SHADE TREE INSECTS 



11 



Brown-tail Moth 



Nygmiu phaeorrhoea Don. 



The brown-tail moth was first reported in America at Somerville, Massachu- 

 setts, in 1897, probably having been introduced a few years earlier on nursery 

 stock. For a number of years it spread throughout New England, doing con- 

 siderable damage by defoliating deciduous hardwood trees. It has spread into 

 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but in late years has caused much less injury. 

 At the present time the limit of the quarantined area in eastern Massachusetts 

 extends, roughly, diagonally across Worcester County from the northwest corner 

 to the northeast corner of Connecticut. 



Brown-Taii Moth 



1. Winter nests on a pear tree. Much reduced. 



2. Winter nest. Actual size. 



3. Caterpillar. Slightly enlarged. 



Figs. 1 and 2, Courtesy, Conn. Agr. Expt. Station. 



' It is reported that the caterpillars do not feed on coniferous evergreens but 

 feed on numerous deciduous hardwoods, showing a preference for pear, apple, 

 stone fruits, oak, willow, and rose. They will feed on elm and maple also but 

 seldom injure hickory, ash, chestnut, or birch. Most of the injury to the trees 

 is caused by the feeding of the older caterpillars in the spring. In severe infesta- 

 tions they may eat the leaves as fast as they are produced, completely stripping 



