296 APPLii. 



going into minute details of their earliest life) in the spring or 

 early summer the caterpillars appear on the leafage of the 

 attacked trees, and these continue feeding on the leaves and 

 spinning webs, in which they live together in large companies, 

 until, in severe attacks, the hedge or tree infested is stripped 

 of its foliage, and left hung over with a kind of sheeting of the 

 dirty ragged remains of their deserted wehs. 



When full fed each caterpillar spins a light cocoon in which 

 it changes to the chrysalis inside the general weh. The Small 

 Ermine Moth caterpillars are of a dirty ash or ashy white 

 colour, spotted with black; when full grown, the ground- 

 colour is dirty yellow or lead-colour. 



The moths, which come out towards the end of June, are 

 about three-quarters of an inch in expanse. The fore wings 

 are usually livid or whitish, dotted with black; the hind 

 wings livid or lead-colour; but they are very variable. 



The kind or variety figured (p. 295), of which the moths 

 are distinguishable by the fore wings having the black spots 

 on a pure white ground, and by the cocoons being opaque, 

 was at one time considered more especially to frequent the 

 Apple, and was especially distinguished as the Hjjponomeuta 

 malivorella, or "Small Apple Ermine Moth"; but for all 

 practical purposes the treatment of the attacks (whether there 

 may be a slight difference in the nature of the " Small 

 Ermines " or not) may be considered together. 



Prevention and Eebiedies. — As the caterpillars of this 

 moth turn to chrysalids in cocoons in their large nests or 

 masses of web, the simplest method of prevention of future 

 attack is to cut oif these webs and destro}^ them with the 

 cocoons within ; also, in an earlier stage, if the web-nests, 

 full of caterpillars, can be cut off into a pail of anything that 

 will destroy them (as recommended with regard to Lackey 

 Moth), or if they can be shaken down and destroyed, this is 

 very desirable ; but where the ragged webs and small parties 

 of caterpillars are widely distributed over a tree, it is very 

 diflicult to manage these arrangements. Where a party of 

 caterpillars are collected together on a bough where the mass 

 can be grasped in the hand and thoroughly squeezed, this will 

 get rid of many very surely and easily. 



I have found it answer very well, where there was a good 

 water supply laid on, to wash the infested tree well down with 

 a strong current of water sent through a hose. From the 

 clinging nature of the web the operation took some time to 

 carry out completely, but I have myself thus cleared and 

 cleaned a tree very satisfactorily. 



The various washings recommended for remedy of Lackey 



