

DANGER OF GENERAL SPREAD OF THE GIPSY AND 

 BROWN-TAIL MOTHS THROUGH IMPORTED NURSERY 

 STOCK. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Winter nests of the brown-tail moth, each filled with hundreds of 

 young larvae, 'and occasional egg masses of the gipsy moth have been 

 brought into the United States, the former in enormous numbers, dur- 

 ing 1909-10 on imported nursery stock, and the importations for the 

 season of 191 1 are again bringing in these brown- tail moth nests. This 

 infested stock, coming largely from nurseries in northern France, has 

 been scattered widely over the United States east of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, and while every effort has been made to trace these importa- 

 tions and inspect and disinfect them the probability of many unre- 

 ported shipments or inefficient inspection is very great. 



A general warning is therefore given to all users of such imported 

 plant stock, namely, to nurserymen, fruit raisers, and purchasers of 

 ornamentals for city or park planting, to keep all such imported stock 

 under strict watch to see that these pests do not develop. 



As an aid in this direction this bulletin has been prepared. It 

 gives a record of the infested importations of the past two years, a 

 review of the nursery conditions in Europe showing the nature of 

 contamination there, and a brief description, with illustrations, of the 

 two moth pests which are now being imported and widely distributed. 



IMPORTATIONS OF INFESTED NURSERY STOCK OF 1909-1911. 



Space will not be taken to give the details of the shipment and dis- 

 tribution of infested nursery stock during these years. Some idea of 

 the situation can be gained, however, from the following brief sum- 

 mary of importations, drawn largely from the annual reports of the 

 Bureau of Entomology by Dr. Howard for the two years in question. 



BROWN-TAIL MOTH NESTS IMPORTED IN 1909. 



Early in 1909 it was discovered that nests of the brown-tail moth, 

 filled with hundreds of small hibernating larvae, were being introduced 

 into this country on imported European nursery stock chiefly from 



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