ISTew York Aoricultural Experiment Station. 387 



silken white wings punctuated by black spots. This name has gen- 

 erally been accepted for popular usage in England, where these 

 moths are known as the " Small "/ or " Little, ermine moths ". 

 Species of economic importance in that country are commonly 

 referred to as the " Hawthorn ermine moth " or the " Apple ermine 

 moth", etc., according to the host. Judeich-Nitsche ^ designated 

 this group of moths as " Schwarzpunktmotten ", which obviously 

 was also suggested by the aspect of the front wings. The gauzy 

 texture of the webs or tents spun by the caterpillars doubtless led 

 Jablonowski ^ of Hungary to call these insects " Pokhalos Molyok ", 

 " cobweb moths ", and in taxonomic treatises by German writers 

 these insects are frequently referred to as the " Gespinstmotten ", 

 which again suggests their web-spinning habits. 



The more destructive species have received a variety of names 

 throughout their range of distribution. Particularly is this true of 

 the form attacking apples which in England is known as the " Apple 

 ermine moth " (Theobald, Collinge) ; in France as " La chenille 

 fileuse du pommier " (Rebate) or " L' hyponomeute du pommier " 

 (Marchal); in Germany and Austria as the " Apfelgespinstmotte " 

 (Wahl, Kirchner, Hess); in Norway as " Eplespindmol " (Schoyen), 

 in Sweden as '' Apelspinnmal " (Lam.pa) ; in Crimea as " Yablonnaya 

 mol", the "Apple moth" (Mokshetsky) ; and in Japan as the 

 " Ringo no sumushi ", the " Apple veil worm," or " Ringo 

 kemushi ", the " Apple caterpillar " (Kuwana). These also indi- 

 cate the importance which is attached to this species as a destructive 

 pest of the apple. 



ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE. 



The ermine moths are regarded abroad as very destructive pests 

 of fruit trees, and because of their importance to horticultural inter- 

 ests, standard European works of reference on orchard insects usually 

 contain a very complete account of these species. Y. padellus has 

 largely derived its reputation for destructiveness from its attacks 

 on hawthorns and plums, and with these some writers would also 

 include cherries and apples. During certain seasons it is a very 

 common pest on hawthorn which may be rendered very unsightly 



* The prefix " little " as frequently used by British entomologists in this connection 

 is apparently employed for the purpose of distinguishing these moths from some 

 arctiid species which are of somewhat similar appearance but are much larger. Kappel 

 and Kirby in British and European Butterflies and Moths (1895) mention the fol- 

 lowing species: Ermine moth {Spilosoma lubricipeda Fabr.); Water ermine moth 

 {Spilosoma urticce Esp.) and White ermine moth {Spilosoma menlhastri W. V.). In 

 this connection it is also of interest to note that Riley in " Shade Trees and their 

 Insect Defoliators ", U. S. Dept. Agr. Ent. Bui. 10, referred to the form punctatissima 

 of Hyphantria cunea Drury as the " Many spotted ermine moth ", while Smith in 

 Economic Entomology, p. 26G, designates Spilosoma virginica as the " White ermine 

 moth ". 



' Forst-Insektenkunde, 2: 1067. 



* A Gyiimolcsfak 6s a Sz616 Kdrtev6 Rovarai, p. 45. 1902. 



