THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 119 



defective in size; and gives a very interesting aceount of some dwarfs pro- 

 dii'-ed from celery fed worms. 



BEST METHOD OF RAISING THE WORMS. 



As this worm takes so kindly to our climate, there will be no difficulty 

 in rearing it in anj- quantity- in the open air, if only care be taken to pro- 

 tect it from the attacks of birds and predaceous insects such as ants o-round- 

 beetles etc. It does not seem to be palatable to birds, as Dr. Wallace found 

 that none of them touched it in England, except the tom-tit, robin and rook. 

 Consequently, by a little vigilance in keej^ing away enemies, it may be 

 reared with but slight loss, upon trees without covering. Yet it would be 

 expedient and satisfactory in making an Ailanthery to keejD the trees in 

 plantation so trimmed and pruned that an awning of some kind of liaht ma- 

 terial could bs stretched over them during the feeding season, and removed 

 and put awa}^ during the rest of the year. A few cocoons, well chosen for 

 size and quality, might be left on the trees for breeding purjioses, and the 

 moths as they issue would soon pair naturally and the females deposit their 

 eggs upon the branches of the trees. The males show a wonderful ])ower 

 in finding the females, as the following incident will demonstrate, tn 1865 

 knowing that the moths I reared in Chicago were the first that had been 

 introduced there, and that there were no others within hundreds of miles, 

 it occurred to me that an excellent opportunity was offered to test the at- 

 tractive power of the female; this power being generally very strong in the 

 Bomhijcidce, and often made use of by entomologists to semble the males of rare 

 species. Accordingly I took a virgin female bred indoors before any out 

 of doors had issued, and after placing her upon a tree where she inclined to 

 remain, went the same evening a full mile awa}-, with the wind, and let 

 loose a male with wings slightly notched so as to be recognizable again. I 

 hardly expected the experiment to result favorably; luit sure enough, the 

 next morning the identical male which I had marked was with the female. 

 Two broods can easily be produced each year, and the time of hatching of 

 the eggs, of the issuing of the moths, and that required for the development 

 of the worm, depends so much on the temperature, that the broods can be 

 produced at the seasons most convenient and favorable. When this control 

 is desired, the eggs and the cocoons must be properlj^ managed. The 

 cocoons intended for breeding purposes may be suspended in chaplets so 

 that the moths may issue more readily and have good opportunity to hang 

 their damp wings as they expand. They may then be coupled and placed 

 in wicker boxes or any other well ventilated vessels, from which the eggs, 

 when laid, can be easily removed. The eggs when about to hatch may be 

 fastened to the trees in various ways, so that the young worms, from the 

 first moment of their lives, will find the leaves convenient. They may be 

 pasted on to thin wood, paper or linen, and pinned in small quantities to the 

 leaf-stalk; or portioned into lots of fifties or hundreds and suspended in 

 small muslin bags pinned near a leaf. 



The young worms are gregarious and generally remain on the under- 



