REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I904 385 



The habits of the insect are such that it can be controlled com- 

 paratively easily in orchards and on cultivated trees, and we would 

 by all means advise repressive if not exterminative measures 

 wherever it becomes established in small numbers at some distance 

 from large colonies. Such points of infestation should be made 

 known as soon as discovered, in order that adequate steps may be 

 taken to prevent unnecessary spreading. 



A more detailed account of this species, together with colored 

 illustrations of its various stages, is given in the i6th Report of the 

 State Entomologist igoo. 



Brown tail moth 



Euproctis chrysorrkoea Linn. 



The brown tail moth, unlike its introduced associate, the gipsy 

 moth, spreads rapidly because both sexes fly readily, and though it 

 was not discovered in this country till nearly lo years after the gipsy 

 moth was detected, it has already spread over a much larger area. 

 This species was also a subject of observation when the territory 

 infested by the gipsy moth was inspected last July. Many of the 

 peartrees in Maiden, Medford and vicinity were partially or entirely 

 defoliated by the caterpillars, and at the time of our visit several 

 tents of the young insects were seen, showing that another brood had 

 begun its operations. The moths had been flying in immense num- 

 bers only a week or lo days before, being so abundant as to arouse 

 general interest and provoke lengthy notices in some of the leading 

 city papers. This species now occurs as far west as Worcester and 

 Westminster, Mass. It has also invaded New Hampshire and a 

 colony has been established for some years at Kittery Me. This 

 species is not only a destructive leaf feeder, exhibiting marked 

 preference for the pear, but the irritating hairs from the caterpillars 

 are exceedingly annoying, producing a very uncomfortable rash 

 which, in some cases, is so severe as to cause illness. 



Description and habits. The eggs are laid in July in masses com- 

 posed of from two to three hundred and are usually placed on the 

 underside of the leaves, where they are covered with brown hairs 

 from the tip of the female's abdomen. They hatch in a short time 

 and the young feed during the rest of the season on the surface of the 

 leaves, a few only being required to skeletonize them. The cater- 

 pillars begin to make the nest or tent in which they hibernate, while 

 still young. It is constructed on the twigs and is made by drawing 

 together a few leaves, lining them with silk and inclosing them with 

 a mass of silken threads. These tents are so firmly secured to, the 

 twigs that they can not be removed without considerable force. 

 There is no danger of confusing the tents of this species with those 



