480 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 10 



there may be as many as five or more in a large tree that is badly 

 infested. Five were found in one tree recently, three of these were 

 large and each probably contained several hundred caterpillars, the 

 other two were both small ones. 



It is possible that these nests are built as a protection against the 

 hot tropical sun and heavy rains. Some of them seem to be nearly 

 watertight as several recently examined were cut down shortly after 

 a heavy rain and in each one the inner sides of the nest and the mass 

 of caterpillars inside were found to be quite dry, but this is not likely 

 to apply to all the nests as some have been found that were poorly 

 built, and late in the season as the caterpillars begin to reach their 

 maximum growth they quite often eat large holes in different parts 

 of the nests. 



The caterpillars are nocturnal in habits and remain in the' nests 

 during the day and come out to feed only at night time. They may 

 be observed during the daytime only late in the season when they 

 leave the nests and begin seeking a place suitable for pupation. 



Owing to the height of the trees and this habit of hiding during the 

 daytime, the caterpillars would not be noticed in a tree thick enough 

 to hide the nests, except for the ends of the leaflets on the ground under 

 the nests and the destruction of the leaves, unless a close search was 

 being made for the nests. 



In the spring they usually attract attention about the latter part 

 of February or March, by the leaves being so badly eaten that they 

 are readily noticeable. In the fall they are noted about July or August. 



All of the caterpillars hatched in breeding jars died before the first 

 molt, and owing to the fact that none could be reared to the chrys- 

 alis stage it was impossible to ascertain the number of molts during 

 the caterpillar stage. 



They complete their growth in about four months. The fall brood 

 sometimes extends over a longer period of time. Of course much 

 depends upon the food supply and temperature and humidity may 

 also play a part in governing this period of their life. 



During April (in the spring) and September (in the fall) the large 

 full-grown caterpillars begin to leave the trees and seek places to 

 pupate. They can then be observed traveling along the walks and 

 roadways at a rapid gait. Even at this period they show a desire to 

 avoid the bright sunlight as much as possible, and when crawling on 

 a walk or road or any place cleared of grass and shrubbery seem to be 

 moving quite rapidly, but when in the grass or bushes to hide them 

 from the light they lessen their gait and travel more slowly. 



A few of the caterpillars remain in the trees and pupate there, but 

 these represent only a small percentage of the whole number. Those 



