84 



INJURIOUS INSECTS OF KANSAS. 



C Fie. 46. Fall Web-wokm; «. larva; b, pupa; c, adult. 



color, with velvety-black 

 back. The sides are 

 speckled with black, ex- 

 cept for two yellow 

 stripes. Beneath, dusty 

 or smoky-brown. Cov- 

 ered with dusty-white to 

 reddish-brown, long, 

 straight hairs, in tufts 

 rising from "warts." 

 The general color varies 

 somewhat- — in some, black predominating, in others yellow. 



When ready to pupate (in September and October [Saunders]), 

 the larvic descend ^to the ground, and, burrowing into it a few 

 inches, change to chrysalids within delicate silken cocoons. The}' 

 pass the winter in tlie pupal stage, the moths emerging in May 

 and June. 



The Fall Web-worm is easily distinguishable from the Tent 

 Caterpillar, which it resembles in its web-making habits, by 

 the following contrasted points in the life-history of the two 

 species : 



"The Fall Web-worm hibernates in the pupal state; appears 

 mostly in the fall ; its eggs are deposited on the leaf, and hatch 

 before the leaf falls ; it feeds on the parenchyma (filling) of the 

 leaf under its web. The Tent .Caterpillar hibernates in the egg 

 state, and the worm hatches in the spring ; the moth is reddish- 

 brown ; its eggs are deposited around a twig, because they have 

 to pass the winter, and would get lost with the leaves if deposited 

 upon them ; it devours the whole leaf outside of its tent." 



Bemedies. — The immediate betrayal of the presence of the 

 worms, by the conspicuous, unsightly webs, renders their destruc- 

 tion merely a matter of persistent woi'k. The web-infested limbs 

 may be cut off and the worms burned or crushed ; or, if taking 

 off the limbs is objectionable, the worms may be crushed within 

 the webs with gloved hands. 



Kansas Note^. — In Transactions Kansas State Horticultural So- 

 ciety for 1873, Mr. Brackett reports (p. 119): "Fall Web-worms 

 are becoming quite frequent and numerous. They feed on leaves 

 of apple, maple, willow, quince, and I have seen them on the wild 

 plum, the oak, and the Osage orange." In the Report of Kansas 



