432 HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 



the following species occurring in this country have been 

 listed by Riley as possessing urticating powers to a more 

 or less degree : Megalopyge opercidaris, Euclea poenulata, 

 Euclea querceti, Euclea chloris, Adoneta spinuloides, 

 Monoleuca semifascia, and Acronycta sp. To these may 

 be added a few that are only mildly nettling, for example, 

 Euclea indetermina, Packardia geminata, Natada nasoni, 

 Halisidota caryce and Hemerocampa leucostigma, the last 

 two of which can hardly be put among the urticating 

 species. Concluding the list, however, is the worst one 

 of all, the brown-tail moth (Euproctis chrysorrhoea) of 

 New England. This insect was introduced into this 

 country from Europe in the early nineties. 



The brown-tail moth, now distributed over a large part 

 of New England, is proving itself a many-sided pest. 

 The caterpillars not only devour the foliage of pear, apple, 

 peach, and other fruit trees, forest trees, and shrubs, but 

 cause serious injury through the medium of their stinging, 

 nettling hairs. 



The eggs are laid on the undersides of leaves in July in 

 masses of about 300 and covered with hair. They hatch 

 early in August and the young caterpillars feed on the 

 leaves. A little later they begin to fasten a number of 

 leaves together with silk, forming nests, or webs on the 

 ends of the branches. At the approach of cold weather 

 200 or more of the partly grown caterpillars crawl into 

 each nest and remain there until the following spring. In 

 the spring, the caterpillars emerge from their winter nests 

 and commence feeding as soon as the buds begin to swell. 

 They eat voraciously, molt several times, and become 

 full-grown during June. In the latter half of this month, 

 the caterpillars spin their cocoons, where they remain in 



