1906 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 137 



the middle of tiie back, and their bodies are protected by many branched 

 spines. Their chrysalids are also spiny and they occur suspended by the tail. 



The caterpillars of the White-Tipped Moth {Edema albifrons) were also 

 very abundant this fall on the leaves of the hard maple about Guelph. They 

 are readily recognized by their smooth, shiny body, by the numerous fine 

 yellow and black stripes, and by the orange-red head, and the orange-red 

 hump near the end of the body. 



The Walnut Datana Caterpillars (Datana Sp.) (Fig. 74) were very 

 numerous on walnut trees in the south western part of the Province in August 

 and September, and in many cases stripped the trees of their leaves. Thes^ 

 larvae when full grown are about two inches in length. To the owners of 

 shade walnuts and hickories the habits of these caterpillars are rather mys- 

 terious. When disturbed the caterpillars raise both ends of their bodies to 

 assume a threatening attitude. They feed in colonies and at moulting period 

 they descend the trunk of the tree and congregate in a large mass. When 

 full grown they descend to the ground to pupate, hence their mysterious 

 disappearance at this stage. The moths are brown, with bars crossing the 

 front wings, which may expand one and three-quarter inches. 



These caterpillars can be readily poisoned by Paris green applications, 

 and at moulting periods captured en Tnasse. 



Fall Web-Worms (Hyphantria cunea) were more numerous this year 

 than usual. Usually the webs are confined to forest trees, but this fall their 

 webs were observed in many vineyards, on currant and raspberry plantations, 

 and in apple orchards. 



Their webs are unsightly objects, especially when they are large, and 

 become filled with dead leaves, moulted skins, and excrement. The cater- 

 pillars differ in their habit of feeding from the Tent Caterpillars, as they 

 always feed within the web. Moreover, they are very variable in color and 

 markings, — some having a black band along the back and long white hairs, 

 while others have two rows of prominent black marks instead of a band, and 

 have shorter hairs. 



The pupae are formed within cocoons, and are usually found at the 

 surface of the ground, mixed with dirt, in crevices of bark of trees, under 

 fences, &c. The moths appear in early summer, and the eggs are deposited 

 in flat masses on the under surfaces of leaves. 



There is but one brood a year in Ontario. Two or three lines of treat- 

 ment may be adopted against the -Fall Web-worm : (1) to spray the cater- 

 pillars with arsenical poisons, such as Paris green or arsenate of lead; (2) 

 to destroy the webs by burning them on the tree with a torch; and (3) to 

 clean up all refuse so as to destroy the hibernating cocoons. 



The Cottony Maple Scale (Pulvinaria innumerahilis) was even more 

 destructive this year than last, having been reported from many towns 

 in the western peninsula. Briefly, the life-history is as follows : — The females 

 winter over on the twigs, and in spring begin feeding and secreting a cottony 

 mass for the reception of the large number of eggs which are laid at this 

 time. The larvae soon hatch by the thousands, and swarm over the leaves 

 and twigs. They soon become fixed and begin forming a scale-like covering. 

 In August they become mature, and usually in September females are fer- 

 tilized by the males who die soon afterwards. 



Treatment is rather difficult, but much may be done by spraying the trees 

 with the kerosene-soap emulsion at the time the larvae are crawling. Suc- 

 cess has followed the application of strong streams of cold water in spring, 

 when the eggs are dislodged from the cottony mass and are destroyed. In 

 some cases winter and spring pruning is beneficial. It is very probable. 



