THE BROWN-TAIL MOTH. 7 



for gypsy moths, and requested information or help from 

 the committee, in order to suppress the insects. 



In this way Mr. Joseph B. Pike, living at 51 Preston 

 Street, Somerville, Mass., noticing the work of the strange 

 caterpillar, on May 8, 1897, sent word to the office of the 

 gypsy moth, committee that an insect which he supposed to 

 be the gypsy moth was destroying his pear trees. This 

 complaint was promptly investigated by an agent of the 

 committee, Mr. Fletcher Osgood, who reported that an in- 

 sect, presumably the tent caterpillar, was at work on the 

 pear trees ; and Mr. Pike was advised to spray the trees 

 with some arsenical poison. 



A second complaint of damage was received May 14 from 

 the well-known mycologist of Harvard University, Dr. 

 Roland Thaxter, and similar injmy to pear trees was ob- 

 served. The unusual feature of a tent-making caterpillar at 

 work in the spring on pear trees aroused the interest of Mr. 

 Kirkland, at the time assistant entomologist to the g3'psy 

 moth committee. Securing specimens, and not being able 

 to identify the insects offhand, he commenced to rear them, 

 in order that the species might be identified from the mature 

 moths. Following Dr. Thaxter's complaint concerning the 

 insect, other reports of damage came in rapidly to the. gypsy 

 moth office, and in the course of a few davs it was evident 

 that an insect outbreak of extraordinary nature was taking 

 place in Somerville and Cambridge. Specimens of the cat- 

 erpillar were given to Prof. C. H. Fernald, entomologist to 

 the committee, by ]Mr, Kh^kland, who, being struck with the 

 similarity of the habits of the catcr})ilhirs to those of the 

 brown-tail moth as described in European literature, sug- 

 gested to Professor Fernald that this new insect might pos- 

 sibly be that notorious pest. On his return to Amherst 

 Professor Fernald com[)ared the insects with figures and 

 descri})tions of the brown-tail moth in the Eiu-opean works, 

 and at once was able to idcntifv them as the brown-tail moth. 



This identification })romptly raised the interesting ques- 

 tion of how these insects had become colonized in the locality 

 where they were found. To obtain light on this point, care- 

 ful examination of the infested district was made, and a 



