INSECTS AFFF.CTINT. PARK AND WOODKANU TRKKS 307 



size. They were observed by him crawlinor on the surface of the iiu-lu, 

 sandy soil, and on the sides of monuinmls. Dr Lintner in 1889 records 

 this species as beini,^ very abundant annually at Karner up to within recent 

 years. The cause for their being fewer then was attributed to the destruc- 

 tion of their food plants by extensive fires. An earlier al)undance of this 

 insect was brought to L)r Lintner's attention by Dr James Eights, who 

 stated that on one occasion the caterpillars were so e.xceedingly numerous 

 on and about the railroad tracks between Albany- and Schenectady, that 

 the rails had to be sanded before the trains could run. This species was 

 very abundant at Livingston, Columbia co., in 1882, as recorded by Mr 

 Clarkson, who states that the caterpillars appeared the latter part of Junt', 

 and before the middle of August had consumed all the leaves of young oaks, 

 and had injured many of the older trees in lawns and on the borders of 

 forests. The report of the United .States Commissioner of Agriculture for 

 1869 contains the statement that "for 3 years the oaks near Kalamazoo, 

 Michigan, have been entirely deprived of their leaves, and nearly/ all the 

 trees attacked have died." Professor Claypole records great injury by this 

 insect at New Bloomfield Pa., in 1882. He states that he had seen hill- 

 sides which looked as if fires had passed over them. Caterpillars were 

 found crawling over almost every square inch of ground, and Iving dead in 

 dozens in every pool of water. 



Life history. The moths appear in the latitude of New York .State 

 about the second week in June. The eggs are placed in large irregular 

 clusters on the underside of the leaf. As many as 500 or more may occur 

 in a single cluster as stated by Dr Lintner, though in our own collections, 

 clusters between 200 to 300 were more commonly met with. The color of 

 the eggs may vary from a clear white to a dull coral red. They hatch in 

 from about a week to 10 days, and the yellowish caterpillars with their 

 prominent black spines just behind the head, feed side by side in closely 

 massed clusters. July 19, 1901, the writer observed many of these cater- 

 pillars feeding on oaks at Karner. Their presence at this time could easily 

 be detected by the partly stripped branches, and also by the fine brownish 



