearing a short pale hair. Before the first skin Is molted the color often changes to a tinge of green or even orange. After the first molting the spots are better marked and the hairs are black. Aside from this the worm or larva changes but little after the first melting is complete. After the second and Subsequent mott ings the color of the worm becomes dark CT and is at maturity more or less in- tensely black along the back.
 The usual length of life for these lar vac is from 1 to 8 weeks and during all this time they eat cotton leaves showing naturally a preference for the upper, more delicate leaves on the plant. The larvae can let themselves down by their web and can also jump from leaf to leaf to a distance of as much as two feet. In advanced stages of the destruction wrought by this pest the leaves will be so badly eaten as to leave only the framework or veins. Leaves in this con- dition are said by planters to be rag ged," At times the larvae eat each oth- CT in cannibal fashion though unfortun- ately this habit is not as common as 1t should be. The larvae at times gather in considerable groups and move from one field to another in search of food. This habit has often led to their being i'm properly called the army" worm.
 When the larvae has reached full growth 1t rolls up in a fold of the leaf and spins a few silken threads about It. self This spinning" or webbing stage may occur on some other plant than the cotton.
 About one to two weeks after the form ation of the above so-called chrysalis