198 Twenty-Second Annual Report of the 



The Gipsy and Brown-Tall Moth in New Yobk 

 source and spbead of the insect 



The gipsy moth was first brought into Massachusetts in 1868 by a natura- 

 list who imported from France a few of these insects for the purpose of im- 

 proving upon the constitutional hardiness of silkworms. Unfortunately, some 

 of the insects escaped and locally for several years did considerable damage. 

 About the year 1890. the caterpillars became a nuisance and it was found 

 that about twenty townships were infested and suffering from their depreda- 

 tions. 



As soon as it was generally known that the gipsy moth had become estab- 

 in Massachusetts, the State and several municipalities began the work of 

 extermination. Over a million and a quarter dollars were spent on this 

 effort previous to 1S90. The results of the work were so successful that the 

 few remaining insects failed to attract popular attention and the Massachu- 

 setts Legislature stopped further appropriations contrary to the advice and 

 urgent protests of expert entomologists who claimed that just then was the 

 critical time and with the work of extermination so nearly accomplished, it 

 would be folly to give it up. However, the State made no appropriations 

 but cities, towns and individuals spent over three millions of dollars from 

 1900 to 1904. In 1905, the damage done by the pest was so great that a 

 widespread popular demand for relief was met by State funds and the enact- 

 ment of laws providing for municipal and township tax for suppressing the 

 pest, the hope of extermination having been abandoned. 



The infested area in Massachusetts grew from 359 square miles in 1900 to 

 2,234 square miles in 1905, and up to 4,970 square miles in 1914. By 1915, 

 the gipsy moth had spread from the first center of infestation into other 

 New England states covering 4,960 square miles in New Hampshire, 4,850 

 miles in Maine, 450 square miles in Rhode Island, a total of 15,235 square 

 miles in the four states, this moth not having been found in Vermont, and 

 the two or three isolated colonies that had previouesly appeared in Connecti- 

 cut were entirely eliminated. 



THE BROWN-TAIL MOTH IN NEW ENGLAND 



About the year 1890, the brown-tail moth was introduced in Massachusetts 

 on nursery stock from abroad. This insect has also a bad record in European 

 countries where it has been established for a great many years. Its food 

 plants are generally the oak and pear, on which it feeds to a destructive 

 extent. The caterpillars are not as large as those of the gipsy moth but 

 they are unwelcome pests in a residential community as the barbed hairs of 

 the caterpillars produce upon many human beings an exceedingly annoying 

 irritation commonly called the brown-tail itch. Injury to the eyes and to 

 the lungs has become quite common in areas infested by this pest. 



By 1897, the spread of the brown-tail moth had been so great that it be- 

 came properly recognized as a pest that must be exterminated, and since that 

 time the gipsy and brown-tail moth have been fought together and are the 

 pests meant when the " moth work " is mentioned. In 1914, the area in 

 square miles infested by the brown-tail moth was as follows: Maine 12.450, 



