REPORT OF state; ENTOMOLOGIST. 



187 



color, the fore wings being spotted with darker shades. The 

 hind wings are of a uniform light brown color darker on the 

 veins. The body is slender and tapering to the end, without a 

 tuft. The wings expand about 13^ inches. The moth is an 

 active flyer, usually appearing before the female and flies by day 

 as well as night. 



The female (Fig. 5) is very light, almost white in color, with 

 very thin, semi-opaque wings, the fore wings being marked 

 with a row of brown spots along the margin and several irregu- 

 lar wavy lines and spots of the same color over the body of the 

 wing. The hind wings are uniformly light, with a somewhat 

 indistinct, marginal row of brown spots between the veins. The 



Fig. 5— Female Gipsy Moih. 



body is unusually large for a moth of the same wing expanse, 

 which accounts for its inability to fly. The end of the body 

 terminates quite abruptly and is covered with light brown or 

 yellowish hairs, which are used in covering the egg clusters. 

 The antennae of the female are slender, while those of the male 

 are quite broadly feathered, brown in color. Those of the 

 female are black. 



Soon after mating, the female moth deposits her egg clusters, 

 as previously described, and then dies. The insect remains in 

 the egg stage about nine months of the year; is active in the 

 caterpillar stage, the only time it is doing damage to vegetation, 

 for about two months. This period is through May and June, 

 the pupa and adult stages lasting the remaining month. These 

 stages may vary to quite an extent, depending upon the season. 

 1 have stated about the average time for each. 



