22 



Insect Pests. 



Eefeeences. 



(1) Onnerod, E. A. ' Handbook of Insects Injurious to Orchard and Bush 



Fruits,' p. 24 (1895). 



(2) Ormerod, E. A. Eighteenth Eeport of Observations of Injurious Insects, 



p. 4 (1895). 



THE BROWN TAIL MOTH. 



{Eaproctis ch/'i/w/-rhaxi. Linn.) 



This moth is a common British insect, and its presence in 

 America is only too well known on account of the vast amount of 

 harm it is doing there. It appears to 

 have been accidentally introduced into 

 New England some seventeen years ago 

 on rose bushes from France. Since then it 

 has rapidly spread, and has not only caused 

 damage over a large tract of country, but 

 appears to be still on the increase. Besides 

 being found in Britain, this insect is 

 common on the Continent, and extends 

 eastwards as far as the Himalayas and as 

 i'ar south as Algeria. 



According to Stainton (1), the Brown 

 Tail Moth is local. Where it does occur, 

 however, it may become very abundant. 

 It belongs to the family of moths known 

 as Lijmrid^, and is closely related to the 

 Gold Tail, but has many divergent traits 

 in its life-history. 



One of its curious features is that it may 

 occur one year in enormous numbers and 

 then completely disappear. In Kollar (2) 

 is recorded the following : — " In the summer 

 of 1782 this insect created great alarm over 

 the country from its multifarious colonies 

 which were so immensely numerous, we 

 are informed by ^Ir. Curtis, that in many 

 of the parishes near London subscriptions 

 were opened and the poor people employed 

 to cut off the webs at one shilling per 

 bushel, and which were burnt under the inspection of the church- 

 wardens, overseers or beadles of the parish." 



WINTER TENT OF BUOWN TAH. MOTH 

 AND YOUNG LAKV.K OUTSIDE. 



