SHORTER ARTICLES AND SOME IMPORTANT 

 LITERATURE OF THE PAST YEAR 



THE PEPPER TREE CATERPILLAR 



For several years tlie pepper trees at Klerksdorp, Transvaal, says 

 William Moore in the Afjrieultural Journal of the Union of South Africa, have 

 been regularly strii)i>ed of tlieir leaves by the pepper tree caterpillar. 



The moth is pure white in color, the female being about three-quarters of 

 an inch in length and one and one-half inches across the expanded wings; the 

 male is somewhat smaller. The caterpillar when full grown measures about 

 one and one-quarter to one and one-half inches in length. The body is black ; 

 has two narrow pale yellow lines on each side and is clothed mth burnt orange 

 colored hairs which give it a yellowish appearance. The legs are dark brown ; 

 the forelegs are red in color. The young caterpillars have hairs much shorter, 

 so that they appear blacker. 



The moth lays her eggs at about the beginning of October, in a cluster 

 which forms a band about one inch in length around the petiole of the leaf 

 or young twig. They hatch in about twenty to twenty-five days, and the young 

 caterpillars immediately begin feeding upon the leaf nearest to them. The 

 progeny of one moth seem to live in a cluster unless forced to scatter because 

 of lack of food. The feeding is done at night. By the middle of December 

 the caterpillar has reached full size. It pupates in an oval cocoon, and these 

 may be found most abundantly on the ground under an infested tree. The 

 moths of the second brood appear in the last of February or the first of March. 

 These lay their eggs, and the caterpillars are found on the trees in April. 

 They reach full growth by the end of ilay and pupate, passing the winter 

 in this condition. 



The parasite of the caterpillar, the tachnid fly, which resembles the house 

 fly, but is somewhat larger, is comparatively ineffective because of its appear- 

 ance the second time, i. e., from maggots in the December caterpillars, about 

 three months liefore the second brood of caterpillars appear, and have no 

 place to lay their eggs e.xcept as they may find another kind of caterpillar. 

 Thus all the flies may die leaving no progeny. 



If the pepper trees are sprayed during April and I\Iay with a solution of 

 two pounds of lead arsenate in one hundreil gallons of water, the injury from 

 the caterpillar will ])e slight, the tachnid fly being able to destroy most of 

 the caterpillars which appear. 



Roy E. St. Clair. 



