286 Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 



they are a little over an inch in length, and generally of a pale 

 yellow color, with a broad dusky stripe along their back, and a yel- 

 low stripe on the sides. There is, however, a considerable varia- 

 tion in color, seemingly the result of the food on which the insects 

 live. Those on some kind of the oak are of a bluish or black color, 

 with the stripes on the side of a much paler shade. On each seg- 

 ment are found quite a number of warts or tubercles, from each of 

 which is developed a small group of whitish or gray hairs, with a 

 few black ones here and there, growing out at different angles. 

 The tubercles along the back are colored black; those on the side, 

 orange. When the worms reach maturity, they separate, each one 

 seeking a place to pass the pupa state, feeding on various plants as 

 they wander about. On finding the desired shelter, they spin a 

 thin and almost transparent cocoon of silk, in which they hibernate, 

 and are transformed to moths in June or July. Dr. Harris says 

 they form their cocoons in crevices of the bark and other sheltered 

 places above ground, but according to Prof. Riley they usually go 

 into the ground to pass the chrysalis period. Some of the earlier 

 broods of worms have been known to mature, pass the pupa state, 

 and develop into moths in time to perfect a second brood the same 

 season; but this is generally regarded as exceptional, and that the 

 species is single brooded, the different degrees of development 

 seen at the same time being the result of natural causes operating 

 to lengthen or shorten the period of hybernation. 



Their habits naturallv suggest the most efficient means for their 

 destruction. Until they reach maturity they never leave their webs; 

 all may be found at home; if these webs are cut off and destroyed, 

 the work of extermination will be complete. This should be done 

 for the good of the orchard, and for the credit of the owner. These 

 unsightly webs are an eyesore to the thrifty farmer; and in the pub- 

 lic estimation, like the prostrate gate, the blind hanging by one 

 hinge, they are regarded as a sure indication of a shiftless owner. 



Tussock Moth. 



Orygia leucostigma. 



During the winter season may be seen, here and there, a single 

 dry leaf, or a small cluster of leaves, hanging as if caught there by 

 chance, to the under side of a limb or twig of the apple, pear or 



