21 



continued during the months of April and May for two or three years 

 under competent direction, I have no doubt but that they may be 

 entirely destroyed. 



This is, in my opinion, the cheapest and surest method of extermi- 

 nating this pest, but its effectiveness depends entirely upon the 

 thoroughness and carefulness with which it is done, and those who do 

 the work must liave authority to shower the trees not only on public 

 but on private grounds. 



As this insect was introduced into this country by an entomologist 

 who carelessly allowed it to escape, the same thing may occur else- 

 where, if the i)eople of Mcdford allow the eggs or caterpillars to be 

 sent out of the town. The only proper thing to do with such a 

 dangerous and destructive enemy is to burn it. 



Already applications have been made to me for specimens of this 

 insect in its different stages, but I have declined to furnish them 

 because of the great danger of their escaping into other parts of the 

 country. 



This insect was first described by Linneus in 1758, in the tenth 

 edition of his Systema Naturse, Vol. 1, page 501, under the name of 

 Bombyx dispar, and, while it has retained the specific name of dispar, 

 the European entomolooists, since the time of Linneus, have given 

 several different generic names, as Liparis, Hypogymiia^ Porthetria, 

 Ocneria and Psiha-a, but I have adopted that given by Staudinger in 

 his Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Europe : — Ocneria disjmr. 



Several different common names have also been given to it in 

 Europe, as the sponge-moth, the Gipsy-moth, the great-headed-moth, 

 the fungus-moth and others, but I have adopted the one used by the 

 English entomologists : — the Gipsy-moth. 



Fig. 1. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE INSECT. 



The males, fig. 1, are of a yellowish brown color, with two dark 

 brown lines crossing the forewings, one at the basal third, the other on 

 the outer third, somewhat curved, and with teeth pointing outwards on 

 the veins. The outer end of all the wings is dark brown. A curved 

 dark brown spot (reniform) rests a little above the middle of the 

 wing, and a small round spot of the same color (orbicular) is situated 



