Florida Agricultural Experiment Station.


 OKRA CATERPILLAR, OR ABUTILON MOTH (Cosmophila erosa)
 Okra leaves are often eaten by a light-green caterpillar
(fig. 95) which has no conspicuous markings. (The moth, fig.
96.) Like the cabbage looper, this insect is a semi-looper. It
 grows to a length of 1%8 inches
 and then rolls up the edge of the
 leaf and pupates in the fold.
 According to H. L. Dozier of the
 department of entomology, Flor-
 ida Agricultural Experiment Sta-
 tion, who has worked out the life
 history, it spends from 5 to 6
 days in the pupa. The egg hatches
 in from 3 to 4 days and the
 larva requires about 24 days for
 growth, making a generation re-
FIG. 95.-Okra caterpillar: Larva. quire about 34 days.
 Natural size. (Original.) The caterpillar is attacked
by a little wasp-like parasitic insect (Chalcis ovata) which pre-
vents it from becoming a greater pest. The caterpillar is easily










 FIG. 96.-Okra caterpil-
 lar: a, Adult male; b,
 adult female. Natural
 size. (Original.)
 controlled by lead arsen-
 ate. The sprayed pods
 should be thoroly washed
 before they are cooked.
 CORN EAR-WORM
 The corn ear-worm
 .., attacks the pods of okra
 much as it does cotton
FIG. 97.-Corn ear-worm on tobacco buds. bolls, or seed-pods of to-
 About natural size. (Fla. Agr. Exp. Sta. bacco (fig. 97), that is, it
 Bul. 48.)