INSECT ENEMIES OF THE GRAPE. 221 



expand nearly one inch, Fig. 92. The caterpillars are 

 gregarious ; that is, considerable numbers of them live 

 and feed together, collected side by side on the same 

 leaf, and only dispersed when they are about to make 

 their cocoons. They are of a yellow color, with a trans- 

 verse row of black, velvety tufts on each ring, and a 

 few conspicuous hairs on each extremity of the body. 

 They are hatched from eggs which are laid in clusters 

 of twenty or more together, on the lower sides of the 

 leaves of the grapevine and Virginia creeper ; and they 

 come to their growth from the middle to the end of 

 August. They then measure six-tenths, or rather more 

 than one-half of an inch in length. Their feet are six- 

 teen in number and rather short, and their motions are 

 sluggish. When touched they curl their bodies sidewise 

 and fall to the ground ; or, more rarely, hang suspended 

 from the leaves by a silken thread. When young, they 

 eat only portions of the surface of the leaf ; but as they 

 grow older they devour all but the stalk and principal 

 veins, and passing from leaf to leaf thus strip whole 

 branches of their foliage. 



This pest is more numerous in the Middle, than in 

 the extreme Northern States, and I have always found 

 it more abundant on vines growing in city yards than in 

 vineyards. As the caterpillar feeds entirely upon the 

 upper surface of the leaves, it can be readily destroyed 

 by dusting the leaves with lime, when wet with dew, or 

 the leaves may be cut off with the insects upon them 

 and thrown into the fire. 



Thrips, Aphis and Vine Scales. These are all 

 minute insects, and live by sucking the juice, or sap, 

 from the leaves, succulent shoots and half-mature canes. 



The insect commonly known as Thrip, or Leaf- 

 hopper (Erythroneura vitis), is a very active little pest, 

 jumping many times its own length when disturbed. It 

 usually congregates in large numbers on the under side 



