LEPIDOPTERA 233 



long black hairs with plume-like tips; a similar brush is borne on the 

 back of the eighth abdominal segment, and the first four abdominal 

 segments bear dense brush-like tufts of cream-colored or white hairs. 



The California tussock-moth, Hemerocampa vetusta. — The white- 

 marked tussock-moth described above is found only in the East; this 

 species is found in California, where it is common on live oak and yellow 

 lupin trees, and has injuriously infested apple and cherry orchards. The 

 larvae have black heads, crimson hair-bearing warts and prolegs, and the 

 four tussocks or brush-like tufts of hairs on the back are often dark gray 

 with brownish crests. In general the life-history of this species is similar 

 to that of the eastern species. 



The old tussock-moth, Notolophus antlqua. — The male is of a rust- 

 brown color; the fore wings are crossed by two deeper brown bands and 

 have a conspicuous white spot near the anal angle. The body of the 

 grub-like female is black, clothed with yellowish-white hairs; she lays 

 her eggs on her cocoon, but, unlike the two preceding species, does not 

 cover them with anything. The larva differs from either of the preceding 

 in having an extra pair of pencils of plume-like hairs arising from the 

 sides of the second abdominal segment; the head is jet-black; the glands 

 on the sixth and seventh abdominal segments are vermilion-red or some- 

 times bright orange; and the tubercles on the sides of the back of the 

 second and third thoracic and the sixth and seventh abdominal segments 

 are orange-red or yellow margined with pale yellow. 



The gypsy moth, Porthetria dispar. — This is a European species 

 which was introduced in Massachusetts in 1866 by a French naturalist 

 who was conducting experiments with silk-worms. Some of the insects 

 escaped from him into a neighboring woodland and became established 

 there; but they did not attract particular attention till about twenty 

 years later. It was then realized that this species is a serious pest. Since 

 then millions of dollars have been expended by the State of Massachu- 

 setts and the Federal Government in an unsuccessful effort to extermin- 

 ate it. It has spread over a large part of New England, and isolated 



colonies have been found in New York. 

 The larva has a wide range of food- 

 plants, feeding on the foliage of most 

 forest and fruit-trees. The male moth 

 is brown; -the female white (Fig. 409). 

 In each the fore wings are crossed by 

 many dark lines and bear a black 

 lunule on the discal vein. The speci- 

 men figured is unusually small. The 



FK.W.- Porthetria dispa,. eggg ^ ^ ^ & magg Qn Rny CQn _ 



venient object and are covered with hair from the abdomen of the 

 female. The larva differs greatly in appearance from those of the pre- 

 ceding genera, lacking the peculiar pencils and tufts of hair; but the 

 characteristic glands of the sixth and seventh abdominal segments are 

 present and are red. The body is dark brown or black, finely reticulated 

 with pale yellow, and with narrow yellow dorsal and subdorsal lines. On 

 the dorsal aspect of each segment there is a pair of prominent, rounded 

 tubercles bearing spiny black hairs. The first five pairs of these tubercles 

 are bluish, the others dark crimson-red. There are also two rows of 

 tubercles on each side of the body which bear longer hairs. 



