THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



143 



strike out in all directions ; and this would set 

 the ants— their attendants and protectors— hunt- 

 ing around, to find the cause of the alarm, but 

 they never seemed to recognize the true author 

 of the mischief. Two ants meeting upon such 

 an occasion would put their heads together and 

 seem to consult for a moment, and then proceed 

 to drive off all the harmless flies and wasps that 

 were attracted by the sweets alone. 



Terrible was the fate of an unlucky Syrphus 

 lai-va that happened in the way of an ant at 

 such a time ; the ant would take it in its mouth, 

 and shake it as a dog will shake a wood-chuck. 

 Several times I have attempted to rescue such a 

 larva, but found it had always received its death 

 wound and died shortly after. 



ViNELAXD, N. J. Mrs. Mary Treat. 



[We gladly publish the above from Mrs. Treat, 

 and hope her good example will be followed by 

 other of our lady readers. It is really a wonder 

 to us why the ladies do not more generally in- 

 terest themselves in the pleasant and fascinating 

 study of Entomology ! There should be more 

 Madame Meriaus. Original obsei-vations are 

 always valuable, especially if accompanied by 

 specimens of the insects spoken of. — Ed.] 



THE APriE-TREE TExN^T-CATERPILLAl! 



V WM. LE liAKON, M.D., OF GENEVA, 11. 

 [Fig 17 ] 



Colors— (a .t h) b!ac]t, white, blue and rufous; (c) yellowish-gray ; (t/j yellow. 



More than two dozen different species of 

 insects arc now known to infest and damage 



the Apple ti-ee. Some subsist upon the root; 

 some burrow into the trunk; some infest the 

 bark; some select the opening buds; some de- 

 vour the expanded foliage, and others, finally, 

 revel upon the fruit. Thus beset by enemies 

 on every side, it would seem that that most 

 valuable of fruit trees, the good old Apple tree, 

 must ere long succumb, and cease to occupy its 

 place in the family of plants. And this it would 

 undoubtedly do if all these enemies were per- 

 mitted to go on unchecked in their operations. 

 But owing to the incessant antagonism of par- 

 asitic foes, and insectivorous birds, and human 

 ingenuity, the ravages of these insects are kept 

 within bounds, and the apple tree still lives. Of 

 these numerous enemies of the Apple tree, five 

 hold a bad pre-eminence, namely, the Round- 

 headed Borer {Saperda bivittata), the Oyster- 

 shell Bark-louse {Asindiotus conchiform is), the 

 Canker-worm (Anisopteryx vernata), the Tent 

 Caterpillar {VUsiocampa Americana), and the 

 Apple-worm ( Carpocapsa pomonella) . O f these 

 the most conspicuous, and, in some seasons and 

 localities, the most destructive, is the insect 

 generally known as the Tent Caterpillar (Fig. 

 !i7, a and 6), being the larva of a brick-colored 

 moth (Fig. 08), known popularly as the Amer- 

 ican Lackey moth. This insect is a native of 

 the more northern Atlantic States, and has been 

 introduced into the West in the egg state, at- 

 tached to the twigs of young trees. Though the 

 crab-apple tree, upon which this insect readily 

 feeds, grows wild at the West, yet the caterpillar 

 is not found upon it except in the neighborhood 

 of cultivated trees. 



The eggs from which these caterpillars pro- 

 ceed (Fig. 97, c) are deposited by the parent 

 insect in the latter part of June or the beginning 

 of July, upon the smaller twigs, in oblong rings, 

 each of which contains about two hundred and 

 fifty eggs. These eggs are little thimble-shaped 

 bodies, about one-twentieth of an inch in length. 

 The young caterpillar, whilst in the egg, is bent 

 double, the fold of the body being at the smaller 

 cud. The .same degree of warmth which ex- 

 pands the buds of the apple tree, also hatches 

 the eggs, so that the young caterpillars are born 

 in the midst of abundance. It sometimes hap- 

 pens, however, especially in the cold and wet 

 springs of New England, that the growth of 

 the leaves is arrested by an unfavorable change 

 in the weather, after the young caterpillars are 

 hatched. To meet this emergency, these little 

 insects are endowed with the power of sustain- 

 ing hunger for a considerable time. When 

 wholly deprived of food they will live from ten 

 to twelve days. This species belongs to the tribe 



