54 



to place. Had the females of these moths the same well develop- 

 ed locomotive powers as have their mates thev would be even 

 greater and more terrible scourges than now. The sluggishness 

 of the females limits tlie range and checks the increase of these 

 pests so that bad as they often are we may be thankful that they 

 are no worse. The general form of the male and female canker 

 worm is seen in figure 41, a. the male, b. the female. This insect 

 has been often described and need not occupy great space here. It 

 will suffice to call attention to the delicate, exquisitely fringed wings 

 of the male, which are of a satiny luster, and light brown color. 

 The front pair as seen in the figure, are darker than the hinder 

 pair and are crossed by more or less distinct wavy dark lines, and 

 there is a band of very light, almost or sometimes quite confluent, 

 spots near the outer margin of each front wing. The wingless 

 female is more or less wholly covered with scales and hairs of a 

 ligl t brown shade, and as may be seen in the figure there is a 

 wide black or dark line extending along the back, d. figure 

 42, shows the upper surface of one of the rings magnified ; e. is 

 the ovipositor enlarged ; c. a part of one of the antennae. 



Figare 42. 



Anisopteryx vernata. 

 Egg and larva. 



In the spring before the leafbuds unfold the moths emerge from 

 the chrysalids in the ground. The females instinctively creep to- 

 ward the nearest trees and slowly ascend their trunks, the males 

 fluttering about them and pairing takes place during the ascent. 

 If her progress is uninterrupted the female reaches the leafbuds 

 and places her eggs, figure 42 b.^ greatly enlarged, on or near 

 them. The eggs are usually laid in clusters. Sometimes the eggs 

 are concealed in crevices of the bark. The eggs hatch as the leaves 

 unfold and the young worms at once begin to devour them, grow- 

 ing large as the leaves grow less. About the last of June the 



