31S PVUUS MALI'S. 



tioiiod in several important particulars. It is one of the kind in which the body 

 of tlie female is not lart^'e (Mioiit^h to cover her Ciriis, for tlic jirotcctioii whereof, 

 j)rovisi(Mi IS made, con^isiiiiiz. in lliis species, of a kind of meml)rancous shell, of 

 the colour anil consistence almost of paper. In autumn, and during winter, these 

 insects are seen in a torpid state, and of two different forms and sizes, on the bark 

 of the trees. The lariier ones measureless than a tenth of an inch in length, and 

 are in the sliape of a common oyster-shell, being \nodd at the hinder extremity, 

 but tajH^ring towards the other, which is surmounted by a little oval, brownish 

 scale. The small ones, which are not much more than half the length of the 

 others, are of an oblong-oval shajie, or almost four-sided, with the ends rounded, 

 and one extremity is covered by a dark-coloured, minute, oval scale. For a 

 description of the general habits of this family of insects, the reader is referred to 

 our article on the orange-tree, under the head of " Insects."* 



The tender buds and young leaves of the apple-tree are sometimes attacked, in 

 May and June, by muliiliides of small caterpillars, described by Dr. Harris, 

 under the name of the eye-spotted penthina {Penthlna ociihna.') They are of 

 a pale and dull-brown colour, warty and slightly downy, with the head and the 

 top of the first ring of a dark shining brown. They usually acquire their growth 

 by the middle of June, at which time they transform, and come out in the winged 

 state early in July. These caterpillars live singly in the buds or opening foli- 

 age, which they fasten together and devour. The only sure mode recommended 

 to destroy them is, to crush the withered clusters of leaves containing them or 

 their chrysalides, and thus " nip them in the bud." But one of the greatest 

 pests to the American orchards, as well as to the foliage of the elm, and some- 

 times of the. cherry, plum, linden, and other trees, is the canker-worm, first 

 described by Professor Peck under the name of Phalama veniata. According to 

 Dr. Harris, the canker-worm moths begin to make their appearance after the 

 first hard frost in the autumn, usually towards the end of October, and they con- 

 tinue to come forth, in greater or smaller numbers, according to the mildness or 

 severity of the weather after the frosts have begun. Their general time of rising, 

 however, is in the spring, beginning about the middle of March, but sometimes 

 before, and at others, after this time; and they continue to come forth for the 

 space of about three weeks. It has been observed that there are more females 

 than males among those that appear in the autumn and winter, and that the 

 males are the most abundant in the spring. The sluggish and wingless females 

 instinctively make their way towards the nearest trees, and creep slowly up their 

 trunks. In a few days afterwards they are followed by the winged and active 

 males, which flutter about and accompany them in their ascent, during which, 

 the two sexes pair. Soon after this, the females lay their eggs upon the branches 

 of the trees, placing them on their ends, close together in rows, forming clusters 

 of sixty to one hundred eggs or more, which is the number usually laid by each. 

 The eggs are glued to each other, and to the bark, by a grayish varnish, which 

 is impervious to water ; and the clusters are thus securely fastened in the forks 

 of the small branches, or close to the young twigs and buds. The eggs are usu- 

 ally hatched between the first and the middle of May, or about the time that the 

 red currant is in blossom, and the young leaves of the apple-tree begin to expand. 

 The little canker-worms, upon making their escape from the eggs, gather upon 

 the tender leaves, and, on the occurrence of cold and wet weather, seek shelter 

 in the bosom of a bud, or into the flowers, when the latter appear. The leaves, 

 when first attacked, will be found pierced with small holes, which become larger 

 and more irregular as the worms increase in size, until nearly all the pulpy parts 

 are consumed. A very great difference of colour is observable among these 



* See also Harris' Report, pp. 201 et 203. 



