IXSECTS AFFECTING I'ARK AXD WOODLAND TREES 



H5 



supply but ordinarily this ilocs not occur till they are nearly full (^^rown, 

 which is usually about a month after hatching and then they wander in 

 search of a place to undergo their final transformations. The caterpillars 

 may spin their thin, semitransparent cocoons in crevices of the bark and in 

 similar shelters at or below the surface of the ground. The insect usually 

 hibernates in an underground cocoon but Professor Garman of Kentucky 

 has recorded an instance where the adults emerged in the fall and success- 

 fully wintered. A recently issued moth was also taken in Washington 

 D. C, in early January of 1890. The first generation of caterpillars are 

 said to spin their cocoons above ground by preference. 



Food habits. This caterpillar is a very general feeder as is attested by 

 a list of 120 food plants, comprising fruit, shade and ornamental trees, that 

 has been compiled by the Division of Entomology of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture. The white elm, willows and poplars suffer 

 perhaps as much as any trees in New York State, though more complaints 

 are received of the depredations of this insect on fruit trees. This is 

 doubtless due to the fact that the injury to the latter is more generally 

 reported on account of the greater value of the trees. 



Natural enemies. Fortunately this 

 insect is preyed on by a number of 

 natural enemies. A tiny egg parasite, 

 Telenomus bifidus Riley, may 

 sometimes destroy most of the eggs 

 in a cluster. There is a record of 

 E r e m o t y 1 u s g 1 a b r a t u m Say ha\-- 

 ing been reared from this insect. 

 Apanteles hyphantriae Riley 

 and L i m n e r i a p a 1 1 i p e s Prov. are 

 important parasites of this pest and 



they in turn are attacked by E 1 a s m u s '■^"" ""''"''■ ^'- ^- "'p'' ""«"'• """ ^■"• 

 atratus How. Meteorus h y p h a n t r i a e Riley is another valuable 

 parasite of this insect. Its suspended cocoon may be recognized by the 



