No. 4.] SHADE-TREE INSECT PROBLEM. 



93 



insect appears only in the spring, and always places its webs 

 in the forks of the branches. The butternut, ash, oak and elm 

 have to pay tribute to the web worm, while the maples, lin- 

 dens and horse chestnuts are almost equal sufferers. A ride 

 through the State 

 in August or Sep- 

 tember will show 

 that the pest has 

 little preference in 

 the matter of lo- 

 calities or food 

 plants. The fact 

 that it appears so 

 late in the summer 

 is of advantage to 

 the trees, since at 

 that season the ef- 

 fect of defoliation 

 is not as injurious 

 as when it occurs 

 at an earlier date ; 

 still, the webs are 

 unsightly, the in- 

 sect annoying, and 

 the injury to the 

 tree of sufficient 

 importance to 

 necessitate remedial measures. Farther south, where the 

 insect is double-brooded, its ravages have an increased im- 

 portance. 



In this State the moths emerge from their cocoons in 

 July, and lay upAvards of 400 eggs in a cluster on the under 

 surface of the leaves. The young larvse at once begin spin- 

 ning a web, which includes the near-by foliage, and often 

 extends by the close of the feeding season over an entire 

 branch. These webs doubtless serve as some protection 

 from parasites, although on the other hand, they are the 

 best kind of sign-boards for the guidance of cuckoos, orioles 

 and other birds that consume hairy caterpillars. When full 



Fig. 8. Fall web worm, moths and cocoons, natural 

 size. — From Howard, Yearbook, United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, 1895. 



