THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



19 



in many instances the gummy covering of the clusters was imperfect • 

 that, here and there, a piece had disappeared, leaving the eggs bare^ 

 and in some cases the exposed eggs were empty. This circumstance 

 induced him to cut into the affected clusters, which were found to he 

 colonized hy mites. They had evidently eaten into the eggs and 

 devoured the young larvie, and also consumed the missing patches «if 

 the glutinous covering. In some of tlie eggs the larva? were found 

 uninjured, while out of others would proceed several active little mites. 

 Sometimes these mites were so 

 small that five or more were 

 jfound in a single egg-shell, 

 with plenty of room and to 

 spare. These, which he no- 

 ticed were very active and 

 nearly transparent, Avere 

 doubtless young mites, not fully 

 grown. The full grown mites 

 were much larger, one of them nearly filling the egg-shell; these were of a 

 pale-red color, with bright red eyes, and sluggish in their movements. 

 On the outside of some of these egg-clusters, he found tiny pale-red 

 eggs, which proved to be the eggs of these mites. On nearly every 

 cluster that he examined, he found more or less of these mites. It is 

 to be hoped that they are generally distributed over tliose parts of the 

 country that have been infested by these Tent Caterpillars, if they 

 are, they will help vastly iu checking their undue multiplication. 



As some of our readers mav feel desirous of examinins the eeg- 

 clusters of these Tent Caterpillars for themselves, we give an engrav- 

 ing, shewing the cluster as it will now be found, fastened around the 

 twigs of the apple trees. They will be more easily seen in a cloudy 

 day, and will be found near the ends of the shoots, not often more than 

 n foot from the tip, and frequently but an inch or two. The gummy 

 covering will prevent the individual eggs from l)eing seen quite as dis- 

 tinctly as they are shewn in the engraving, it having been removed to 

 shew the regularity of their position. This engraving represents the 

 moth and egg-cluster of the "Forest Tent Caterpillar. Fig. a shews a 

 twig with the Ijracelet of eggs upon it, and 6 represents the moth with 

 the wings expanded- 



