INSECTS AFFECTING PARK AND WOODLAND TREES 1 23 



be taken of this habit to tie burlap bands in the niitldle aroiuul the tree 

 trunks and then turn the upper portion of the burla[) down over the string. 

 The bands can be lifted daily and the caterpillars beneath killed. This 

 method proved of such great value in the work against the gipsy moth that 

 thousands of trees were banded during the latter part of the caterpillar 

 season. 



The larva is cjuite resistant. to arsenical poisons, and it requires a large 

 dose to kill it, specially when the caterpillar is nearly grown. There is 

 probably no better poison for this pest than arsenate of lead, using at least 

 5 pounds to every 50 gallons. The application should be made as soon as 

 the leaves are well grown, and then the caterpillars will be poisoned while 

 young and most susceptible to the insecticide. 



Bibliography 



A very complete and exhaustive account of this insect in America may 

 be found in the Gipsy Moth, a report of the work of destroying this insect 

 in the commomvealth of jMassachiisctts, together ivitli an account of its his- 

 tory and habits both in Jl/assachnsetts and Europe, by E. H. Forbush and 

 C. H. Fernald. Many of the facts given in the above account, which was 

 published in the writer's i6th report,' have been taken from this valuable 

 work, which also contains a very complete bibliography of the insect. This 

 work renders a bibliography unnecessary in connection with the above brief 

 notice. 



Bag or basket worm 



Thyridoptcryx ephemerae for mis Haworth 



Small caterpillars in curious baglike shelters are frequently found in early summer 

 defoliating trees and shrubs in the vicinity of New York city and further south. They 

 are particularly injurious to arbor vitae and other evergreens. 



This insect is limited in our State to the southern portion of the 

 Hudson river valley and to the islands about New York. It has been 

 recorded as far north as Yonkers and Mt Vernon. It is a species of con- 

 siderable economic importance to us despite its limited range in the State, 



' 1901 Felt, E. P. State Ent. i6th Rep't, N. Y. State Mus. Bui. 36, p. 955-62. 



