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MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 353 



Description. The wings of the female moth are white, with inconspicuous 

 dark markings. The abdomen is large and covered with brown hairs. The males 

 are smaller than the females and their wings are brown with darker markings. 

 The abdomen is slender. 



The eggs are laid in clusters which are roughly oval in shape, from about 3^ 

 inch to over 2 inches in length, and contain about 400 eggs on the average. The 

 individual eggs are globular, almost white, and about 1/25 inch in diameter. 

 They arc embedded in and covered with fine brown hairs from the body of the 

 female moth. 



Diagram Illustrating the Life Cycle of the Gypsy Moth. 



The larvae, or caterpillars, grow to be about 3 inches long. The body varies 

 in color from brown to gray and is covered with numerous tiny, dark spots which 

 give the caterpillar a mosaic appearance. Running lengthwise along the back 

 there is usually a white stripe, on each side of which on each body segment there 

 is a tubercle. The first five pairs of tubercles are blue; the last six, red. These 

 and other tubercles on the sides bear tufts of long hairs. The head has yellow 

 and brown markings. 



The pupae are chestnut brown in color, possess but a few light brown hairs, 

 and are loosely wrapped in a few strands of silk. 



