26 



paper." The moth does not materially damage strong, healthy 

 colonies, but is a menace only to persons who are inattentive to their 

 bees or who are careless, leaving empty combs about their hives and 

 bee yards, and who fail to recognize and to treat bee diseases. 

 Combs not in use or not covered by bees should be fumigated with 

 carbon bisulphid and sealed in tight boxes for storage. 



DAMAGE TO THE BEE-KEEPING INDUSTKY BY THE GIPSY MOTH (PORTHE- 

 TKIA DISPAR) AKD BROWN-TAIL MOTH (eUPROCTIS CHRYSORRHCEA) . 



Kumerous complaints came from eastern Massachusetts, where 

 gipsy and brown-tail moths are doing tremendous damage to forest 

 and shade trees, that they were causing a loss to the apiarist as well. 

 Damage is done both directly to the bees and indirectly to the honey 

 flora. 



From Cliftondale, Essex County, one bee keeper saj-s that they 

 have bothered during June and July by trying to crawl in at the 

 entrance of his hives. Another speaks of the caterpillars having 

 eaten up all the plants which the bees commonly forage upon, save 

 golden-rod and burdock, and have thus caused a loss of his bees. 

 Failure of his honey crop in lOOG is attributed to severe ravages of 

 gipsy and brown-tail moths. The basswood of New England was 

 formerly a good honey producer and could be counted upon for a 

 crop, is a report from Melrose, but since the brown-tail and gipsy 

 moths defoliated the trees it can no longer yield much. A Medford 

 bee keeper contributes this interesting note: 



Gipsy and brown tails have so spoiled the fruit bloom, an important factor 

 in spring building, that colonies fail to become sufficiently strong for the har- 

 vest. The willow, maple, and elm, early pollen yielders, have also suffered from 

 the moths, which has consequently damaged bee keeping. 



Another j)eculiar case is reported from Cliftondale. Brown-tail 

 and gipsy moths were so thick on the trees when a number of swarms 

 came out that the bees did not stay near the apiary. 



The trees were covered with them so that the bees would not stay to be 

 hived. * * * In regard to the honey plants, the moths destroyed all the blos- 

 soms on the fruit trees and wild plants. Every place was covered with them 

 each year from 1904 to 1906; the result is that there was no honey this year 

 (1906), owing to so many of the fruit trees and honey plants being destroyed 

 by the pest. 



BEE DISEASES. 



This subject has already been treated with some detail in a former 

 paper.^ Since the ajojjearance of that paper, however, the extent of 

 diseases and the damage they are doing have become more fully real- 



'^ Gates, Burton N. 1908. Bee Diseases in Massachusetts. Bui. No. 75, Part 

 III, Bureau of Entomology ; Bui. 124, Mass. Agr. Exp. Station. 



^ Ibid, pp. 23-32 ; also Bui. No. 124, Agr. Exp. Station, Amherst, Mass. 



