tup: broavn-tail moth. 9 



ment, as he is a conservative man, and possesses a good 

 general knowledge of our common insect pests. 



Mr. H. Foster, 23 Park Street, Somerville, Mass., removed 

 and burned the tents on his trees each spring from 1895 to 

 1897. This was done before the caterpillars left the webs, 

 and as a result his trees retained their foliage, while those 

 of his neighbors were almost entirely defoliated. 



Mr. John Walker, living at 2 Arnold Court, Somerville, 

 Mass., stated that for more than three years previous to 

 1897 he had noticed damage by these caterpillars, the num- 

 ber of the insects increasing each year. 



These statements indicate that the moth had been suffi- 

 ciently numerous to cause noticeable injury since 1892-94. 

 It is entirel}^ probalile that it occurred in small numbers for 

 several 3'ears before it was noticed by property owners, so 

 that it is safe to set the date of its introduction tentatively 

 at about 1890. The question has been raised why the moth 

 was not discovered at an early date by the employees of the 

 gypsy moth committee. This is explained by the fact that 

 in the part of Somerville where the moth was found the 

 gypsy moth force had not worked for several years. Fur- 

 ther than that, these men were obliged by law to confine 

 their work to the gypsy moth, hence did not pay special 

 attention to other insects unless they became injuriously 

 abundant. 



Introduction of the Moth. 



It seemed entirely probable that the place of the original 

 introduction of the moth would be found in the worst-infested 

 locality, as the insects would naturally increase in numbers 

 and spread outward from year to year. An examination of 

 the territory showed that the area of greatest damage was 

 near the Somerville depot on the Fitchburg Railroad. Here 

 by the middle of June the devastation had become truh^ 

 formidable. Pear and apple trees were entirely defoliated, 

 shade trees suifered severelv, while even shrubs and herbaije 

 were not exempt from the attacks of the ravenous insects. 

 Travelling outward in any direction from this point as a 

 centre the damage by the moth gradually grew less, until 

 at a distance of between one and two miles the infestations 



