THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 125 



ministra), which often entirely denude our Black Walnuts, they 

 unwittingly court destruction by collecting in such masses within 

 man's reach. 



IT FEEDS BOTH ON ORCHARD AND FOREST TREES. 



In the summer of 1867 this insect did great damage in Western 

 New York, where it is falsely called THE "Army-worm." From the 

 fact that Mr. Peter Ferris, of Millville, Orleans county, N. Y., was 

 greatly troubled with it that year in his apple orchard, and that he 

 did not notice any of the same worms on the Oak and Walnut timber 

 of that section, he concluded that his Apple-feeding worms must be 

 different from those feeding on forest trees. In an article signed "F., 

 Orleans county, N. Y.," which appeared in the Country Gentleman 

 of July 23d, 1868, the same writer endeavors to prove his Apple-feed- 

 ing worms distinct by sundry minute characters, as may be seen from 

 the following extract: 



JSow I am not an entomologist, but still mast be allowed to be- 

 lieve that there are several points, if not "distinctive characters," in 

 which our caterpillar differs from the Tent-caterpillar of the Forest, 

 as described by Dr. Fitch. His larva is of a pale blue color, tinged 

 lower down on each side with greenish gray. In ours the prevailing 

 color on the back is black; there is a sky-blue stripe on each side but 

 no greenish-gray. Both have the white spots on the back much 

 alike, though perhaps ours are more club shaped, looking to the naked 

 eye nearly the shape of ten-pins. Both have these spots surrounded 

 with black; in ours there is quite a broad black stripe on each side 

 of the spots. This black stripe is more or less filled with fine, crin- 

 kled, bright orange lines. In some, these orange lines are so plenty 

 as to be seen plainly without the glass; in others the color to the 

 naked eye is a line velvet-black. In the larvadescribed by Dr. Fitch 

 there is much less of black and of the fine crinkled lines, which are 

 pale orange yellow. There is a somewhat broader stripe of the same 

 yellow color, in place of a narrow orange one in ours. The lower 

 yellow stripe may be much alike in both, but what is sky-blue in one 

 is greenish-gray in the other. In both, the head is of a dark bluish 

 color, but in his it is freckled with numerous black dots ; in ours, both 

 to the naked eye and under a glass, it is plain. In his "the second 

 segment or neck is edged anteriorly with cream-white, which color is 

 more broad on the sides. The third and fourth segments have each a 

 large black spot on each side." Both the cream white edge and black 

 spots are entirely wanting in our caterpillars. 



The habits of the larvae also appear to be different. According 

 to Harris and Fitch, the Tent-caterpillar of the Forest lives in large 

 societies, under a tent or cob-web-like nest placed against the side 

 of the tree, and comes out to feed on the leaves. Others, as well as 

 myself, have watched our caterpillars and entirely fail to discover 

 that they lived in communities, or in any one place that they went 

 from and returned to. While small, they remain scattered over the 

 smaller branches and on the leaves, and are first seen to begin to get 

 together when about half grown, on some of the higher limbs in the 

 sun. They only collect in large bunches on the trunk and lower 

 limbs; when nearly full grown, and the weather is hot, they get in 

 the shade; and then they never have any web or particular place 



