CON N E CT I CU T
AGR U I
E X P ER M ENT
HA V E N
B U L L E T IN
E N T
T HE
1 77
OM OL OG
,
CO N
A U G U ST
,
I CA L
A P P LE TR E E
L
N
,
6
N
IA
'
1 91 3
SE R I E S
TEN
a
I
C ON T E N T S
Offic e r s
”
an d S t afi
S t at i o n
of
T e n t C at e rp i ll ar
v i d en c e o f
Ou t b re aks in Con n e c t i c u t
D i s t r i bu t i o n
A
E
p pl e t re e
.
-
-
Hab i t s an d L i f e H i s t o ry
D e sc r i pti on
M i s t ak en f o r Oth e r I n s e ct s
'
.
T h e F o r e s t T e n t C at er p i ll ar an d h o w i t d i ff e r s
N at u ral E ne m i e s
C on t ro l M e as u re s
D es t ro y i n g t h e E g g c l u s t e rs
R e m o vin g th e N e st s
S p ray i n g
’
Co m m u n i t y E fl o r t
-
i
-
O
T h e B u l le t i n s
n e c t icu
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wh o app l y f o r
O
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S t at i o n ar e m a
t h e m , an d t o o t h e r s as f ar as t h e
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of
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Co n
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U LTU R AL E X P E RIM E N T STA TIO
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A P P LE T R E E
T E N T CA T E R P I L L A R
-
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-
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.
.
I
By
W
.
E
B RITT O N
.
,
S t at e E
n t o m olog is t
.
This bul letin is called forth b y the unusual abundance in C on
n e c t ic u t in 1 91 3 o f the apple t r ee o r o r chard tent caterpillar the
outbre ak c o vering the entire stat e excep t for certain localities
along the coast
B ulletin 1 39 dealing with this insect was iss u ed in 1 902 but
the supply Was soon exhaust ed and for several y ears i t has been
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,
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,
,
,
.5 .
F IGURE
Ou t o f print
I
—
.
A
pp le
l
t r e e a m o st d e
f o li at e d
,
n e ar
Wat
erb u r
y
.
To furnish information and to point out the simple
c o nt r ol methods is the ob ject of the present bulletin which is m ore
than a revised edition o f bullet in 1 39 as much o f it has been
rewritten and m ost o f the illustratio n s ar e new
.
,
'
,
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E
V
I DE N CE
OF
D AM A G E
.
The conspicuous whit e n ests o f the apple tree t nt caterpillar
during t h e month of M ay S how everybody th at the insect is
—
e
-
4
CON N E C T I C U T E X P ER I M E N T S TAT ION B U
,
L L
ET I N NO
.
present Though not as import an t as sever al other i n sect pests
o f the orchard it is one o f th e most noticeable I ts destructive
however is o ft en m ore app are n t th an r eal I n ordinary
n e ss
s easo n s the c at e rp illars feed upo n s everal S peci es of w ild che rry
an d do littl e harm i n the orchard though tre e s in h e dg e ro w s
N evertheless it causes
an d along the highw ays m a
y be att acked
some damag e and whe n abundant as at pres ent many apple trees
This occurs early in th e season and n ew leaves
ar e defoliat e d
ar e put forth but this weakens t h e trees appr eciably and shoul d
be prev en t e d i f possibl e
n d m ar t h e beauty o f the land
The n ests are alw ays u n sightly a
scape even i f o nly worthless tr ees are attacked The co n trol
o f the tent c aterpillar is not di fficult and there is n o re ason f o r
We should remov e the
allowing it to m ultiply uncheck e d
worthless trees and take care o f t h e others
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OU T B REA ' S
I N
CO NN ECTI CU T
.
Though the n ests are seen every sp r ing I n C onnecticut the
insect has not usually b een as de structive her e as in n orthern
N orm ally the wild ch erry furnishes the common
N ew E ngl and
food supply an d o ft en t h e in jury does not extend to apple
orchards
,
.
,
.
F IG URE
In
2
E gg Clu ste r
—
—
.
of
app l e
tr ee
t en t
-
t rpi llar
ca e
.
N atu r al
s
ize
.
however t h e tent caterpillar was ab undant every
wher e and attacked not only cherry and appl e trees but several
other kinds One grower report e d th i s as t h e m ost troublesome
pest on his peach trees The black cherry tr ees and choke cherry
bushes along roadsides and hedgerows wer e stripped o f leaves
A ccor ding to our observ ation s t h e outbreak was not a local one
but occurred over the W hole S tate though som ewhat more severe
in the northern portion
The three agents em ployed that year
1
90 2 ,
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O U TBREA ' S I N CON N E C T IC U T
5
.
by the S tation to gather fruit statistics who co vered the entire
S tate in their trav els reported defoliated trees in nearly every
town
The writer also m ade similar observat i ons in those
portions o f the S tate in which he had occasion to travel
M oreover o f all orchard insects the tent caterpillar was the
most commonly reported by the f ruit growers
The late M r T S G o ld beli eved that the insect had not bee n
so abundant for sixty six years o r since the terribl e ice storm
o f 1 8 36 as in 1 902
I n 1 903 t he cat e rpillars and their n ests were very nu m erous
though perhaps less so than the previous year M r JM Whit
t le sey of M orris wrote that in his n eighb o rho o d he h ad never
see n the nests so abundant but that m ost o f the c aterp illars di e d
b e fore reachi n g maturity Fo r s ev e r al years after t his outbreak
nests o f the tent caterpill ar wer e not much in evidenc e A few
could b e found ev e rywh e re but the caterpillars did no d am age
I n 1 91 1 and 1 91 2 a num
an d littl e atte n tion w as pai d t o them
ber of speci m ens and I n q u i r i es regarding them were received
from variou s p arts o f the S tate
E arly in 1 91 3 m a n y egg clusters w e re sent in an d when the
trees put out their leaves in M ay it was evident that 1 91 3 was
“
”
a cat e rpillar year
ther e being more n ests or tents than in
any ye ar since 1 90 2 I n N ew H av en the nests ar e not v ery
abundant but back a few m iles from the coast every neglected
apple tree every black cherry tr e e and every chok e c h erry bush
b ear s f ro m one to fifteen or twe n ty nests and many apple tre e s
A t S tonington which is a coast
w e re stripped as in figur e 1
town the cat e rpillars are extremely abunda
nt and m any tr ees ar e
stripped
I n L it c h fie ld county the n ests are v e ry abundant
They ar e so reported from S alisb u T wand N orfolk and the writ e r
observed them in portions o f R oxbury Woodbury an d Washing
ton a
M iddl ebury an d S outhbury o f
s well as in Waterbury
N ew Haven C ounty
N early all the roadside apple and wild
cherry trees as well as t h e n eglected orchards were stripped I n
N ewt o wn nests were so abundant that pri z es wer e o ffered for
their destruction as is described on page 1 8
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D I S TRI B U TI O N
.
The apple tree tent caterpillar is a nat i ve o f N orth A m eric a
occurring throughout the E ast ern U nited S tates and C anada
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,
CO N N E C T IC U T E X P ER I M E N T S TA T IO N B U
6
L L E
,
T I N NO
.
w estw ard to the R ocky M ou n tains D amage was recorded as
e arly as 1 6 4 6 and at irregular int ervals the speci es becam e so
“
”
abundant that those years were termed caterpillar ye ars by
the settlers T hese periodical outbreaks hav e doubtless o c c rii r e d
.
,
‘
.
F IG URE
—
N e st
on
app l e t ree
.
since but are m ore pronounced and noticeable
ngland than in othe r parts o f the country
ever
E
3
.
,
In
'
N ew
.
F OO D P
LA N TS
.
black and choke cherry are t h e favorite and probably
th e natural food plants o f the spec i es
The appl e is the n e xt
choice and in seasons when th e caterpillars ar e numerous
orchards are attacked an d sometim e s en tirely defoli ated L owe
'
mentions ch e rry apple plum peach , ros e witch ha zel beech
barb erry oak willow and p oplar as food plants Weed found
the caterpillars feeding u porI b ir ch j and t he writ e r h as occa
T he
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N Y A g r E xp S t ati o n , B u ll et i n 1 52 ,
I N H A g r E xp S t at i o n , B u ll et i n 38,
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p
p
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28 1
53
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,
HA
BIT S
A N D
L
I FE
H I S TO RY
7
.
found them eating the leaves o f various species o f oak
I n \N oo db u r y this seas o n the writer observed the old nests o n
oak an d river beech '
Car pin n s )
s io n ally
.
,
.
HA B IT S
A N D
I FE H I S TO RY
L
.
T he
eggs are laid in cylindrical masses encircling small twigs
of the apple and cherry during the last days o f J
une o r first
of J
uly S pecimens in b reeding cages in th e laborato ry laid
eggs soon after t h e middle o f J
une b u t this is somewhat earlier
tha n they are laid upon the trees ou t o f doors A fter dep o sit
,
.
,
.
w
F IG URE
—
T
en t
-
Cate rpi ll ar s
.
P art i all y
gr o wn
.
N at u r al
s
ing
i ze
.
a ring o f eggs averaging ove r two hundred in number the
parent m oth covers them wit h a v i sc id fluid which hardens
giving th em a varni shed appearance The eggs are probably
gr eatl y prot ected b y this c o ating fr o m the w eather and f r o m
p r e dace ou s inse c ts S ee figure 2
The eggs do not hatch until t h e f o llowing A pril thus re m ai n
in g upon the twigs for about n in e months
The tiny cater
pillar s firs t feed upon th e f rothy mass surrounding the egg s
and next attack the new leaves which are then unfoldi n g
A fter a f ew days they spin many silken t h reads to f o rm their
S e e figure 3 and front
n est usually in a fork of the branches
page o f bulletin
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CON N E C T I C U T E X P ER I ME N T S T A T ION
FIG URE
5
—
.
T
en
t
-
Cat erpi llars
i g
r e st n
on
,
B
t he
U LL ET I N NO
ou
ts i de
of
.
t he
n es
t
.
H AB I TS
A N D
L
I FE
H
IS TO RY
9
.
This n est or colony contains the caterpillars f rom a sin g l e
m ass o f eggs
T h e cater pillars f eed in f air weather in t h e m orn
ing an d again in t h e a f ternoon and according to F itch again in
the night but during cloudy Weather they remain in the nest
Whe n n early ful l g rown the caterpillars m ay o ften be found at
rest on t h e outside o f the tent as show n in figure 5 They S pin
threads whe rever they c r awl along the branches from the nest
t o their feedi n g pla ces
T he egg m asses do n ot all hatch at the sa me time and it is
not uncommon to find h al f grow n and n ewly h at c h e d eater
pillars in the same vicinity M r JM Whittlese y o f M orris ,
.
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F IG URE
6
-
.
Co co o ns
of
t en t
-
.
.
.
c at er
,
pi ll ar
.
N at u r al
s
ize
.
a
.
Con n
states in a letter to the writer th at during the s pring o f
1 902 the hatchin g pe riod extended over nearly twe n ty one days
The average f eeding pe r iod is about six week s during which
time the caterpill ars have m gl ted p r cast thei r skins s everal
times A s they increase in i z e t li ey b ecome m o re voraciou s
an d d evou r the l eaves rapidly
A t each m o lting period they
stop feeding for a f ew hours then begin again with renewed
V igor
When fully grow n the caterpillars cease eating and wander
ab out restl essly for a day o r two the n spin white silken cocoons
in the grass under the trees in the crevices o f the rough bark
or abou t buildi n gs boxes etc that may be near the in fested
t r ees S ee figure 6
There is only a sin g le broo d each year
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I O
CO N N E C T I C U T E X P ER I M E N T S TAT IO N
A
B
,
U LLET I N NO
.
colony of tent caterpillars was brought int o the laboratory
on M ay I st The n est had been f o rm e d t h o u g h the cater
pillars were small m easuring about three six t eenths o f an inch
in l ength and th ey had probably b een hatched about a week
On M ay 2 6 t h they h ad bec ome full grow n an d three or fo u r
pup ated I n a w e ek all had m ade th eir cocoons and by the 1 6 th
of J
une t h e adults began to emerg e This continued for nearly
a w eek u ntil all h ad come forth
M eant i me several egg
m asses had bee n form ed in t h e bre eding cage by the females
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D E S CRI P TI O N
.
The eggs ar e g r ey in color and very s mall being
about o n e ei g hteenth o f an inch long and S lightly m o r e than
hal f as thick T h e upper end is circular and is slightly l arger
tha n the lower en d They are placed on end close together
an d covered one sixte enth o f an inch de ep with abrown substance
resem bli n g glue The whole mass usuall y encircles t h e twig
but is som etimes d eposited on one side only A n eg g m ass i S
show n in figure 2
L ar va Wh en first hatched the caterpillar is very small and
nearly b lack with a f ew grey hairs
I t molts five or six time s as it increases in si z e and after
each molt the m arkings show more disti n ctly
When full
grown the caterpill ar is f rom two t o two and o n e hal f inches
in leng th and is thi n ly covered with long light brown hairs
The color is bl ack with a white stripe a long t h e back and
m any short irregula r brow n ish stripes or markings along the
side o f each segm e n t The sides ar e o f a bluish color and each
segment bears an oval blue spot n e arly surround e d with black
T h e under side o f the body head an d legs ar e black
The
larvae natural si ze ar e show n in figure 4
P apa T h e pupa stage is pass ed in a white oval coco o n
which is abou t o n e inch in length and hal f an inch in thickness
I t is made o f silk en threads spu n by the caterpillar and
loosely woven I t is usually attached by o n e side to some ob ject
in a more o r less protected place F igure 6 shows a few of
the cocoons
A d u lt
The adult is a four w in ged m oth of light r e ddish
brown color with two whitish stripes ex t ending obli q uely across
E gg
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M IS TA ' E N
—
FOR
O T H ER I N S E C T S
1 1
.
each for e wing The female has a wing expans e o f ab o ut one
and on e hal f and the male about one and o n e eighth inches
The m ales are in clined to b e somewhat darker in color than the
femal e s though there is m uch variation in the int en sity o f the
grou n d color and o f the marki n g s in both sex es
.
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-
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,
,
.
FIG URE
7
A du lt s
—
.
.
F e m al e ab o v e
M al e b e l o w
.
N atu ral
.
s
i ze
.
T h e r ear wi n gs a re t h e sam e color as th e fore wings but
are not m arked with white stripes B oth sexes are sh o wn in
'
,
.
figur e 7
.
M IS T A ' E N
F OR
OT H ER I N S ECT S
.
N otwiths tandi n g the fact that the tent cate rpi llar is
of
the best known and m o st fa m iliar o f all our in jurious insects
“
“
”
”
B ag wo r m
it is o ften erroneously called bag worm
is t h e
c o mmo n n ame for T li yr id opt er yx eph em er af or rn is H aw a very
di f fer ent insect occurring in t h eé o mh e r n states E ach larva is
i n cl o sed and susp ended in a bag or sack as is show n in figure
8
Thi s insect is found in C o n necti cut chiefly o n arborvit ae ,
which h as been imported from the S outh
Fruit growers ar e apt to confus e the t en t caterpill ar with the
fall web worm H yphan tr i a c u n ea D rury an insect which makes
n ests on the end s o f the branches o f f ruit and for e st trees later
in the s eason
The two sp ecie s are q uite di ff erent and can
readily be disti n guishe d i f we re m ember that the former occurs
only in spring an d chiefly in the crotches o f t h e trunk or
nd
branches T h e c aterpillars rem ain inside the nest in cloudy a
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o ne
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1 2
CON N E C T I C U T E X P ER I M E N T S TAT IO N
,
B
U LLET I N NO
.
storm y weather but go out to f ee d The latt e r '
fall web worm )
is partially double brood e d in C o n n ecticut an d a few n ests are
s een the latter part o f J
une but t h e greater n um ber o f the m ain
-
,
.
,
,
F IGU RE
8
—
.
T h e b ag wo rm
N atu r al
-
.
s
i ze
.
m
e
r
A
n
e
brood do n ot é
u
til
ugust
S
ept
ber
The
f
edi ng
e
a
n
a
d
pp
is do n e withi n the web which encloses t h e food leaves A fter
these hav e b een eaten t he web is enlarged to i n clud e f r e sh leaves
-
.
.
,
FIG URE
9
.
—
N e st s
of
f all
web wo rm
-
.
A f te r
'
S l i n g e r l an d
.
)
M IS TA ' E N
OT H ER
FOR
I N SE CT S
1
.
3
w h ich in turn are devoured I n this way sometimes an e n tire
branch is enclos e d in t h e nest o f the fall web worm which is
alw ays first form e d at the en d o f a branch as is show n in
figure 9
~ T h e appl e tre e tent caterpillar is al so m ist a
ken for the forest
ten t caterpillar but the di f fere n ce and relationship ar e e xplained
below
.
—
,
,
.
—
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—
,
.
T
FO RE S T T
HE
E N T CATER P I LL AR
—
A N D
Ho w I T D I F FER S
.
l ac os orn a diss tr ia a
The forest tent cat e rpillar M a
m akes
n o nest or t ent and during most of the la r v al peri od the cater
-
,
F IG URE
Io
.
F o r e st t en t
—
-
.
t pi llar s
ca er
.
N at u ral
s
i ze
,
.
pillars fe e d singly or independently When n early full grown
howev e r they cluster on the trunks o f trees in m uch t h e s ame
mann er as the appl e tree tent caterp ill ars gather on t he outside
o f t h e n est The forest sp eci es fee ds upon f ruit S hade an d
f o r est t r e e s an d at various times it has defoliat e d large areas
n d N orthern N ew York
in V ermont N ew H ampshire a
I n fact
th e re has be en in ju ry in N ew York an d on L o n g I sla n d th e
present seaso n
T h e forest tent c at e rpillar is generally light blue in color with
a row o f whit e keyhol e shaped spot s along the back instead o f
a stripe The cat erpillar is shown in figur e 1 0 an d the egg
cluster show n in fi g ure I I has the ends s q uared o ff an d less
point ed than th at of the apple tree species shown in figure 1 2
,
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,
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I
C O N N ECTI C U T E X
4
ERI M E N T
P
N
S
TATI O N B ULLETI N
N o
,
AT U RA L E N E M IE S
.
1
77
.
.
The tent caterpillar 1 8 usuall y h eld in check by its natural
enemies ; in fact but f o r them it would b e m uch more abundant
and d e structive each season I ts abundanc e the present seas o n
”
“
and in other caterpillar years is undoubt edly due to a c o m
par at iv e scarcity of n atural e nemies thus allowing the species
to multiply unchecked
C o n spicuous among th ese enemie s are the four winge d
“
”
ichneumon flies an d a bacterial disease call e d wilt
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,
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,
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F IG URE 1 1 E gg cl u st e r o f f o re st
ten t cate r pi ll ar N atu ral s i z e
—
.
F IG URE
—
tr ee
—
.
.
E gg
l
t en t c at e r pi ll ar
12
—
.
—
c u st e
-
.
r
of
app le
N at u ral
S
ize
.
' m entions three e
T
e len orn n s c lis i o
u
int
n
c
parasites
a
a
e
g
g
Q
P t er orn aln s Sp an d P latyg as t er sp which attack
c arapce R il e y
the egg clust ers o f the apple tr ee tent caterpillar M ost o f the
parasites attack the larvae and pup ae an d Fiske I recorded 2 4
sp ecies o f i n sects re ar ed f ro m t h e t en t cat e rpill ar S ome o f
th es e w e re undoubtedly secondary or hyper paras ites but four
species o f P impla three S pecies o f A pan teles an d one two
wi n ged fly Fr on tin af r en chii Will are prob ably primary parasites
e
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,
E n to m o l o gy , Ci r cu l ar 98, p ag e 5 , 1 908
I N ew H am p sh i r e A g r E xp S t a , T ec hn i c al B u ll eti n 6 ,
B u r e au
of
.
' '
.
.
p ag e
2,
1
903
.
C ON T R OL T H I S P E S T
H OW T o
I5
.
T h e P i m plas ar e com m on parasites in Connecticut P
q n is i t or S ay show n in figure 1 3 being o n e o f the c o mmonest
'
,
c on
.
Of
.
cocoons co llected at S tonington this season 1 4 0 gave ich n eu
mon flies 7 Tachinid fli e s and the moths emerged f rom 20 7
C
ocoo n s
3 54
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,
,
,
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F IG URE
1
3
—
.
p ar as i te
A
P i mpla
S ay
c on q n i s i t or
’
N at u r af
.
s
ize
.
”
The bacterial diSease or wilt has been very com m on and
the caterpillars ar e slu g gish an d flabby an d d i e on the outside
o f the trees o r nests in a shr u nken conditi o n S everal predaceous
insects i n cludi n g t h e larger ground beetle s o f t h e genus Ca
los oni a
an d the soldier bugs o f the g enus P o dis n s as well as two other
ar i d as S tal
sucking bu g s P er iltu s clan d i t s S ay and D iplod u s '
feed upon the caterpillars
B irds ar e i m portant factors in the co ntrol o f t h is pest the
cuckoos playing a prominent part T h e crow Chi ckade e ori o le
chi ppin g sparrow yellow war b ler and red eyed vir e o are o ther
birds t h at f eed upon the caterpillars
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CON TR OL M
D es tr oyin g th e E g g s
mont hs in destroyin g the
.
E A SU
RE
S
.
M uch can be done through the winter
egg ma
When
the
trees
are
bare
S
S
L es;
-
a
fi
en ds o f
these can be seen near the
z
th e
twigs and may easily
,
,
F IG URE
I
4
—
.
T
r ee
p r u n er s
.
I
6
C O N N ECT I C U T E X
ERI M E N T S TATI O N B ULLETI N
P
,
N
O
1
.
77
.
be clipp ed o ff by m eans o f a tree pruner having a long ha n dl e
which enabl es t h e operator to reach and cut
s ee figur e
'
the egg masses while standin g upon the ground
Th e s e
o ff
should th en be gather e d and burn ed
,
-
.
.
R
B r u s hin g
.
em o vi n g
t he
N
es ts
.
M any y ears ago the writer used to be sent thro u gh
the o rchards with a brush m ount e d on the end o f a pole to
rem ov e the n e sts f rom t h e trees in the early m or n ing or on a
cloudy day when t h e c aterpillars were in them
The brush was mad e of sti ff bristles twisted in heav y wire an d
trim m e d to the shape Of a con e about six I nch es long I t was
m ade for the purpose and work e d admi rably
The op e rator stan ds upon t h e ground inserts the point o f
the brush in the n est and gives it a few turns and the entire
nest with conte n ts is woun d upon the brush The caterpillars
may then b e easily destroyed by crushing upo n the ground
D uring r e ce n t y ears I have not been able to find this brush
S L einer
C o o f 1 2 50 B rook avenue
o n t h e mark e t but G eo
N ew York h as been m aki n g so m e s am pl es after m y specific ations
an d will b e prepar e d to m a n u f actur e it in the future if there
i s a d em a n d for it
T h e c o st will b e less than fifty cents at
L oc al dealers and s eedsmen
W holesale o r even in do z e n lots
should pr o cur e a supply and b e ready to sell them to f ruit
growers next spring The ap pearance o f t h e brush is shown
in figur e 1 5
.
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F IG URE
B u r ni ng
.
1
5
—
.
A
t rpi llar b ru sh
ca e
.
S ome fruit growers pr actice burning t h e nests on
the t r ees an d for this purpose an asbestos t o rch has been designed
and m anufactured T he to rch is filled or cover e d with kerose n e
lighted an d held under the n est when the caterpillars are i n sid e
We do not recomm e n d burning because th e r e is danger o f
severe in jury t o t h e tree Where the nests ar e n ear the ends
,
.
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,
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1
8
C ON NE C T IC U T E X
P E R
M any
I M ENT
S
TA T I ON
,
B
U L L ET I N
N o
1
.
77
.
writers advis e the destructi o n o f the wild cherry and
seedling apple trees which ha rb o r the tent c ate rpillar al o ng the
hedg er ows and r o adsides
I f n o t destr o yed the o vvn e r sh o ul d certainly care f o r the se
trees t o the e x tent o f keeping them f r ee f r o m insects and n o t
”
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FI G U
R E
1
6
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S acks fill e d w i th
t r e ady
T en t Cat e rp illar
n es s
—
to
b e b u rn e d
n es
t
.
.
N
t
ew o w n
.
.
all o w them t o be a me n ace t o his neighb or o r the o rchards o f
the v icinity
P r o fess o r W eed rec ommends that children be give n a s m all
b o unty f o r gathe r i n g egg mas ses and cite s a case in N ewfield s
N
H w here they were o ff ered ten cents per hundred clusters
egg masses were
b y the village impr o vement s o ciety
c o llected and i f each clust er c o ntained I 50 eggs whi ch is a
small average
500 eggs w ere destr o yed at a co st o f
A n interesting c o ntest was c o nducted in 1 91 3 by M r L e onard
M
pri
n cipal o f the high s ch oo l at N ewt o wn
n
o hns o n
n
o
C
j
t o the b o y o r girl bringing in the
wh o o ffered a pri ze o f
greatest number o f nests S ec o nd and third pri z es of
.
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'
D ivi si o n
of
p age 77, I 898
.
E
t
l
n o m o og
y, U
.
S D ept A g ric u lt u re B ull
.
.
,
.
1
7,
ne
wS
e
ri e s
,
S
UM
M A R Y
I
.
9
and
respectively were als o o ffered A ll nests were t o be
cleaned up care f ully and gathered at dusk o r early m o rning when
t he caterpillars were in them
T h e results were very sat is f ac
t o ry I t was a hard f o ught c o ntest and
nests were
gath ered weighing ab out
p o unds T he winners were '
.
.
.
.
bert Fai rch ild s
Wilbu r Ol m st ead
R u ss ell Wheel e r
R
o
I st
,
.
3d
,
Jh
t
n es s
2d
,
M
p ri z e,
s o n t o o k charge o f the nests b ro ught in each m o rning
and burned them at a b o n fire F igure 1 6 sh o ws t he sacks o f
nests br o ught t o sch oo l at o n e time
A
similar c o ntes t in gathering the egg cluste rs during the
wi n ter might b e held in every c o untry sch o o l a
w oul d
nd
materially check the pest
r
.
o
n
.
.
—
.
SU M M A R Y
.
T he ap ple tree te n t caterpillar a n ative i n sect an d o n e o f the
chief leaf eati n g e n emies o f the o rchard has bee n very abun dan t
thr o ugh o ut Co n n ecticut the prese n t seas o n an d has i n jured fru i t
trees by def o liatin g them in M ay
W i ld cherry is pr o bably the
riat u r al f o o d o f the species
but when abu n dan t it attacks apple an d
o ther fruit trees
2
E g g s are laid o n the twi g s o f the f o o d plan t i n summer an d
hatch the f o ll o wi n g A pril A fter a few days the y o un g caterpillars
f o rm o n t he bran ches a n est i n which they live g o i n g o u t fr o m i t
T hey are always withi n the n est at n i ght an d i n cl o udy
t o f eed
weather T hey bec o me full gr o wn in ab o ut s ix weeks an d sp in white
silken c o c o o n s fr o m wh i ch the adults emer g e t w o weeks later
3 T he small grey eggs are dep o sited in masses o f 2 00 o r m o re
e n circli n g the twigs an d are c overe d with a br o wn ish substa n ce
T he full gr o wn caterpilla r is o ver n in c h e s l o n g black ab o ve an d
bel o w, an d blue o n the sides with a white stri pe al o n g the back
I t is thi n ly c o vered with li ght br o w n hairs
T he white c o c o o n is
ab o ut o n e i n ch i n le n g th an d half an i n ch i n thickn ess T he adult
is a reddish br o wn m o th with t w o whit i sh stripes e xte n di n g o bli q uely
acr o ss each f o re wi n g
4 T he species is usually held in check by its n atural e n emies which
c on sist o f several ki n ds o f birds parasitic in sects an d a bacter i al
disease
5 T he remedies are ' t o gather an d de str o y the egg masses duri n g
the wi n ter m o n ths ; an effective m eth o d o f acc o m plishi n g this is t o
o ffer a b o un ty o r pri zes t o sch o o l childre n f o r them ; s p ray whe n the
I
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20
f
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3
CON N E CT I CU T
EX
P
ER I M
E
NT
S
TA
T
ION
,
B
U LL ET I N
N
o
.
1
77
.
leaves app ear usin g three p o un ds o f lead arsenate o r o n e half
p o un d o f P aris g reen t o 5 0 gall o n s o f water o r B o rdeaux mi xture ;
if impracticable t o spray brush o ff the n e s t s as s o o n as they c an be
ch
o n
o o si n g the early m o r n i n g o r cl o udy weather whe n the cater
f u d
pi llars are i n side the n est ; burn i n g the n ests o n the trees is n o t
t o be rec o mme n ded
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,
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,
.