Studies on the Red Bollworm of Cotton, Diparopsis castanea, Hampson.—Part I. The Distribution and Ecology of two natural Food-plants, Cienfuegosia hildebrandtii, Gürke, and Gossypium herbaceum var. africana, Watt.

Abstract

The present paper reports the principal results from a survey undertaken with the objects of ascertaining the extent of the natural breeding areas of the red bollworm in South Africa and whether the habitats of the food-plants are well defined ecologically. It has been known for some years that the red bollworm feeds on wild cotton, Gossypium herbaceum, and on Cienfuegosia Hildebrandtii (Parsons), but from increased knowledge of the topography and vegetation of the country there were reasons to suppose that the distribution of these food-plants is quite considerably limited in the present and potential cotton-growing areas, and it was desirable that the situation should be investigated in some detail.