specific Pests 159 



from two to four years in the trunks or roots of trees, but 

 the majority are leaf-eaters. Of this group it will be neces- 

 sary to describe several in detail as being of great importance. 



Tussock Moth. The caterpillar is easily recognized by 

 its coral-red head, with a pair of long black plumes above 

 it and a single one at the other extremity; the small male 

 moth has delicately-marked gray or grayish-white wings, 

 while the gray-bodied female is wingless; the cocoon is 

 spun in crevices of the bark; the eggs are deposited on the 

 empty cocoon in a conspicuous white frothy mass, which 

 soon hardens, and in which the wintering takes place. The 

 caterpillars emerge in May, hanging by silken threads when 

 young, spinning their cocoons in early July, the moths flying 

 in July and August. Two or three generations form in a 

 year. 



They feed on maple, basswood, horse-chestnut, buckeye, 

 elm, and a number of other species, and become in some 

 localities a veritable scourge, wandering long distances for 

 food supply. 



Gathering the egg masses not later than the middle of 

 May, or destroying them with creosote oil, which is easily 

 done, is also most effective. A loose cotton band will pre- 

 vent the ascent of wandering females and caterpillars. 

 Spraying early in the season and as far as practicable on 

 the under side of the leaves, where the young caterpillars 

 feed, or else later with stronger doses, and shaking the 

 caterpillars from the limbs of younger trees m.ay also be 

 resorted to. 



Forest Tent-cater pillar or Maple-worm, a black to steel- 

 blue caterpillar, about two inches in length when full grown, 

 with whitish diamond-shaped spots along the back, emerges 

 very early in spring (April), clustering around the limbs in 

 numbers when not feeding, and, if shaken off, hanging down 



