changes to a dark brown pupa which transforms to the adult 

 moth. When this change has been completed — about two or 

 three weeks — the adult moth escapes, and the eggs for the 

 next generation are laid. As the moths fly only at night they 

 are seldom seen. There is only one generation a year. 



Enemies. 



A number of kinds of birds feed on this insect in the cater- 

 pillar stage, and several kinds of bugs destroy them by capturing 

 them and sucking out their juices. Parasites lay their eggs in 

 or on them, and the young parasites which hatch from these 

 eggs feed on the internal organs of the caterpillar, the adult 

 parasites sometimes appearing after the caterpillars have gone 

 into the pupa stage. 



Treatment. 



Collection of the egg masses at any time between July and 

 the following spring, and their destruction by burning, is one 

 method of combating this insect, and in times of great abun- 

 dance is very useful. In general, however, spraying the trees, 

 just as the leaf buds begin to open, with 3 pounds of arsenate 

 of lead paste (or If pounds of powdered arsenate of lead) in 

 50 gallons of water is an easier method of control. If, as is 

 frequently the case, the leaf buds begin to open while the tree 

 is in blossom, the spraying must be put off until after the 

 blossoms have fallen. This spray will then also be the one 

 used against the codling moth, and in this way the sprayer 

 will "kill two birds with one stone." 



If for any reason tents are found, and spraying as just 

 described cannot be given,, the tents while yet small can be 

 crushed with a gloved hand in the evening when the cater- 

 pillars are at home. The use of a torch to burn out the tents is 

 not a good practice, as many of the caterpillars drop to the 

 ground when they first feel the heat, and later crawl up the tree 

 and start again; and also because it is easy to hold the torch 

 at the fork where the tent is too long, and so injure the tree that 

 later, under the weight of the fruit, a bad split will develop. 



Wild cherry trees along roadsides and elsewhere are favorite 

 places for tent caterpillars. As these trees are of no value they 

 should be cut and burned so that no food shall be available for 

 the caterpillars. 



