ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 137 



Encourage the chickadee and all other birds, except the 

 English sparrow, to stay in your orchard. This is easily 

 done by providing food in time of need and by protection 

 at all times. 



The Apple-Tree Tent Caterpillar is a larva so well known 

 that you only need to be told how to guard against it. The 

 mother of this caterpillar is a reddish 

 moth. This insect passes the winter in 

 the egg state on the twigs (Fig. 129, a). 



Treatment. There are three chief 

 methods, (i) Destroy the eggs. The 

 egg masses are readily seen in winter 

 and may easily be collected and burned 

 by boys. The chickadee eats great 

 quantities of these eggs. (2) With 

 torches burn nests at midday when all 

 the worms are within. You must be 

 very careful in burning or you will 

 harm the young branches with their 

 tender bark. (3) Encourage the resi- 

 dence of birds. Urge your neighbors 

 to make war on the larvae, too, since the 



, 1-1 r f r 



pest spreads readily from farm to farm. 



Regularly sprayed orchards are rarely troubled by this pest. 



The Pear-Tree Girdler lays her eggs in the upper part of 

 the twig. It is necessary that the larvae develop in dead 

 wood. This the mother provides by girdling the twig so 

 deeply that it will die and fall to the ground. 



Treatment. Since the larvae spend the winter in the 

 dead twigs, burn these twigs in autumn or early spring, and 

 thus destroy the pest. 



FIG. 130. THE PEAR- 

 TREE GlRDLER AT 



WORK 



a, the girdler; , the egg 

 hole ; <:, the groove cut 

 by girdler ; e, the egg 



