148 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 3 



moths in that section. The eggs are much flattened and are attached 

 very firmly. About fifty per cent of the eggs were hatched and some 

 few had passed the first molt. The owner was instructed to spray his 

 orchard immediately with lead arsenate, 2 lbs. to 50 gallons, but failed 

 to do so until about three weeks later, at which time it took a double 

 dose of the poison to successfully control the caterpillars. 



"On July 27th, 1908, visited the orchard and woodlot of Nathan 

 Sanborn in Cumberland County. Found several hundred acres of 

 beech, oak, etc., stripped, while hundreds of apple trees were bare 

 and the elms and maples about the house were being defoliated. 

 Turkeys, geese and chickens were busily engaged in adding their mite 

 to the exterminating process. A chicken caught by a hawk but re- 

 leased by the hawk being frightened, was dressed otf, a post mortem 

 examination revealed seventy-five full grow caterpillars of H. gutti- 

 vitta in its crop. The chicken weighed when dressed only one and 

 one-half pounds. 



Associates. Associated with H. guttivitta, in many cases in great 

 abundance, were Anisota virginiensis and A. ruticunda, together with 

 Symmerista alhifrons. 



Enemies. Among the enemies noted were a few birds (I believe 

 the great scarcity of birds during the last few years accounts for 

 the wide devastation by this pest) predaceous bugs, especially Podi- 

 sus modestus and beetles of which Calosoma calidum and C. frigidum 

 took the leading part, were quite numerous. Hymenopterous para- 

 sites were much in evidence, so were Tachinid flies, but the leading 

 controlling factor was the presence of a fungous disease which was 

 so effective that whole colonies were practically wiped out. Our 

 friend, the skunk, was busy in some sections. In one instance where 

 a heavy growth of hard wood was completely stripped, no pupse 

 could be found, the ground being dug over completely, apparently 

 by skunks and foxes. 



Future Outlook. All appearances at the present time point to 

 an early control of this phenomenal outbreak by the above named 

 agents. 



Mr. Felt: I just want to call attention to Mr. Hitchings' remark 

 in regard to the absence of insectivorous birds, and to state that we 

 have in New York for the last decade suffered greatly from leaf eating 

 caterpillars, presumably on account of the great scarcity of birds. 



I understood Professor Hitchings to give voice to the sentiment that 

 this caterpillar spread from New York and New Hampshire to Maine. 

 It seems to me the insect became unusuallv abundant over a large 



