198 APPLE-TREE CATERPILLAR THE FOREST CATERPILLAR. 



Arkansas, I should judge it to be common through the south 

 western states. And it probably occurs over all those parts of 

 our continent where the black cherry is a native tree. 



Another caterpillar which has already been mentioned, named 

 Clisiocampa sylvatica by Dr. Harris, or the Forest caterpillar, is 

 so v.ery similar to the insect we are considering, in its appearance 

 and habits, that it merits a notice in this connection, but as I 

 have not enjoyed an opportunity for carefully noticing its history 

 and transformations, I shall only allude to it briefly at present^ 

 It is most fond of the oak but it is also frequently met with upon 

 the apple. Here at the north it is far less common than the 

 other species, and I have only occasionally met with one of its 

 nests, and with the caterpillars when they were wandering about 

 in search of retreats in which to spin their cocoons. But in 

 Virginia it is so abundant some years, according to Abbot, as to 

 strip the oaks of their leaves. Among my neighbors it has the 

 reputation of being more injurious to apple trees than the com- 

 mon species, as it not only consumes the leaves, they say, but 

 gnaws the stems of the young apples, causing them to wither and 

 fall to the ground. 



These caterpillars build their nests against the side of the tree 

 instead of in a fork of the limbs. The worm has the same form 

 and size and is clothed with hairs similar to the common species, 

 but may easily be distinguished from it by its color and stripes. 

 It is pale blue tinged with ashy greenish low down on the sides, 

 and is everywhere sprinkled over with black points and dots. 

 Along the middle of the back is a row of white spots and on 

 each side of these an orange yellow or tawny reddish stripe, 

 and a paler cream yellow stripe lower down on each side, these 

 stripes and spots being margined with black; and each segment 

 has two elevated black points upon the back, from each of which 

 arise four or more coarse black hairs. They are rather later 

 than the common caterpillars in spinning their cocoons and in 

 giving out the winged moths, and these moths resemble those of 

 the common species, being of a cinnamon brown color, the fore 

 wings paler or nankin yellow, crossed by two oblique straight 

 parallel stripes of a rusty brown color, and the whole space 

 between these stripes is in many specimens rusty brown. 



