242 THE POME FRUITS 



after the petals have fallen. If spraying is not advisable, 

 the females may be prevented from crawling up the trees, 

 by circling the trunks with a band of sticky substance, such 

 as tanglefoot or some other material. 



Tent Caterpillar.— The tent caterpillar is common in 

 almost every garden, and it is found in many commercial 

 orchards. It is detected by the webs of the insect adorning 

 the apple as well as the cherry and other fruit trees. This 

 insect takes its name from these webs which are made at 

 the intersection of the limbs. At first the webs are quite 

 small, but they gradually increase in size as the larvae grow, 

 and in time form a shelter for the insects resembling a tent. 



The adult insect is a moth, reddish brown in color and 

 having two parallel white bands extending obliquely across 

 the forewings. Soon after the mating of the sexes, the 

 females lay about two hundred eggs in an egg mass, which 

 is covered with a light brown, frothy glue. The little 

 caterpillars hatch just as the leaf buds are expanding in the 

 spring. The worms from a single egg mass cooperate in 

 spinning the tent, which furnishes them shelter at night 

 and during cold weather. When the caterpillar attains its 

 growth it wanders off, where it spins a cocoon, and about 

 three weeks later the adult moth emerges. This insect would, 

 in all probability, be more injurious than it is, if it were not 

 for the numerous parasites which attack it, thus reducing 

 its numbers. 



One of the best means of control is to cut out and destroy 

 the webs or tents as soon as they are detected. If a cold, 

 damp day is selected, practically all of the caterpillars will 

 be in the nest and they can easily be burned or sprayed with 

 pure kerosene. Spraying with arsenate of lead, the same 

 as for the codling moth, is also effective in killing the worms. 

 In general the above insects include all that are of any 

 consequence, especially the most common forms. There are, 

 however, several other lesser important ones, but in general 

 all of them can be controlled by spraying. 



