23 



being tinged witli gray on the base and middle, and crossed by two 

 oblique whitisli stripes. 



Fig. 16. 



The females lay their eggs, about three hundred in number, in a 

 belt, Fig. 15, c, around the twigs of apple, cherry and a few other 

 trees, the belt being covered by a thick coating of glutinous matter 

 which probably serves as a protection against the cold weather during 

 winter. 



The following spring, when the buds begin to swell, the eggs hatch 

 and the young caterpillars seek some fork of a branch where they 

 rest side by side. Tiio}' are about one-tenth of an inch long, of a 

 blackish color, with numerous fine gray hairs on the body. They feed 

 on the young and tender leaves, eating on an average two apiece 

 each day, therefore the young of one pair of moths would consume 

 from ten to twelve thousand leaves ; and it is not uncommon to see 

 from six to eight nests or tents on a single tree, from which no less 

 than seventy-five thousand leaves would be destroYed, a drain no tree 

 can long endure. 



As the caterpillars grow, a new and much larger skin is formed 

 underneath the old one which splits along the back and is cast off. 

 When fully grown, Fig. 15, a and b, which is in about thirty-five to 

 forty days after emerging from the eggs, they are about two inches 

 long, with a black head and bod}', with numerous yellowish hairs on 

 the surface, with a white stripe along the middle of the back, and 

 minute whitish or yellowish streaks which are broken and irregular 

 along the sides ; and there is also a row of transverse, small, pale 

 blue spots along each side of the back. 



As they move about they form a continuous thread of silk from a 

 fleshy tube on the lower side of the mouth, which is connected with 

 tlie silk producing glands in the interior of the body, and by means of 

 this thread they appear to find their way back from the feeding 

 grounds. It is also by the combined efforts of all of the young from 

 one belt of eggs that the tents are formed. 



These caterpillars do not feed during damp, cold weather, but take 

 two meals a day when it is pleasant. 



