14 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



little below the surface or liides under any rub- 

 bish that may be Iving there; but in neither 



case does it form any cocoon. Shortly after this 

 it changes to a chrysalis (Fig. 5, No. 3), of the 

 usual shape and shining mahogany brown color. 

 After remaining in the pupa state about four- 

 teen days, it bursts the pupa shell and in the 

 forepart of July appears as a moth (Fig. 6), of 

 a pale nankin yellow color, the wings shaded 

 with faint dnsky leaden-colored spots arranged 

 soasnot to present any [Fig. u] 



definite pattern. The 

 sexes then couple as 

 usual, and the female 

 lays her eggs on the 

 branches and twigs ol 

 the bushes. Owing to 

 this peculiarity, the , , 1, , ,, " , ,. ■ , 



'■ ■' ' Colurs— rule jtUow mid laiut 



species is frequently lead-color 



carried in the egg state upon transplanted bushes 

 from one neighborhood to another; which ac- 

 counts for its sudden appearance in parts where 

 it was before unknown. For there is but one 

 brood of this insect in one year, and the eggs 

 must consequently, like those of the Tent-worm 

 of the Apple-tree, be exposed, on the twigs and 

 limbs to which they are attached, to all the heats 

 of July and August without hatching out, and 

 to all the frosts of December and January with- 

 out freezing out. At length, when the proper 

 time arrives, and the gooseberry and currant 

 bushes are out in full leaf so as to aflbrd plenty 

 of food, the tiny but tough little egg hatches 



out about the latter end of May, and in a little 

 more than three weeks the worms attain their 

 full larval development. 



This Gooseberry Span-worm was first noticed 

 near Chicago in 1862 or '63; and for two or 

 three years afterwards it increased rapidl}^, so 

 as in most gardens not to leave a single leaf on 

 the gooseberry, and in many instances to en- 

 tirely strip the currant bushes. It is quite 

 common also in St. Louis and Jefferson counties 

 in Missouri, and for the past two seasons has 

 entirely stripped the Gooseberry bushes on 

 many famis in these counties. Elsewhere in 

 the Western States it is not by any means com- 

 mon; but in many localities in the East it has 

 been a severe pest for a great number of years, 

 especially in the States of New York and Penn- 

 sylvania. Near Rock Island, 111., in the course 

 of twelve years collecting, we only met with 

 one solitary specimen of the moth, although 

 there are plenty of wild gooseberries growing 

 in the woods there, which plant was in all 

 probability its original home, before the intro- 

 duction into this country of the cultivated 

 gooseberry. We have observed that the species 

 shows a decided preference for the goosebeny, 

 always attacking that plant first when growing 

 side by side with the currant. Hence we have 

 given it the English name of the " Gooseberry 

 Span-worm," to distinguish it from the Imported 

 Currant Worm next to be treated of, which con- 

 versely prefers the Currant to the Gooseberry. 

 In reality, however, as we hinted before, the 

 " Gooseberry Span-worm " frequently becomes 

 a Currant Span-worm, and the "Imported 

 Currant Worm" is often to be met with per- 

 forming the part of an Imported Gooseberry 

 Worm. 



It should be carefully observed that the Goose- 

 berry Span-worm is a native American insect, 

 not to be found on the other side of the Atlantic. 

 In Europe, indeed, there is an allied span-worm 

 (Abraxas grossulariatd) , which infests their 

 gooseberry and currant bushes much in the same 

 way as our indigenous species infests our 

 bushes ; but the larva and especially the perfect 

 moth are marked very differently.* We men- 

 tion this fact, because it was erroneously stated 

 four years ago in an Article in the Prairie 

 i^a>7«e?', that the two were identical; and be- 

 cause, as we shall show in a future article, the 

 truth is here of some considerable scientific in- 

 terest and involves some very curious conse- 

 quences. 



'Figures of both will be found iu Westw. Inlioi.ll. p. 

 , Figs. 1 and 3. 



