﻿TENT 
  CATERPILLAR 
  — 
  SNODGRASS. 
  341 
  

  

  clear 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  midribs 
  (figs. 
  5 
  and 
  6), 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  fashion 
  they 
  

   denude 
  whole 
  branches 
  of 
  the 
  trees 
  they 
  inhabit 
  (fig. 
  7). 
  While 
  the 
  

   wild 
  cherry 
  is 
  the 
  tree 
  most 
  preferred 
  by 
  the 
  caterpillars, 
  and 
  the 
  

   one 
  on 
  which 
  the 
  moths 
  usually 
  deposit 
  their 
  eggs, 
  they 
  also 
  infest 
  

   apple 
  trees 
  to 
  a 
  sufficient 
  extent 
  to 
  make 
  them 
  a 
  considerable 
  pest 
  in 
  

   orchards. 
  They 
  are 
  easily 
  poisoned 
  on 
  trees 
  sprayed 
  with 
  arsenicals. 
  

   In 
  others 
  the 
  best 
  remedy 
  is 
  to 
  clean 
  the 
  tents 
  out 
  with 
  a 
  brush 
  when 
  

   the 
  caterpillars 
  are 
  in 
  them 
  and 
  then 
  to 
  kill 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  before 
  

   they 
  escape. 
  Occasionally 
  the 
  tents 
  are 
  found 
  in 
  other 
  trees, 
  and 
  

   have 
  been 
  recorded 
  from 
  cultivated 
  cherry, 
  plum, 
  peach, 
  rose, 
  witch- 
  

   hazel, 
  beech, 
  barberry, 
  oaks, 
  willows, 
  poplars, 
  and 
  birch. 
  

  

  Since 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  have 
  big 
  appetites 
  it 
  sometimes 
  happens 
  that 
  

   a 
  large 
  colony 
  in 
  a 
  small 
  tree 
  or 
  several 
  colonies 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  tree 
  

   strip 
  the 
  tree 
  bare 
  before 
  they 
  reach 
  maturity. 
  Clarence 
  M. 
  Weed 
  

   says 
  that 
  in 
  such 
  cases 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  descend 
  to 
  the 
  ground 
  and 
  

   search 
  for 
  some 
  other 
  tree 
  on 
  which 
  they 
  can 
  feed. 
  (Bull. 
  38, 
  N. 
  H. 
  

   Ag. 
  Exp. 
  Station.) 
  The 
  writer 
  never 
  saw 
  a 
  colony 
  reduced 
  to 
  this 
  

   extremity 
  by 
  its 
  own 
  feeding, 
  but 
  produced 
  similar 
  conditions 
  for 
  

   one 
  in 
  a 
  small 
  apple 
  tree 
  by 
  removing 
  all 
  the 
  leaves. 
  This 
  was 
  on 
  

   May 
  19, 
  and 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  were 
  mostly 
  in 
  their 
  fifth 
  stage. 
  

  

  At 
  7 
  o'clock 
  in 
  the 
  evening 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  in 
  this 
  colony 
  came 
  out 
  

   as 
  usual, 
  and, 
  after 
  doing 
  the 
  customary 
  spinning 
  on 
  the 
  tent, 
  started 
  

   off 
  to 
  get 
  their 
  dinner, 
  suspecting 
  nothing 
  till 
  they 
  came 
  to 
  the 
  cut-off 
  

   ends 
  of 
  the 
  branches. 
  Then 
  they 
  were 
  clearly 
  bewildered 
  — 
  they 
  re- 
  

   turned 
  and 
  tried 
  the 
  course 
  over 
  again, 
  they 
  tried 
  another 
  branch, 
  

   all 
  the 
  other 
  branches 
  ; 
  but 
  all 
  ended 
  alike 
  in 
  bare 
  stumps. 
  Yet, 
  there 
  

   were 
  the 
  accustomed 
  trails, 
  and 
  their 
  instincts 
  clearly 
  said 
  that 
  fol- 
  

   lowing 
  silk 
  paths 
  led 
  to 
  food. 
  So 
  all 
  night 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  hunted 
  

   for 
  the 
  missing 
  leaves; 
  they 
  went 
  over 
  and 
  over 
  the 
  same 
  courses, 
  

   but 
  none 
  ventured 
  below 
  the 
  upper 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  trunk. 
  By 
  3.45 
  in 
  the 
  

   morning 
  many 
  had 
  given 
  up 
  and 
  had 
  gone 
  back 
  to 
  the 
  tent, 
  but 
  the 
  

   rest 
  continued 
  the 
  hopeless 
  search. 
  At 
  7.30 
  a 
  few 
  bold 
  explorers 
  had 
  

   discovered 
  some 
  remnants 
  of 
  water 
  sprouts 
  at 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  tree 
  

   and 
  fed 
  there 
  till 
  10 
  o'clock. 
  At 
  11 
  all 
  were 
  back 
  in 
  the 
  tent. 
  

  

  At 
  2 
  o'clock 
  in 
  the 
  afternoon 
  the 
  crowd 
  was 
  out 
  again 
  and 
  a 
  mass 
  

   meeting 
  was 
  being 
  held 
  at 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  tree. 
  But 
  nobody 
  seemed 
  

   to 
  have 
  any 
  idea 
  of 
  what 
  to 
  do, 
  and 
  no 
  leader 
  rose 
  to 
  the 
  occasion. 
  

   A 
  few 
  cautious 
  scouts 
  were 
  making 
  investigations 
  over 
  the 
  ground 
  

   to 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  a 
  foot 
  or 
  a 
  little 
  more 
  from 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  trunk, 
  

   but, 
  though 
  there 
  were 
  small 
  apple 
  trees 
  on 
  three 
  sides 
  5 
  feet 
  away, 
  

   only 
  one 
  small 
  caterpillar 
  ventured 
  off 
  toward 
  one 
  of 
  these. 
  He, 
  

   however, 
  missed 
  the 
  mark 
  by 
  12 
  inches 
  and 
  continued 
  onward, 
  but 
  

   probably 
  chance 
  eventually 
  rewarded 
  him. 
  At 
  3 
  p. 
  m. 
  the 
  meeting 
  

  

  55379—24 
  23 
  

  

  