384 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



the greater the opportunity to employ labor and hence to 

 secure an active force of permanent men. 



It does not follow that just because the moth work is fixed 

 by law, a man selected to take charge of it cannot engage in 

 other equally beneficial undertakings to improve and care for 

 the trees and shrubs of his town. There is no reason why a 

 superintendent should not do other work on private property, 

 such as pruning and spraying for other insects, provided the 

 work is self-supporting. The amount of private work is yearly 

 increasing in our towns and cities, and this is indicative of 

 better results generally and an activity that savors of better 

 conditions in the future. 



The Tent Caterpillar. 



One of our native insect pests which is the cause of great 

 annoyance and damage to the farmers of Massachusetts is the 

 common apple tree tent caterpillar. 



Nearly every year it is found in more or less abundance in 

 various sections of the State, and the past two seasons have 

 witnessed serious outbreaks of the insect. Its favorite food is 

 the wild cherry, which is found growing along roadsides and 

 stone walls which serve as breeding places for it. The tent 

 caterpillar is easily recognized, owing to its habit of building a 

 conspicuous nest in the fork of a limb which provides a shelter 

 for it during stormy weather. 



From these tent-like homes the caterpillars emerge during 

 pleasant days and feed on the foliage of the tree. The adult 

 of this insect is a reddish-brown moth with light-gray mark- 

 ings. It is flying about from the middle to the latter part of 

 the summer, and the female moth deposits her eggs in a com- 

 pact, dark-colored mass, usually entirely encircling a twig of 

 the tree. In this stage of its life-history it remains during the 

 winter, the eggs hatching the following spring. As soon as 

 hatched the little hairy caterpillars begin feeding on the buds. 

 At this time they begin the construction of the tent or nest in 

 a near-by fork. As the foliage develops, the caterpillars feed 

 on it, growing all the time. The caterpillar attains maturity 

 about the 1st of July. Fully grown, the caterpillar is nearly 

 2 inches long. The general color of its body is black with a 



