1872 



TJie Western Pomolo^'ist and Gardener. 



153 



four hundred eggs. Each egg is about one twenty-fifth of an inch long, and one fiftietli 

 of an inch in diameter. They arc .'securely glued together covered -with a varnish by pa- 

 rent moth, which so well protects them from the heat of the .summer and the inclement 

 weather of the fall and winter. .During the warm 'days of summer the embryos are 

 developed into minute, yet perfect worms, (larva'), although they remain in the eggshell 

 until early spring. At c and d are magnified representations of the egg, showing shape 

 and the appearance of the end, with its sunken center. 



TuE Worms. — {Larv(e.) — Early in the spring the young worms hatch, frequently before 

 leaves have put forth for them to feed upon, yet they will endure hard freezing, and live 

 two or three weeks until food is furnished them. They are pretty general feeders, will 

 do well on oak, walnut, hickory, plum, cherry, apple, peach and rose, but arc by no 

 means entirely confined to these for food. These jvorms (larva') spin a .silken thread 

 from the time they are hatched until after their fourth moulting, at which time they 

 commence wandering about in search of suitable places tomiike cocoons, wliich the}' find 

 under bark, in cracks of (he fences, under board.s, and similarly secure places. They form 

 webbed nests on the sides of trees, and near forks of large limbs, on which they fre- 

 quently congregate before their time of last moulting, hut are all the time much more 

 given to wandering about than is the case with the Tent Caterpillar of the orchard. 



"The Caterpillar, as seen after it has forsaken its nest and is wandering about," says 

 Dr. Fitch, " is an inch and a half long and 0.20 thick. It is cylindrical, and of pale blue 

 color, tinged low down on each side with greeni.sh gray, and is everywhere sprinkled 

 over with black points and dots. Along its back is a row of ten or eleven oval or dia- 

 mond-shaped white spots, which are similarly sprinkled with black points and dots, and 

 are placed one on the fore part of each segment. Behind each one of these spots 

 is a much smaller white spot, occupying the middle of each segment. The intervening 

 space is black, which color also froms a border surrounding each of the spots, and on 

 each side is an elevated black dot, from which arises usually four long, black hairs.. The . 

 hind part of each segment is occupied by three crinkled and more or less interrupted,' 

 pale, orange-yellow lines, which are edged with black. And on each side is a continuous- 

 and somewhat broader stripe of the same yellow color, similarly edged on each of its 

 sides with black. Lower down upon each side is a paler yellow or cream-colored 

 stripe, the edges of which are more jagged and irregular than those of the one above it, 

 and this stripe also is bordered with black, broadly and unevenly on its upper side, 

 and very narrowly on its lower side. The black is clothed with numerous fine fox-colored 

 hairs, and low down on each side are numerous coarser, whitish ones. On the under side 

 is a large, oval, black spot on each segment except the anterior ones. The legs and pro- 

 legs are black and clothed with short, whitish hairs. The head is of a dark bluish col- 



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