a SECOND REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



vours large numbers, and a flock of them in an orchard can render 

 most excellent service in their destruction. As many as one hundred of 

 the caterpillars have been found in the stomach of one of these birds. 

 Next in usefulness come the indigo bird {Passerina cya/iea), the chickadee 

 {Pams atricapilius), the black-billed cuckoo {Coccygiis erythropt/ialmus), 

 the summer warbler {^Dendrceca cesiiva), the rose-breasted grosbeak 

 {Gomaphealudovictana),\he blue bird {Sialia sialis), the king bird ( Tyran- 

 nus carolinensis) and the robin {Merula mig)-atoria), in the order men- 

 tioned, as shown by examination of the contents of their stomachs by 

 Prof. Forbes. 



Climbing habit of the female moth. — It is not safe, however, in the 

 presence of so dangerous an enemy, to commit our apple-trees to the 

 care of the birds; but earnest efforts should be made to confine the at- 

 tack to the narrowest possible limits, and to arrest it as soon as possi- 

 ble. By far the best method to employ with this insect pest is preven- 

 tion. The wingless moths emerge from their pupae in early spring, bur- 

 ied a few inches in the .ground about the trunk of the tree in quite 

 a limited space — the larger portion in a circle, the radius of which would 

 not exceed six feet. As soon as extricated from the pupae, the- moths 

 direct their course toward the tree, to ascend the trunk, and deposit 

 their burden of eggs in the crevices of the rough bark of the upper 

 portion of the trunk. 



Tar bands for arresting the moth. — - The ascent of the trunk should 

 not be permitted, for it can be prevented with comparatively little labor. 

 The method adopted with excellent success for many years was that of 

 encircling the trunks a short distance above the ground, with a band of 

 heavy cloth, to be covered with tar, or better, tar and molasses; to be 

 renewed every two or three days, or whenever it becomes so hardened 

 by exposure as no longer to serve the purpose of fastening the moths 

 which attempt to cross it in their ascent. 



Tin-ba7id protector. — A still better method than this has since been 

 devised, and is thus described by Dr. Le Baron in his second report 

 as State Entomologist of Illinois: " Take a piece of inch rope — old, 

 worn-out rope is just as good as new; tack one end to the trunk, two 

 feet or less from the ground, with a shingle-nail driven in so that the 

 head shall not project beyond the level of the rope; bring the rope 

 around the tree, and let it lap by the beginning an inch or two; cut it 

 off and fasten it in the same manner. Get the tinman to cut up some 

 sheets of tin into strips four inches wide, and .fasten them together end- 

 wise, so that they shall be long enough to go round the trees over the 

 rope band, having the rope at the middle. Let the ends of the tin lap 

 a little; punch a hole through them and fasten them with a nail driven 

 through the tin and rope into the tree." 



