THE DESTRUCTION OF THE EGGS. 117 



METHODS USED FOR DESTROYING THE 

 GYPSY MOTH. 



THE DESTRUCTION OF THE EGGS. 



As the egg-clusters of the gypsy moth are of a conspicuous 

 color and may be found upon trees and other objects during 

 at least eight months of the year, the possibility of stopping 

 the moth's increase by destroying great numbers of cater- 

 pillars in embryo becomes apparent. In each buff egg-cluster 

 temptingly displayed upon the tree trunks during the fall, 

 winter and spring there are from three hundred to fourteen 

 hundred potential caterpillars. Destroy the egg-cluster and 

 apparently you have disposed of the coming brood. You 

 have prevented the hatching of the eggs and the consequent 

 spreading of the caterpillars which otherwise would have 

 scattered abroad, feeding upon nearly all kinds of trees, 

 shrubs and garden plants. Obviously it is safer, easier and 

 less expensive to destroy the egg-cluster in which the brood 

 is united and stationary than to find and destroy the cater- 

 pillars after they have hatched and scattered. The destruc- 

 tion of eggs may not always secure extermination, as the 

 female imago sometimes scatters fertile eggs upon the ground, 

 and concealed egg-clusters may sometimes be overlooked. 

 Yet persistent and thorough egg-destruction in the autumn, 

 winter and spring may be relied upon to so reduce the num- 

 ber of the moths that they will do comparatively little injury 

 in the ensuing summer. Egg-killing is recommended by 

 many European authors as the first and chief method of pre- 

 venting the ravages of the moth. 



Bechstein wrote in 1804: "The clusters of eggs can be 

 looked for from the last of September or October to March, 

 upon the trunks of trees, walls, hedges and fences, and may 

 be crushed or knocked off into a pot and burned by kindling 

 a fire upon them."* 



Canon Schmidberger, who wrote the papers on "Insects 



* " Vollstandige Naturgeschichte der schadlichen Forstinsekten," Leipzic, 1804, 



page 372. 



