FIRST APPEARANCE. 85 
resembles the C. brumata in habits, and also the caterpillars of Lortria 
viridana, the ‘‘ Oak-leaf Roller’? Moth, whose presence may be known 
by their curling the end of the Oak-leaf into a tunnel for their shelter, 
and spinning the roll firm with threads. There was also in one 
locality a very bad attack of Sawfly caterpillars. 
The first note of remarkable amount of caterpillar injury to leafage 
being observable was sent me on May 12th from Ossemsley Manor 
Farm, Lymington, Hants (a locality close on the border of the New 
Forest), by Mr. D. D. Gibb, to whom I have long been yearly indebted 
for careful and valuable observations. Mr. Gibb remarked :— 
‘We are now getting the usual attack of caterpillars on the Oak, 
and I may say more or less on all trees. . . . As soonas the buds 
began to open, the little caterpillars were upon them. I believe, in 
some cases, Oak trees will scarcely get foliage enough to support life 
this season, unless rain comes soon to wash the caterpillars off.” 
On December 15th Mr. Gibb favoured me with the following com- 
munication, in which he draws attention to the very important point 
that, though the attacks of leafage caterpillars have been of late years 
on the increase, the last two years have been particularly favourable for 
propagation consequently on the absence of spring rain ‘“‘to check the 
moths and wash off and destroy caterpillars.’ Mr. Gibb observed as 
follows :—‘“ The caterpillars which destroyed Oak-leafage this year in the 
New Forest and neighbourhood were various. This pest (as you may 
be aware) has been greatly on the increase here of late years. The 
last two years have been particularly favourable for the propagation of 
these destroyers from the absence of rain in the spring to check the 
moths, or afterwards wash off and destroy caterpillars. One of the 
leading officials of the New Forest, who is a native, assures me that 
this blight, as it is termed, has greatly increased of late. Few trees 
seemed to escape this year, while hundreds of acres in the New Forest 
and surrounding manors were stripped of every leaf. Looper cater- 
pillars have been very plentiful the last two seasons, and here added 
much to the destruction, ‘ Winter’ and ‘Mottled Umber’ Moths being 
among those present; but the greatest pest of former years, as well as 
of late, has been what I take to be the Tortriz viridana. . . . The 
colour of the caterpillar, dirty leaden green, with black head. In the 
end of July we had a brood which hatched from pup# or chrysalids 
adhering to the tree, or stems, or remains of ragged leaves. These 
moths looked white whilst flying, but when examined closely were of 
a very pale green or blue.” *—(D. D. G.) 
* Mr. Gibb mentioned that earlier than the date of the above observations he 
had noticed moths which appeared to him similar to those hatched from the T. 
viridana chrysalids, except in being of a dirty grey or brown colour. Conjecturally 
these might be early developed specimens which were in battered state, with the 
plumage rubbed from the wings. 
