48 Poisonous Arthropods 



slender chitinous hair whose tip is readily broken off in the skin and 

 whose poisonous content causes great irritation. Some individuals 

 are very susceptible to the poison, while others are able to handle 

 the larvae freely without any discomfort. The larvae feed on a wide 

 range of food plants. They are most commonly encountered on 

 corn and on willow, because of the opportunities for coming in contact 

 with them. 



Thejlarvse of the brown-tail moth (Euproctis chrysorrhcea,) (fig. 

 35 and 36), where they occur in this country, are, on account of their 

 great numbers, the most serious of all poisonous caterpillars. It is 



35. Larva of brown- tail moth. (Natural size). Photograph by M. V. S. 



not necessary here, to go into details regarding the introduction of 

 this species from Europe into the New England States. This is all 

 available in the literature from the United States Bureau of Entomol- 

 ogy and from that of the various states which are fighting the species. 

 Suffice to say, there is every prospect that the pest will continue to 

 spread throughout the Eastern United States and Canada and that 

 wherever it goes it will prove a direct pest to man as well as to his 

 plants. 



Very soon after the introduction of the species there occurred in 

 the region where it had gained a foothold, a mysterious dermatitis of 

 man. The breaking out which usually occurred on the neck or other 

 exposed part of the body was always accompanied by an intense 



