February, '17] LOWRY: EIGHT-SPOTTED FORESTER 47 



Mr. M. T. Smulyan: I would like to ask if any other species were 

 used. 



Mr. J. H. Merrill: Those were the only ones I was able to get 

 this 3^ear. 



Mr. M. T. Smulyan: You cannot say then what species is most 

 responsible for carrying the blight. 



Mr. J. H. Merrill: In Kansas the blight cankers resume their 

 activity just before the trees leave out in the spring, and at that time 

 it is the green aphis which is present and enters the buds as they open 

 and works its way into them. They ma}^ very easily inoculate the 

 trees with the blossom blight by so doing. 



Vice-President G. A. Dean: If there is no further discussion, we 

 will listen to the next paper by Mr. Quinc}^ S. Lowry. 



AN OUTBREAK OF THE EIGHT-SPOTTED FORESTER, ALYPIA 

 OCTOMACULATA FABR., IN NEW HAVEN, CONN. 



By QuiNCY S. Lowry, New Haven, Conn. 



On July 22, 1916, the writer, by request, visited the estate of Mr. 

 E, A. Prince at 498 Howard Avenue, New Haven, to inspect his grape 

 arbors which were being rapidly defoliated. Thousands of cater- 

 pillars, mostly full grown, w^ere found feeding on nearly all kinds of 

 foliage in the yard, but w^ere especially abundant upon the grape and 

 Virginia creeper. These proved to be larvae of the Eight-Spotted 

 Forester, Alypia octomaculata Fabr. 



Due to the fact that this is a common insect, no detailed description 

 is necessary here. It might be stated that it is a conspicuous naked 

 caterpillar, the head, being yellow, dotted with black, the segments 

 rather brilliantly marked crosswise wdth orange, black, and white 

 bands, each segment also having a row of black dots. There is near 

 the tail a rather prominent hump on each side of which is a light yel- 

 low spot, rhomboidal in shape; smaller yellow irregular lateral mark- 

 ings are noticeable just above the spiracles and between the orange 

 cross-bands". The full grown larvae are about one and one-half inches 

 in length. 



The grape is the favorite food of this species, though it feeds readily 

 on Virginia creeper, Amyelo-psis quinquefolia Michx. The larvae were 

 also found feeding on the common barberry, Berheris vulgaris Linn., 

 and different varieties of rose. 



Nothing had been done up to this time (July 22) to prevent the 

 ravages of the caterpillars and there was scarcely any food available, 

 the arbors and also the Virginia creepers being completely defoliated. 



