THE GYPSY MOTH. 



HISTORY. 



The gypsy moth has been known as a serious insect pest 

 in Europe from the time of the earliest naturalists, the first 

 authentic record being in 1662. It extends throughout the 

 continent of Europe, over much of Asia and into Northern 

 Africa, but is chiefly injurious in Central and Eastern 

 Europe. There it frequently does serious injury by defo- 

 liating large areas of forest and more frequently fruit and 

 shade trees, but its ravages cease in two or three seasons, 

 not to occur again for several years, like those of many of 

 our native insects, such as the Forest Tent Caterpillar and 

 Tussock moth. In 1868 the insect was brought to this coun- 

 try by Prof. Leopold Trouvelot at Medford, Mass., in his ex- 

 periments in silk producing. Escaping from him into the 

 neighboring woodland, the insect increased gradually for 

 several years before noticed, but in 1890 had become such a 

 serious pest throughout this and neighboring tow^ns that the 

 State of Massachusetts commenced the arduous task of its 

 extermination. In 1890 the insect had invaded some twenty 

 towns, from Cambridge on the south to Lexington on the 

 west, and Reading and Beverly on the north, as shown in 

 Figure 1. This work was ably carried on by the Gypsy 

 Moth Commission and the Massachusetts Board of Agricul- 

 ture, who annually employed a small army of men in the 

 fight, and who expended up to 1900 approximately a million 

 and a cjuarter of dollars. As a result, so few of the moths 

 could be found in 1899 and so little damage was caused by 

 the insect, that the Legislature of 1900, probably not real- 

 izing the necessity of continuing control measures, stopped 

 the work. Had a small annual appropriation been made 

 and continued at this time, the future spread w^ould un- 

 doubtedly have been prevented and the control of the insect 



