131) 



feared. The old remedy eonsisted in cnttin-? out the hirvte, and tliis slionhl 8till he> 

 practiced in tlie cane ot any that escape the treatment indicated above. The larvae 

 are of slow growth, and are found in the vines up to the end of September or even 

 into October. When fully mature they leave the vines and burrow into the soil, 

 changinfj to pupa;, and pass the winter in this stage, transforming to moths tiie fol- 

 lowing spring. — [September i, 1891. 



Forest Injury of the Oak Edema. 



The Oak Edema, E. tdbij'rons, is very bad in Michigan. Whole forests of Oak, 

 Elm, and Maple are being entirely stripped of foliage. Of course, it is not likely 

 that such serious devastation will occur next year, and the defoliation so late is not 

 so serious as when it occurs earlier, yet such extensive raids are worthy of record, 

 so I send it for Insect Life.— [A. J. Cook, Michigan, September 12, 1891. 



On the Treatment of Tent Caterpillars. 



I would like to know if you can give me any light on the subject of getting rid of 

 the Tent Caterpillar; they are ruining my business in this State, as bee-keepers are 

 getting but little, and in many places, no honey, hence you see they do not want 

 supplies. This year I have not obtained a pound of honey from 123 colonies from 

 Basswood, and as we expect nine-teuths of our honey from that source we will either 

 have to quit the business or get rid of the worms in some way. After they stripped 

 the Basswood trees last summer they then went on the Oak and Elm until our heavy 

 forests in these parts looked as naked as winter. I wrote to the Department of 

 Agriculture three or four years ago about the matter and was told that there was little 

 clanger of their appearing in the same districts more than one or two years, but they 

 have been increasing ever since. I have read a few articles concerning the experi- 

 ments for killing Chinch Bugs by spi-eading a disease among them with infested bugs 

 and wondered if s()mething could not be done in the same line with the Tent Cater- 

 pillar.— [F. C. Erkel, Minnesota, October 3, 1891. 



Reply. — There is nothing to be hoped for in the way of contagious disease which 

 can be artificially controlled, and if the Tent Caterpillars iire growing worse in your 

 neighborhood your only release will be bj' the most energetic measures. It is an 

 open question whether it will pay you to go through the woods in your neigh- 

 borhood and destroy the webs wherever they are seen, either by sprajnug a Paris 

 green or London purple solution into them, or by burning them off with torches, 

 but no other remedy can be suggested. It should be done early in the season, as 

 soon as the webs appear, and before the Basswood begins to bloom. — [Octobers, 

 1891.] 



The Catalpa Sphinx. 



I have a splendid Catalpa tree which has been so infested with a large, rapacious 

 worm, that I had made up my mind to have it cut down, when I thought perhaps 

 you could suggest some remedy for this pest. When the leaves were fully grown, 

 and the bloom putting out in June, a great number of worms appeared on the leaves 

 about half grown when noticed, and eating ravenously. In a few days they were 

 fully grown, and in a few more days every leaf was eaten up, and those that had 

 not Ijeen shaken off the tree fell oft', or crawled down and disappeared. 



The tree put out fresh leaves, and when they wei'e half yrown I looked closely and 

 found myriads of the young inch-long worms hard at work, eating away for life. 

 This last crop did not make so long a stay, seeming to be full grown in a few days, 

 and left before the leaves all di.sajjpeared. When grown it is three inches long, a 

 bright green color underneath, with a black stripe down the back and a white stripe 

 on either side of the black one. It is the handsomest worm I know, with no horns 

 or repulsive looking stings about it. What can I do to save the tree? It is twelve 

 years old, and I never noticed any worms on it till four years ago, when we shook 

 them down and killed them.— [Mrs. R. E. Peyton, Virginia, September 30, 1891. 



