14 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



two years. Our investigations referred to above showed that in 

 some sections of the infested area at least, healthy pupae were 

 quite abundant and it would not be surprising were the depredations 

 of last year to be repeated over a more extended area in 1908. 



Early history. This species rarely inflicts extensive injuries 

 in New York State. Dr Lintner, writing of this form in 1902, 

 states that the caterpillar very seldom appears in harmful numbers 

 in New York or the Eastern States. He adds that it was reported 

 that year from Monticello, Sullivan co., N. Y. on the grounds of 

 Mr John D. Lyon, where a number of soft maple trees had been 

 completely defoliated during the summer. This injury, however, 

 was insignificant compared with the outbreak observed in this State 

 during 1906 and the present season. This species has long been 

 known as an enemy of soft maples, particularly in the Central and 

 Western States. Messrs Walsh and Riley, writing in 1869, state 

 that they have known of maples being badly stripped by this cater- 

 pillar, while Townend Glover, the following year, states that it 

 causes considerable injury to silver maples at Washington, D. C. 

 Riley, in 1872, records this species as a serious enemy of soft and 

 silver maples, publishing at that time a brief statement of its 

 injuries in Kansas. Furthermore, he states that many of the soft 

 maples of Lincoln, Neb. were stripped by this pest in August 1888. 

 Messrs Riley and Howard record depredations by this species in- 

 Mississippi during the year 1890. Prof. Herbert Osborn, writing 

 in 1897, states that it sometimes strips maples in Iowa. Dr J. Bj 

 Smith, in his List of Insects of New Jersey, ranks this form as 

 sometimes injurious to soft maples and more rarely, oak. 



Description. The adult insect is a rather heavy bodied moth 

 with a wing spread of about i^ inches. It is easily recognized by 

 the pale rose colored fore wings crossed by a broad, oblique, pale 

 yellow band and the pale yellowish hind wings. The body is also 

 yellowish. The males may be recognized by the more pectinate 

 antennae. A nearly white variety of this species has been described 

 by the late Professor Grote. 



Pupa. It is about -)4 i"ch long, shining dark brown and tapering 

 to a rather sharply pointed posterior extremity. 



Larva. The full grown caterpillar or larva is about an inch and 

 a half long. It has a yellowish head, is pale yellowish green and 

 is alternately striped longitudinally with eight very light yellow- 

 ish green lines and seven darker green ones, the latter inclining 

 to black and the median one usually darkest. Laterally, on the 



