The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1912-08-02
The MELON CATERPILLAR
rress Circular From Mississippi Agri
cultural Experiment Station, E. K.
Lloyd, Director.
By R. w. HARMED
Agricultural College, Mississippi,

-ARTlcultuIdl SolcSe, NhioSisoiPPJ
July Is, 1912.
At the present time this Insect is de.
stroying cantaloupes in all parts OF Mis-
sissippi. There is another insect known
as the pickle or cucumber worm that
resembles it very much. Both of these
insects destroy squash and other cucur-
bits as we'll as melons and ~cucumbers,
and both of these are found in all parts
of Mississippi. As they resemble each
other kerry much in appearance as well
as in habits what is said Of one will ap-
ply to the other also.
Appearance and Habits.-The adult
moths are white with black markings.
They usually appear in jun and begin
laying their eggs on the fowers buds
and tender terminals of the plant. The
young worms that hatch eat into the
food nearest at hand. Those that are
on the tender terminals bore into the
stems and leaves and later often tunnel
into the vines like the squash-vine borer.
Those that hatch from eggs layed on the
blossoms feed in the blossoms. As the
worms grow older they move from one
plant to another, often boring into sew.
eral melons, cucumbers or squashes. I'm
: til half grown the worms are marked
> with rows of black spots. When full
. grown the worms are nearly an Inch
= long, with greenish colored bodies and
brown heads. The worms or larvae re-
quire about two weeks in which to ma
. turs. A leaf is then folded and the worm
turns to a pupa within the fold. The
pups il brown and one-half inch long.
About one week is spent in this stage
o when the adult moth appears. There are
70 at least three generations of these in
d sects each year. About four weeks ID
"a required to complete the life history
,r The winter is spent in the pupa stage
ID in leaves and trash in the fields.
d. Control.-Although these pests are
very difficult to control there are Ger
he tain practices that will help greatly il
he checking them.
"a Destruction of Old Plants.-As sooi
lie as the crop is gathered all vines, foliag
at and trash in the fields should be plowe'
ne as deeply under the ground as possible
Az This will prevent the moths from emerg
>" ing.
EARLY Planting.-As these worms ar
more serious late in the summer earl
paintings and early-maturing varietie
,tb are less likely to be seriously injured.
Squash as a Trap Crop.-Squash ha
lis successfully been used as a trap Gro
Dor where melons or cucumbers are the mai
les, crop. The moths prefer to lay the
eggs upon squashes rather than Il
other plants Rows of summer squash'
in should be planted in the cucumber al
md melon fields as early as possible, Il
lew rows being planted every two weeks,
SUI there will be flowers throughout t
summer. The squash blooms c~ontaini
the the worms m be collected and {
ing stroyed every few days. If this is n
our done the worms will migrate to the IN
heir ons and cucumbers. This method h
'rly been tried and where the work is ca
ase, fully lone it is very successful.
Poisons.-The use Of the arsenical p
sons such as arsenate of lead and pa
.,+ green, ought to be of some benefit
10 q they are thoroughly applied. One pou
of arsenate of lead to twenty-five G
Ions of water is recommended. If pa
green is used it must be applied C
tiously so that the vines will not be
iured. One pound of paris green.
t to hounds of lime and one hundred {
fifty gallons of water is the rate
which il should be applied to tn
and n,ants. The lime must never be
road, ont. The nelson's should be used as s.
'orK- as the buds begin to appear and az
about two weeks afterwards. The N
oeen Der of applications will depend u
'eiow whether the rains wash the poison
state and upon how numerous the worms
,ortn Rotation of Crops.-It is a poor P
'S.sh tice to plant melons,
squash upon the same land during
-. successive years. 1t viii be best
Ino,- plant these crops on land as far ava,
80 possible from where they were plal
the previous year.
Hand Picking. In small gar
where the melons can be looked
of a every few days it is sometimes pr,
court cal to pick the worms by hand..
4 the can be done by carefully lifting
decide melon and looking over it. Where u
Word ia discovered the worm Is cut and kl
ncisco This will leave a scar but VIII not II
YER of rally affect the melon, As the scar
ly cir soon heal over. The worms are
&c cir often found on the foliage where
ry in may be gathered and destroyed.
usually a combination of some o
negli. Of these methods of control can be
Inc to good advantage. The Entomol'
d ths Agricultural College, Mississippi is
ry in ;ov. n hear the results of any
purely have tried or are irving these or