ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 393 



forest and orchard trees; makes a web 

 which, from its being usually fastened 

 •close to the tree, is often overlooked; is 

 often very destructive, and is most easily 

 fought in the egg state. 



Remedies. — From the time they are 

 born till after the third moult these 

 worms will drop and suspend themselves 

 in mid air, if the branch upon which they 

 are feeding be suddenly jarred. There- 

 fore when they have been allowed to 

 multiply in an orchard this habit will 

 suggest various modes of destroying 

 them. Again, as already stated, they 

 can often be slaughtered en masse when 

 collected on the trunks during the last 

 moulting period. They will more gen- 

 erally be found on the leeward side of the 

 tree if the wind has been blowing in the 

 same direction for a few days. The co- 

 coons may also be searched for, and 

 many of the moths caught by attracting 

 them towards the light. But pre-emi- 

 nently the most effective artificial mode 

 of preventing this insect's injuries is to 

 search for and destroy the egg-masses in 

 the winter time when the trees are leaf- 

 less. Not only is this course the more 

 efficient because it is more easily pur- 

 sued, and nips the evil in the bud, but 

 for the reason that, in destroying the 

 eggs only, we in a great measure evade 

 killing, and consequently co-operate with, 

 the natural parasites presently to be men- 

 tioned, which infest the worms them- 

 selves. A pair of pruning shears attached 

 to the end of a pole, and operated by 

 a cord, will be found very useful in clip- 

 ping off the eggs ; or, as recommended 

 by Mr. Ferris, a more simple instrument 

 may be made by fastening a piece of an 

 old scythe to a pole. If the scythe is 

 kept sharp, the twigs may very handily 

 be clipped with this instrument. Tarred 

 bandages, or any of the many remedies 

 used to prevent the female Canker worm 

 from ascending trees, can only be useful 

 with he Forest Tent-caterpillar when it 

 is intended to temporarily protect an un- 

 infested tree from the straggling worms 

 which may travel from surrounding trees. 



BLUE SPANGLED PEACH WORM.— 



In examining peach orchards about the 

 first week of May a large number of the 

 young twigs of the trees are observed to 

 be killed at the extreme point or end for 



a distance of one to two and a half inch- 

 es, and the terminal buds entirely destroy- 

 ed. On cutting open these dying twigs, 

 the injury is found to be caused by a very 

 minute caterpillar, which, entering the 

 twig near a bud, entirely eats out the pith \ 

 and interior, leaving only its "frass" and | 

 the exuded gum to mark the spot where 

 it had entered. When confined in a glass 

 case, after about a couple, of weeks, seve- 

 ral of the larva? left the injured twigs and 

 formed very loose cocoons on the sides 

 of the box, or among the rubbish and old 

 leaves lying scattered on the earth, and 



35. — Blue Spangled Peach Worm. 



in about six to ten days the perfect moth 

 appeared. The tail of the pupa is at- 

 tached to a little button of silk, in an ex- 

 ceedingly slight cocoon. There was 

 scarcely a single young tree in the peach 

 orchard examined that was not more or 

 less injured. by this little pest, and at least 

 as many as twenty to fifty injured twigs 

 were found on some very young trees. 

 After the insect leaves the twig the injur- 

 ed part dries up and breaks off. This in- 

 sect was also seen though in much small- 

 er numbers, in Maryland and Virginia, 

 and apple trees are also frequently ob- 

 served injured in a similar manner in Ma- 

 ryland, and it is probable that the dam- 

 age is done by the same worm. 



Remedy. — The only way to destroy 

 them is to go around the peach orchard 

 in May and June and cut off such ter- 

 minal shoots as appear to be withering or 

 drying up, and then burn them with the 

 caterpillars inside. This at least would 

 prevent their multiplying to such an ex- 

 tent as to be very injurious at present. 

 When not so very numerous, they appear 

 only to serve to somewhat prune the 

 trees, as they take off merely the tips of 

 the branches. 



