71 



observe the nests, and requesting others to do the same on every 



opportunity. As yet the webs are not very large, but they will be 



rapidly increased in size by the caterpillars as they grow to maturity, 



and unless removed will remain through the winter as a disfigurement 



to the trees and a disgrace to the community. 



The eggs are laid upon the leaves of a great many different kinds 



of shrubs and trees in July, in clusters which are composed of a large 



number of greenish white eggs and are more or less hidden by a loose 



covering formed by the female of her own scales. The eggs soon 



hatch and the young caterpillars at once begin to spin a protecting web. 



They are pale yellow at first, with black heads and two rows of black 



spots along the body, and are covered with slender hairs. When small 



they eat only the upper surface of the leaves, skeletonizing them. They 



grow rapidly and enlarge the web as they develop. They remain 



almost entirely in their tent and will destroy the foliage of a large-sized 



branch in a short time. When full-grown they are about an inch in 



length and vary greatly in their markings. Some specimens are pale 



yellowish, whilst others are of a deep gray. The head is black and 



there is a broad dark stripe down the back. Along each side is a yellow 

 spotted stripe. The body is covered with long soft hairs which vary in 

 colour, and whice arise from a number of small black or orange tuber- 

 cles. When almost tuU-grown they give up their social habits and 

 scatter in all directions to continue their depredations. They pas? the 

 winter in the chrysalis state within slight cocoons which they spin either 

 amongst fallen leaves, in crevices of bark, or a short distance beneath 

 the surface of the soil, where they remain until the following summer. 



The webs from the very first are conspicuous objects and from the 

 social habits of the caterpillars a whole colony is easily destroyed by 

 cutting off the nest and trampling it under foot. To take this small 

 trouble in order to protect our shade trees from one of their worst 

 enemies is what I am asking our members to do. 



:o:- 



A. A. A. S. 



The next Annual Meeting of the American Association for the 

 Advancement of Science and the xA-ssociated Societies, will be held this 

 year at Rochester, N.Y., beginning on August loth and ending about 

 August 24J.h. The proximity of Rochester should induce many of our 

 members to take this opportunity of meeting the numerous men of note 

 who always attend the A. A. A. S. meetings. 



