184 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Tent Caterpillar, Clisiocampa sylvatica. There were millions upon millions 

 of them, and so enormous were their numbers, and so persistent their 

 attacks, that after fighting them bravely for a week or two, many gave up 

 the contest in despair, weary of the slaughter. Many an orchard was 

 rendered bare and leafless, and in some instances the woods were so void 

 of foliage as to remind one of winter. This was particularly the case 

 about London, and our orchards and gardens here were saved from 

 destruction only by the most persistent effort. For several weeks cater- 

 pillars were swarming everywhere, so that the timid scarcely dared venture 

 out under the shade of trees for fear of bringing them home on their 

 clothing or persons. By the end of June they had nearly all become 

 chrysalids, and it was interesting to observe the strange looking deformities 

 they occasioned among ornamental shrubs and flowers by twisting the 

 leaves into suitable forms in which to enclose their cocoons. On the 

 trees the few fragments of leaves remaining were put to a similar purpose, 

 and thus sewed up and hanging pendant with the weight of sometimes 

 two or three cocoons huddled together, they looked very odd. 



On examining a number of these chrysalids, a large proportion of them 

 were found to be infested with parasites, which materially lessens the 

 chances of their being so very numerous again next year ; still we fear 

 that enough of them passed safely through all their preparatory stages to 

 give us some trouble another season. 



The Cabbage Butterfly, Pieris rapes, is still progressing westward. This 

 year it has extended its domain as far as Chicago, where a few of the 

 advance guard have been captured. In the neighborhood of London 

 their larvae have been very destructive this summer, so disfiguring and 

 destroying the cabbages in many instances as to render them entirely 

 worthless. The history of the introduction of this pretty little pest forms 

 an interesting chapter in our Entomological annals. During the time of 

 theTrent difficulty in 1861 a quantity of fresh vegetables were sent along with 

 other stores to Quebec for the sustenance of the gallant little army which 

 W9S despatched to our shores. As the Cabbage Butterfly is said to have 

 made its appearance shortly after this period, it is presumed that it was 

 accidentally introduced with the stores for the troops. In 1863 

 specimens were sent to us from this district for determination, which was 

 the first intimation we had of their existence in this country. By 1866 

 the butterfly had spread ftnther west than Montreal, and east as far as the 

 Saguenay River. In 1869 it was reported as common in New Jersey, and 



