THE BROWN TAIL MOTH. 83 



the inspection of the churchwardens, overseers, or 

 beadles of ^the parish ; at the first onset of this 

 business, fourscore bushels, as I was most credibly 

 informed, were collected in one day in the parish of 

 Clapham/' 



The Brown-tail Moth is found in many parts of 

 Europe. Albin, who published in 1720, says the 

 caterpillars lay themselves up in webs all the winter, 

 and as soon as the buds open they come forth, and 

 devour them in such a manner, that whole trees, 

 and sometimes hedges, for a great way together, 

 are absolutely bare. Geoffroy describes it as the 

 most common of all insects about Paris, where it is 

 found on most of the trees, which it often strips 

 ntirely of their foliage in the spring. It is also 

 noticed by Ray. 



These caterpillars have happily many enemies, 

 they are eagerly devoured by birds ; the ichneumon 

 ly destroys them by myriads ; and it is supposed 

 that the absence of the latter, from some unknown 

 cause, might have contributed, for one or two sea- 

 sons, to their immense increase. As soon as they 

 quit the egg they begin spinning the web, and, 

 laving formed a small one, they proceed to feed on 

 ;he foliage, by eating, like most other larvae, the 

 upper surface and fleshy part of the leaf. In these 

 webs they are progressively increased in size, as 

 necessity requires ; they live in societies till they 

 attain their last skin, when each spins a separate 



