DANGER OF SPREAD OF GIPSY AND BROWN-TAIL MOTHS. 19 
This insect is a very serious enemy of orchard, forest, and shade 
trees and all ornamental shrubbery. In Europe it has a wide dis- 
tribution, extending from England to the Himalayas, and as far 
north as Sweden and as far south as Algeria. It is a well-known 
orchard pest, and for many years laws have been operative in Europe 
requiring the property owners to clear 
their trees of the hibernating nests of 
this insect in winter. 
The damage to trees and shrubs by 
this insect is often very severe. It has. 
a special liking for pear and apple, but i 
has a recorded list of over 80 different Fic. 4—Male gipsy moth. Slightly en- 
food plants. Thousands of fruit trees cece uinereoe cs ae 
in the vicinity of Boston have been killed by this insect, and serious 
injury has been done to woodlands and forests, not, however, equal- 
ing the damage by the gipsy moth. It does not seem to attack 
coniferous trees. 
One of the most serious results of the presence of the brown-tail 
is the poisoning of human beings by the hairs shed by the caterpillars, 
discussed in an earlier paragraph of this publication (p. 11). 
The following description of the different stages of the insect and 
its seasonal history is taken from Farmers’ Bulletin 264, which gives 
a general account of this pest, with general methods of controlling it.! 
Description of the Different Stages of the Insect. 
The eggs.—The eggs of the brown-tail moth are small and globular, and are laid 
in masses on the underside of leaves in the latter part of July. The egg masses are 
brown in color and are covered 
with hair, each mass contain- 
ing about 300 eggs. They are 
much smaller than the egg 
masses of the gipsy moth, with 
which they are most likely to 
be confused, and average 
about two-thirds of an inch in 
length by about one-fourth of 
an inch in width. They are 
thus elongate in form, and are 
convex. 
The larva, or caterpillar.— 
Fic. 5.—Female gipsy moth. Slightly enlarged. (From Insect The full-grown larva (fig. 6 at 
Life.) right) is about 2 inches long, 
reddish brown in color, with 
a broken white stripe on each side and two red dots on the back near the hind end. 
It carries also patches of orange and is covered with tubercles bearing long barbed 
hairs. The tubercles along the back and sides are covered with short brown hairs in 
1 For a full account of the brown-tail moth see Farmers’ Bulletin 264 (1906) and Bulletin 87 (1910), 
Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 
453 
