REPORT OF FIELD AGENT, GYPSY MOTH WORK. Ill 



Just such a period is now in progress in the State of Maine. 

 The gypsy moth infestation extends from Kittery, south, to 

 Corinth, north ; from New Hampshire, west, to Thomaston, 

 east. 



There are 197 towns and cities today infested with the 

 pest. The past season was devoted to checking the spread of 

 the moth — a task satisfactorily accomplished. While trained 

 scouts were kept in border towns, preventing the dispersion 

 of the moth, other crews were engaged preventing the increase 

 and reducing the badly infested colonies in southern Maine. 



The whole field force, under the supervision of able and 

 efficient inspectors, are proud of the work accomplished in 

 their respective territories ; they are unanimous in deploring 

 the fact that they were obliged to work with $5,000 less appro- 

 priation than in preceding years. The $5,000 deficit would have 

 enabled us to stamp out the few isolated colonies, as I planned ; 

 but I realized the futility of an attempt in those places without 

 proper means of support. In such colonies we could only con- 

 tent ourselves by preventing further increase. 



PARASITISM MISUNDERSTOOD. 



I wish to call attention to the large number of persons who 

 erroneously think they are preserving the parasite; they cut 

 the brown-tail webs during the winter months, and early in 

 the spring place them in a barrel. They then smear the inside 

 chimes of barrel, or other receptacle, with tangle-foot, or other 

 sticky substance, thereby confining the caterpillar, until it 

 emerges from the web, at the same time liberating, as they have 

 been taught to believe, the parasites. This is all wrong. The 

 parasite is safely ensconsed within and feeding on the vitals 

 of the caterpillar. 



The minute fly, so often found in the brown-tail webs, 

 known as the Monodontomerus, is a parasite of so little im- 

 portance that those who have taken this method to preserve the 

 parasite have imposed a needless and fruitless task upon them- 

 selves. If, instead of destroying, they fed the caterpillar .in 

 that barrel, until the time the beneficial parasite (Apanteles 

 lacteicolor) emerged from the carcass of the caterpillar and 

 completed its cycle of life, they would be rewarded for their 



