15 



come out with voracious appetites, and the amount of damage done 

 by them at this time is extraordinary. Old trees may lose all their 

 buds, or, if the leaf buds and blossom buds burst, the foliage itself may 



Fig. 7.— Winter webs of the brown-tail moth on pear tree, Melrose, Mass., December, 1905. (After 



Kirkland.) 



be entirely destroyed at a later date. The growth of the larva is 

 rapid, and it reaches full size and begins to spin its cocoon during the 

 last half of June, transforming to pupa and remaining in this condition 

 for approximately 20 days. 



264 



