THE GIPSY MOTH AND HOW TO CONTROL IT. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The g'ip^jj'^ moth {Porthetrla dispar L.) is an European insect which 

 was accidentally introduced into Massachusetts nearly forty years ago 

 and has since spread rather slowly, being still confined to the eastern 

 part of Massachusetts, to Rhode Island, to the southern part of New 

 Hampshire, and to more or less isolated localities in eastern Connecti- 

 cut and southwestern Maine. 



After the discovery of its presence, in 1889, the State of Massachu- 

 setts for a number of years kept up a vigorous effort to exterminate 

 the insect, and this effort was supported by large appropriations, but 

 was abandoned in 1900. In 1905 appropriations were again made for 

 the purpose of attempting to suppress this insect and the brown-tail 

 moth," and these appropriations are still in operation. 



Although appealed to on several occasions, the National Government 

 took no steps to assist the State of Massachusetts in its fight against 

 this destructive species — with the exception of a small appropriation 

 made in 1905 for the purpose of introducing its natural enemies — until 

 the present j^ear. At the first session of the Fift^^-ninth Congress, 

 however, the sum of $82,500 was appropriated, to be expended by the 

 Secretary of Agriculture, through the Bureau of Entomology, in an 

 effort to prevent the further spread of the gipsy moth and the brown- 

 tail moth. Under this appropriation active work is now going on in 

 parts of New Eng'land, and the character of this work is explained in 

 a later section of this bulletin. A popular consideration of the brown- 

 tail moth has been published in Farmers' Bulletin No. 264, and the 

 present bulletin is planned for the purpose of presenting in concise 

 form what is known at the present time about the gipsy moth. 



THE GIPSY MOTH IN EUROPE. 



The gipsy moth has a wide distribution throughout middle and 

 southern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa, reaching from 

 Stockholm on the north to Algiers on the south, and to England on 

 the west. It extends across to eastern Asia, including Japan, and 



a See Farmers' Bulletin No. 264, U. S. Dept. Agric, 1906. 



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