206 TENTH ANNUAL REPORT. 



caused serious injury. In another place* I have summarized 

 the life history of this species, as follows: — The adult is a 

 pretty white moth which deposits eggs on the leaves of vari- 

 ous trees early in summer. These soon hatch into young 

 caterpillars that begin at once to spin a protective web. The 

 young worms are of a pale yellow color, sparsely clothed with 

 hairs, and have a black head and two rows of black marks 

 upon the body. They feed upon the parenchyma of the foli- 

 age, leaving the network of veins, and grow quite rapidly, 

 enlarging the web as they develop. By the time they are full 

 grown a single colony of them will destroy the foliage of a 

 good sized branch, making it very conspicuous on account 

 of the web-like covering. At this time the larvae are a little 

 more than an inch long, with the body densely clothed with 

 yellowish hairs. They now leave their nests and descend to 

 the ground, where just beneath the surface, or under some 

 suitable shelter above the surface they spin slight silken 

 cocoons, within which they change to the chrysalis state. At 

 the north there is but one brood each year, but in the southern 

 states there are tw^o. 



The webs of this insect are so conspicuous that it is an 

 easy matter to cut them off and burn or crush the larvae. 

 This is a simple remedy, and the earlier that it is done the 

 better. A little careful work in removing these webs when 

 they first appear early in August will greatly improve the 

 looks of the orchard, as well as increase its productiveness 

 in following seasons. The caterpillars are then clustered 

 together on one or two twigs, and may readily be crushed or 

 burned. 



Early in September there appeared in the vicinity of Dur- 

 ham an incipient outbreak of an insect that may be called 

 the RED-HUMPED OAK CATERPILLAR, as it has uot heretofore 

 received a common name. In entomological literature it has 

 generally been known by its scientific name, Edema albifrons,\ 

 although it has been so rarely destructive that the necessity 



* Insects and Insecticides, p. 201. 



■f This species has lately been placed in the genus Symmerista, and technically it is 

 now called Symmerlsta albifrons. 



