SOME INSECTS INJURIOUS TO ORCHARD FRUITS 567 



It flies by day with a peculiar zig-zag flight. The female moth 

 is nearly white with numerous small black markings, is heavy- 

 bodied and sluggish. The wings expand about 2 inches, but 

 fortunately the female is unable to use them for flight. Were it 

 not for this the spread of the pest would have been much more 

 rapid. After mating the moths live but a short time and do no 

 damage themselves. 



The pest is spread mostly in the caterpillar stage. The young 



FIG. 420. Woodland killed by being stripped by the gipsy moth caterpillars. 

 Arlington, Mass, 1905. 



caterpillars drop down on fine silken threads and may alight on 

 vehicles which transport them to non-infested areas. When just 

 hatched, the caterpillars have very long hairs, slightly expanded 

 at the base, and these, with the silk which they spin out, serve 

 to buoy them up in the air so that they may be carried for a 

 considerable distance by a strong wind. Where they occur in 

 myriads on high trees, it seems quite probable that the little 



