INSECTS AFFECTINC; PARK AM) WOODLAND TREES 31 5 



Description. The full grown larva has been described by Dr Hams 

 as follows : 



White, covered with white hairs in short spreading tufts, a row of eight • 

 black tufts along the back; two long, black, pencil-like tufts on the fourth 

 and tenth segments; four white on the second and third, two on the nth 

 and 1 2th. Head, prothoracic legs and surface of the body are covered 

 with minute black tubercles and a transverse black line between each 

 segment. 



The cocoon is oval, ash gray. 



The pupa is short, thick and rather blunt, not rounded at the hinder 

 end and not downy, and the moth emerges during the month of June. 



The adult insect has a wing spread from a little over i >4 inches to 

 about 2 inches. It has light brown forewings which are irregularly spotted 

 with silvery white and with the veins indicated by darker lines of color. 

 The thorax is a light brcwn with dark brown at the base of the patagia, 

 and the abdomen is^ a darker brown. The male may be recognized by its 

 smaller size and the more pectinate antennae. 



Life history. The life history of this species has been given by Dr 

 Harris substantially as follows. 



The caterpillars when voung, feed in company on the leaves and when 

 not encTacred in eating bend down the head and bring oyer it the long hairs 

 on the" forepart of the body. They are x% inches long and when full 

 erown in the latter part of September, forsake the tree, and secrete hem- 

 selves under stones or in crevices of walls, spinning oval, thin hairy 



cocoons. 



Bibliography 



uSsr) Fitch, Asa. Ins. X. Y. ist Rcp't, p. 159-^'.? 



1S90 Packard, A. S. r. s. Km. c...... sih R.-p't, p. 299-300 



Birch leaf skeletonizer 

 Biicciilatrix canadcnsisclla Chamb. 

 Leaves <,f white birches are sometimes skeletonized by a small pale green caterpillar. 

 The foliage turns brown the latter part of the summer, and the small brownish yellow 

 ribbed cocoons serve to identify the depredator. 



This species was exceedingly abundant in New York State in 1901, 

 and skeletonized the foliage of white birch over large area.s. It was so 



