208 



LEPIDOPTERA 



monly over a large portion of eastern United States. The 

 bags which are formed by this insect are found abundantly 

 in autumn and winter and early spring attached to the 

 trees upon which they have developed. They may crawl 

 some little distance from the trees and attach themselves to 

 some other object. Each bag is made up of numerous bits 

 of leaf and twig, making a regular structure. These bags 

 in late summer and autumn furnish protection for develop- 



FiG. 161. — Bag worm (a, b, c) at successive stages of growth: c, male 

 bag; d, female bag. Natural size. (From Howard, Div. Ent.. U. S. Dept. 

 Ag.> 



ment of the adult. The females remain within the bag. 

 They are wingless and grub-like with very large bodies. 

 The males issue from the chrysalis and fly about with well- 

 developed wings. After fertilization the females deposit 

 eggs within the bag, filling the cavity of the bag with a mass 

 of eggs. This forms the protective covering for the egg 

 mass during the winter. The eggs hatch in the following 

 season and the larvse begin feeding upon the foliage of the 

 tree and begin the construction of a case or bag almost as 



