86 WOOLY BEARS. 
HICKORY TUSSOCK MOTH. 
(Halesidota caryn Hartr.). 
Late in summer and all through the autumn, until late 
in September or until the leaves commence to drop, we find 
upon the hickory, apple, and other fruit trees and shrubs 
such as raspberries, etc., numerous caterpillars which are 
covered with short spreading tufts of white hairs, with a 
row of eight black tufts on the back and two long, slender 
black pencils on the fourth and on the tenth segments. The 
tufts along the top of the back converge on each side, form- 
ing a kind of ridge or crest; the warts from which these tufts 
proceed are oblong-oval and transverse, while the other 
warts on the body are round. The hairs on the fore part of 
the body are much longer than the rest, and hang over the 
head; the others are short as if sheared off, and spreading. 
The head, feet and under side of the body are black; the up- 
per side of the body is white, sprinkled with black dots and 
with black transverse lines between the rings. These beau- 
tiful caterpillars are gregarious as long as young, but scat- 
ter later. When at rest they bend down the head and bring 
over it the long hairs on the fore part of the body; if dis- 
turbed they immediately roll up like a hedge-hog, and drop 
to the ground. The full grown caterpillars measure nearly 
one inch and a half in length. At this time they leave the 
trees, and move about in search of suitable sheltersin which 
‘to make tkeir oval and thin cocoons, almost entirely com- 
posed of their own felted hair. The pupa is short, thick and 
rather blunt. 
The winged insects appear during June, and are some- 
times found in very large numbers upon the early flowers of 
our milk-weeds. The moths are of a light ochre-yellow 
color, varying greatly in intensity; the rather narrow fore- 
wings are long and pointed, and are thickly and finely 
sprinkled with little brown dots, and have two oblique 
