THE ]M{OWN-TAIL MOTH. 



Nearlj^ two centuries ago the famous French entomolo- 

 gist, Reaumur, wrote with delightful accurac}^ on the habits 

 and life history' of a caterpillar, which, from its wide dis- 

 tribution and frequent occurrence, he called " /« comimme,''^ 

 — the common caterpillar. He described the strange habit 

 of the caterpillars in wintering half grown in a common 

 web ; their ravages in the spring in orchard and field ; and 

 their feeding, growth and transformation into white moths 

 with bodies tipped with a golden band, — a marking that 

 at once explains the more familiar name, "the brown-tail 

 moth." This insect is indeed common in Europe, and 

 occurs wherever the pear and apple flourish. In England, 

 France and German}^ its record is one of frequent damage 

 to fruit and shade trees, to shrubs and flowering plants ; 

 while at intervals it has appeared in prodigious numbers, 

 causing outbreaks that became matters of historical impor- 

 tance, and resulting in severe loss and grave alarm on the 

 part of afflicted property owners. 



Such, in brief, is the brown-tail moth : in summer, a 

 snow-white, brown-tailed moth, laying its eggs on the 

 leaves of pear and many other trees ; in August, myriads 

 of tiny caterpillars, feeding on the tender foliage at the 

 tips of twigs ; in winter, hibernating safely in a tight silken 

 web ; in spring, sallying forth to complete their growth on 

 bud, blossom and leaf; in June, ending the life cycle in 

 cocoons from which the moths emerge by the middle of 

 Jul}'. A paragraph will give a synopsis of its knoAvn life 

 history ; a volume would not record its damage in the old 

 world, or the full importance of its unfortunate introduc- 

 tion into the new ; in fact, we do not know as yet just what 

 role this insect is to play in our horticultural operations, 



