536 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



or curvL'd Ijrown lines, the outer margin beint;' dark hrown. The hind 

 wings are pale yellowish brown. 



Life history. Die eggs are lai^l in fune and the lar\-ae are met with 

 from i\ugust onward, the moths appearing the following May. 



Butternut woolly worm 



JMoiiophadiiiix caryac Nort. 



Large, tlocculent masses on the underside of l)Utternut leaves in mitlsumnier, may 

 conceal liliiisli, vellouisli white sawfly larvae about i/^ incii long. 



This species is rather rare and was brought to our attention on account 

 of the woolly white covering of the caterpillars which, when they occur in 

 masses, gi\es them a resemblance to anj'thing else but insects. This spe- 

 cies was taken in August 1902, on butternut at Nassau X. Y. The larvae 

 rested so closely together that the woolly covering gave them the appear- 

 ance of being a solid mass. These false caterpillars feed in company, 

 devouring the terminal portion of the leaf, rejecting the midrib and usually 

 a small portion of the basal part. Cast skins or exuviae were found on the 

 older leaves and these were yellowish whiter, with the tip of the mouth parts 

 and eyes a dark brown or nearly black. 



Description. The nearly full grown larvae are about Yz inch long, with 

 the head, thoracic and terminal abdominal segments pale yellowish white. 

 The other bod)- segments are l)luish gray with a very narrow, interrupted 

 black dorsal line. The woolly matter is excreted from the conspicuous 

 transverse folds and appears in narrow bands about '32 inch wide. These 

 develop rapidly and on larvae naked the previous night, had attained a 

 length of '64 inch the next morning. These waxy filaments are pushed out 

 and eventually are about '.^ inch long, giving a very peculiar appearance to 

 the bearer. 



The adult is a black, red-marked sawtly having a wing spread of nearly 

 i^ inch. 



Natural enemies. Numerous pupae of a species of Cratotechus were 

 found on a leaf near the larvae of this sawfly, undoulitedly parasites of 

 this species. 



