104 



FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



for it, so that on its first appearance in a new locality it 

 may be promptly exterminated. 



The adult Gypsy Moths appear upon the wing during 

 the latter part of summer. The females are larger than 

 the males, having a wing expanse of nearly three inches, 

 and are of a whitish color. Their bodies are very large 

 and heavy, so that the moth is able to fly only to a very 

 slight extent. The male moths have a wing expanse of 

 less than two inches, and are of a brownish-yellow color. 

 Their bodies are slender, and the moths are able to fly 

 readily. 



Soon after emerging from the cocoons, the female moths 

 deposit their eggs in characteristic masses, each mass com- 

 monly containing about five hundred eggs. They are very 

 likely to be deposited in such hiding places as hollow trees 

 or logs, or among the stones of stone walls. These eggs 

 remain unhatched until about the time the leaves begin to 



appear the following spring. Then they hatch into tiny 

 caterpillars that feed upon the leaves. These grow rapidly, 

 molting several times as the weeks go by, until finally they 

 become full-grown hairy caterpillars that change to pupae 

 within very slight silken cocoons, if, indeed, the few silken 



