Entomological Notes. 289 



them. Special care should be taken to examine all young trees 

 carefully, and to destroy the eggs and prevent the spread of this 

 pest. When they have got a foothold, advantage may be taken of 

 their suspending themselves with a web when the tree is slightly 

 Tarred. But the surest means for their destruction is the crushing 

 of the clusters of eggs on the trees in the winter season. The tell- 

 tale leaf will readily direct one on the lookout, and who knows its 

 significance to the threatening evil. Mr. Riley says he has dis- 

 covered nine parasites which do us efficient service in keeping this 

 foe in check, and strongly urges the destruction of those cocoons 

 only that contain masses of eggs, as the others are harmless male 

 cocoons or contain parasite friends, which, if spared, will destroy 

 many of those that escape our notice. 



The Rascally Leaf-Crumplee. 



JPhycita nebulo. 



This insect was first discovered and named by Prof. Walsh, state 

 entomologist of Illinois, in 1860. It infests both the apple, the 

 cherry, the plum and crab-apple. Its numbers are much larger 

 than is generally supposed, and the damage done by them is also 

 much under-estimated. This is owing largely to the fact that they 

 do not work in communities, but are scattered one or two in a 

 place all over the trees. At the season when they are the most 

 ravenous in their work of destruction the trees are in full foliage, 

 and though they may exist in large numbers, they escape notice 

 unless a very careful examination is made. Some seasons and in 

 certain localities they are so numerous as to destroy nearly all 

 the fruit and foliage in large orchards. The past season the 

 orchard on the lake shore, on the University farm, was very much 

 injured by them. Most of the trees in the orchard on the northern 

 slope were so much infested with them that the color of the foliage 

 was changed from a bright green to a dull, withered, ashy color, 

 and on close examination the extent of the mischief done by them 

 could be seen in the loss of vitality in the leaves and in the 

 destruction of nearly all of the fruit. This insect, like the one 

 last described, passes the winter on the trees, under the protection 

 of a clump of dry leaves, bound securely to the twigs by silken 

 cords, but the two can be very easily distinguished. In the one, 



