120 FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



BOMBYCINE MOTHS 



1. In winter or early spring hunt for cocoons of the giant silkworms 

 Cecropia, Promethea, Polyphemus, and other large moths. When 

 found, keep in a cool place until April or May, then bring into the 

 schoolroom to see the moths emerge. 



Read the chapters on these moths in Dickerson's Moths and Butter- 

 flies. 



2. In spring you can easily find nests of the Tent Caterpillar. Bring 

 in a few larvae and rear in a vivarium. 



Read Nature Biographies, pages 22-34. 



3. In autumn you can generally find nests of the Fall Web-worm and 

 easily rear a few of the larvae. 



OTHER INSECTS 



I. If you do not find Cutworms in your garden, you can probably 

 find them under boards along fences or roadsides. Keep a few in a 

 vivarium, feeding them leaves of clover, and see if you can rear them 

 successfully. 



2. If the Bollworm, Corn Worm, or Tomato Fruit Worm occur in 

 your region, see if you can find and rear some of the larvae. 



3. Late in autumn get some nearly full-grown Codling Moth larvae in 

 apples, place in a vivarium, and see if you can get them to spin cocoons. 

 Keep these to see if you can get the moths from them. 



4. Make an estimate of the percentage of apples injured by the 

 Codling Moth in some orchard. Is the injury less in orchards sprayed 

 in spring than in those not sprayed ? 



5. A little searching of the leaves of trees and shrubs at almost any 

 time in summer will reveal examples of leaf rollers at work. One 

 species is common in the leaves of cultivated strawberries. Another 

 conspicuous one is the Wild Cherry Tent-maker. Rear some of the 

 larvae into moths. A few small caterpillars can be easily reared in a 

 covered jelly glass or a glass fruit-jar. 



6. Examine the leaves of apple and other trees for leaf miners. They 

 are generally abundant in summer and early autumn. Break off a twig 

 with infested leaves and put it in a bottle of water to keep the larvae alive 

 until they change to pupae. Then put the leaf in a jelly glass or other 

 suitable receptacle, covering with cheesecloth held in place by a rubber 

 band. 



