12 



The wings expand from an inch and an eighth to an inch and three- 

 eighths. Fig. 9, /, represents an unusually large moth of this species. 

 The moths in this State, as a rule, have pure white fore wings, but 

 sometimes, especially further south, they are more or less dotted cr 

 spotted with dark brown or black as shown in Fig. 10, atoj. I have 

 never taken a spotted example in Massachusetts and only one in 

 Maine. Possibly the normal northern foi-m is pure white and the 

 southern form spotted. 



Fig. 10. Fall Web- Worm. 



a-i. Wings of a series of moths, showing the variations from the pure white form to one 

 profusely dotted with black and brown.— After Riley. 



The Fall Web-worm has numerous enemies among the birds and 

 predacious and parasitic insects, but even with all these checks, they 

 are numerous enough to do a vast amount of injury, and their 

 unsightly webs are far too numerous on our fruit and ornamental 

 trees. 



A series of experiments was made on this insect with paris green 

 at the Insectary the past season, but with negative results. Paris 

 green in water was showered upon a branch having a web on it, but 

 the mixture failed to penetrate the web and wet the enclosed leaves, 

 and only those that ate the leaves outside of the web were killed. I 

 do not see how this method can be really serviceable except when 

 they feed outside of the'ir web. I am of the opinion that the most 

 practical, and at the same time the cheapest way to destroy these 

 insects, is to crush them in the webs when they are within reach, or 

 to cut off the small branches containing the webs with long pruning 

 shears, and burn or crush them. 



