The life histoiy of the two in many regards is, however, so entirely 

 different, that, to understand clearly how to most economically com- 

 bat them, it is quite necessary to know with which species one has to 

 deal. We therefore give the round of life of the two species separ- 

 ately, and afterwards call attention to the chief distinction between 

 them in the different stages. 



THE SPUING CANKER WORM. 



Paleacrita vernata (Peck). 



This species is probably the more common of the two all through 

 the State. The moths begin to issue from the ground as soon as the 

 snow melts in the spring and continue to emerge all through April, 

 the greater part appearing about the middle of this month. In 

 exceptional cases a few may come out in November or on warm days 

 during the winter. 



Fig. 1.— Spring Cankek Worm. 

 rt, Male moth ; 6, female inotli, natural size; <■, joints of her antennije; (/, joint of 

 her abdomen showing the spines: e, her ovipositor, enlarged. (After Riley.) 



The wingless females (Fig. 1, b) crawl up the trunks of trees most 

 actively in the evening, when they pair with the males (Fig. 1, a) 

 which are flying about at that time. After pairing they lay their 

 eggs. These are deposited in irregular clusters of varying numbers 

 in crevices of the bark or even in expanding buds by means of the 

 long ovipositor (Fig. 1,6). The eggs (Fig. 2,6) are yellowish, oval 

 in outline, and are about one-thirtieth of an inch in length. They 

 hatch in about three weeks, and the young begin to feed as the leaves 

 expand. 



Fig. 2.— Spring Canker "Worm. 

 a. Full grown larva; b, egg, enlarged, the natural size shown in the small mass at 

 one side; c, an enlarged joint, side view; </, the same, back view, showing the 

 markings. (After Riley.) 



