98 



The caterpillar is about two inches long when full grown. The ground 

 colour of its body is bluish or nearly black, and it has a series of conspicuous 

 white or cream-coloured spots along the middle of the back, with two 

 brownish-yellow bands along the upper part of each side. The row of 

 spots along the middle of the back distinguishes this species from the 

 American Tent Caterpillar, which has a continuous whitish band in place 

 of the row of spots. 



Fig. 2. Egg-masses of Tent Caterpillars; M. americana at the 



right, M. disstria at the left, f About natural size). [From 



Cir. 1, Div. Ent., Dept. Agric, Ottawa]. 



The caterpillars hatch in the early spring about the time the leaves 

 appear, and feed in groups upon the foliage. They spin a fine silken thread 

 wherever they go, but construct no tent as do their near relatives the 

 American Tent Caterpillars of the orchard. At intervals the caterpillars 

 of this species crowd together on a limb or on the trunk and are then quite 

 conspicuous. The majority of the caterpillars become full grown during 

 the latter half of June, and spin their silken cocoons in a folded leaf or 

 other hiding place. The brownish moths appear from the cocoons during 

 the first half of July and deposit their egg-masses on the twigs. The egg- 

 masses are deposited in ring-like bands containing from 150 to 350 eggs 

 embedded in a glue-like mass, usually surrounding the smaller twigs of 

 trees upon which the caterpillars feed. They are deposited in July and 

 remain unhatched until the following April. 



