CATERPILLAR. 



CATERPILLAR. 



low the cluster of eggs. Under the shelter of | by reason of weakness, especially those re- 

 these tents, in making which they all work to- 1 maining in the webs. Must of these \\ ill lie 



gether, the caterpillars remain concealed at all 

 times when not engaged in eating. In crawl- 

 ing from twig to twig and from leaf to leaf, 

 they spin from their mouths a slender silken 

 thread, which is a clue to conduct them back 

 to their tents ; and as they go forth and return 

 in files, one after another, their pathways in 

 time become well carpeted with silk, which 

 serves to render their footing secure during 

 their frequent and periodical journeys in -va- 

 rious directions to and from their common 

 habitation. As they increase in age and size 

 they enlarge their tent, surrounding it from 

 time to time with new layers or webs, till at 

 length it acquires a diameter of eight or ten 

 inches. They come out together at certain 

 stated hours to eat, and all retire at once when 

 their regular meals are finished; during bad 

 weather, however, they fast, and do not venture 

 from their shelter. These caterpillars are of a 

 kind called lackeys in England, and livrees in 

 France, from the party-coloured livery in 

 which they appear. When fully grown they 

 measure about two inches in length. Their 

 heads are black ; extending along the top of 

 the back from one end to the other is a whitish 

 line, on each side of which, on a yellow ground, 

 are numerous short and fine crinkled black lines, 

 that lower down become mingled together, and 

 form a broad longitudinal black stripe, or rather 

 a row of long black spots, one on each ring, in 

 the middle of each of which is a small blue 

 spot; below this is a narrow wavy yellow line, 

 and lower still the sides are variegated with 

 fine intermingled black and yellow lines, which 

 are lost at last in the general dusky colour of 

 the under side of the body; on the top of the 

 eleventh ring is a small blackish and hairy 

 wart, and the whole body is very sparingly 

 clothed with short and soft hairs, rather thicker 

 and longer upon the sides than elsewhere. The 

 foregoing description will serve to show that 

 these insects are not the same as either the 

 Neustria or the camp lackey caterpillars of 

 Europe, for which they have been mistaken. 

 From the first to the middle of June they begin 

 to leave the trees upon which they have hither- 

 to lived in company, separate from each other, 

 wander about a while, and finally get into some 

 crevice or other place of shelter and make their 

 cocoons. These are of a regular long oval 

 form, composed of a thin and very loosely 

 woven web of silk, the meshes of which are 

 filled with a thin paste, that on drying is 

 changed to a yellow powder, like flour of sul- 

 phur in appearance. Some of the caterpillars, 

 either from weakness or some other cause, do 

 not leave their nests with the rest of the swarm, 



found to have been preyed upon by little mag- 

 gots living upon the fat within their 1 

 and finally changing to small four-winged ich- 

 neumon wasps, which in due time pierce a hole 

 in the cocoons of their victims, and escape into 

 the air. 



"The moth of our American lacke}--c.M.rr- 

 pillar is of a rusty or reddish brown colour, 

 more or less mingled with gray on the middle 

 and base of the fore-wings, which, besides, are 

 crossed by two oblique, straight, dirty white 

 lines. It expands from one inch and a quarter 

 to one inch and a half or a little more. 



"The moths appear in great numbers in July, 

 flying about and often entering houses by night. 

 At this time they lay their eggs, selecting the 

 wild cherry in preference to all other trees for 

 this purpose, and next to these apple trees, the 

 extensive introduction and great increase of 

 which in this country afford an abundant and 

 tempting supply of food to the caterpillars in 

 the place of the native cherry trees that for- 

 merly, it would seem, sufficed for their nourish- 

 ment. These insects, because they are the 

 most common and most abundant in all parts 

 of our country, and have obtained such noto- 

 riety that in common language they are almost 

 exclusively known among us by the name of 

 the caterpillars, are the worst enemies of the or- 

 chard. Where proper attention has not been 

 paid to the destruction of them, they prevail to 

 such an extent as almost entirely to strip the 

 apple and cherry trees of their foliage, by their 

 attacks continued during the seven weeks of 

 their life in the caterpillar form. The trees, in 

 those orchards and gardens where they have 

 been suffered to breed for a succession of years, 

 become prematurely old in consequence of the 

 efforts they are obliged to make to repair, at an 

 unseasonable time, the loss of their foliage, and 

 are rendered unfruitful, and consequently un- 

 profitable. But this is not all; these perni- 

 cious insects spread in every direction from 

 the trees of the careless and indolent to those 

 of their more careful and industrious neigh- 

 bours, whose labours are thereby greatly in- 

 creased, and have to be followed up year after 

 year without any prospect of permanent relief. 



" Many methods and receipts for the destruc- 

 tion of these insects have been published and 

 recommended, but have failed to exterminate 

 them, and indeed have done but little to lessen 

 their numbers. Mr. Lowel has justly said that 

 ' the great difficulty is the neglect to do any 

 thing, till after the caterpillars have covered 

 the trees with their nests. Then the labours 

 of the sluggard commence, and one tree, let 

 his receipt be ever so perfect and powerful, 



but make their cocoons there, and when the will cost him as much lime and labour as ten 



webs are opened these cocoons may be seen 



intermixed with a mass of blackish grains, 



like gunpowder, excreted by the caterpillars 



during their stay. From fourteen to seventeen 



days after the insect has made its cocoon and 



changed to a chrysalis, it bursts its chrysalis 



skin, forces its way through the wet and soft- 

 end of its cocoon, and appears in the 

 inged or miller form. Many of them, how- 

 ever, are unable to finish their transformations 

 280 



trees would have required three weeks sooner.* 

 The means to be employed may be stated under 

 three heads. The first is, the collection and 

 destruction of the eggs. These should be 

 sought for in the winter and early part of the 

 spring, when there are no leaves on the trees. 

 They are easily discovered at this time, and 

 may be removed with the thumb-nail and fore- 

 finger. Nurseries and the lower limbs of large 

 trees may thus be entirely cleared of eggs dur- 



