Forest Protection 179 



the infested tree in winter or early spring and carefully 

 burn all parts of it. In the case of valuable lawn trees, 

 it may be possible to cut away only the infested branches, 

 if they can all be discovered. It may be a help to band 

 the trunks of the trees in May with raw cotton or sticky 

 paper and kill the beetles so caught. Usually, however, 

 the tree is injured beyond help before the insects are dis- 

 covered, and it should be destroyed to prevent the injury 

 of other trees. 



Forest tent-caterpillar 



This insect (Malacosoma disstria) is found practically all 

 over the United States and has been known from time to 

 time to destroy large tracts of forest in different parts of 

 the country. They have several times become so nu- 

 merous as to stop railroad trains. 



The moth is small, light buff-colored and very active. 

 The caterpillars are almost black, with a row of whitish 

 diamonds down the back. The pupae are found in white 

 or yellowish cocoons in any convenient place. 



The moths appear in June or July and deposit their 

 eggs in July, usually on the lower twigs. The larvae re- 

 main in the eggs over winter and hatch out with the warm 

 weather in the spring. They immediately begin stripping 

 the leaves, on which they feed till about the first of June. 

 They then begin to wander about to find a place to pupate. 

 This requires about two weeks. They seem to prefer the 

 sugar maple in the North and the oaks in the South, but 

 when they become very numerous, they will attack any- 

 thing. 



There are several remedies that may be used in the case 



