SHORTER ARTICLES AND SOME IMPORTANT 

 LITERATURE OF THE PAST YEAR 



THE PEPPEK TREE CATERPILLAR 



For several years the pepper trees at Klerksdorp, Transvaal, says 

 William Moore in tiie Agrieultural Journal of the Union of South Africa, have 

 been regularly stripped of their leaves by the pepper tree caterpillar. 



The moth is pure white in color, the female being about three-cpiarters of 

 an inch in length and one and one-half inches across the expanded wings; the 

 male is somewhat smaller. The caterpillar when full grown measures about 

 one and one-quarter to one and one-half inches in length. The body is black; 

 has two nari'ow pale yellow lines on each side and is clothed ^\nth burnt orange 

 colored hairs whi(th give it a yellowish appearance. The legs are dark brown ; 

 the forelegs are red in color. The young caterpillars have hairs much shorter, 

 so that they appear blacker. 



The moth lays her eggs at about the beginning of October, in a cluster 

 which forms a band about one inch in length around the petiole of the leaf 

 or young twig. They hatch in about twenty to twenty-five days, and the young 

 caterpillars innnediately begin feeding upon the leaf nearest to them. The 

 progeny of one moth seem to live in a cluster unless forced to scatter because 

 of lack of food. The feeding is done at night. By the middle of December 

 the caterpillar has reached full size. It pupates in an oval cocoon, and these 

 may he found most abundantly on the ground under an infested tree. The 

 moths of the second brood appear in the last of February or the first of JIarch. 

 These lay their eggs, and the ciiteri)illars arc found on the trees in Ajiril. 

 They reach full growth by the end < f .May and jiupate. passing tlie winter 

 in this ccndition. 



The parasite i\' tlic caterpillar, the tai-hnid tly, which resembles the house 

 lly, but is soiiu'what larger, is comparatively ineffective because of its appear- 

 ance tlie second time. i. e., from maggots in the December caterpillars, about 

 three iiumths before the second brand of caterpillars appear, and have no 

 place 1(1 lay tlicir eggs except as tlicy may find another kind of caterpillar, 

 'i'hus all the llics may die leaving no i)rogeny. 



11 the |)c|iper trees are sprayed during April and .May with a solution of 

 two pounds of lea<l arsenate in one hundred gallons of water, the injury from 

 the caterpillar will be slight, the tadmid tiy being alilc to destroy most of 

 the cafei-pillars which a|)p('ar, 



Rov E, St. Clauj. 



