JOURNAL 
OF 
The New York Botanical Garden 
VoL. XIII. October, 1912. No, 154. 
THE LEOPARD-MOTH. 
Wit Prates C, CI anp CII. 
Like many of our most destructive plant parasites this insect 
was introduced into this country from Europe. Its presence 
was reported in Brooklyn about twenty years ago, and a little 
later its destructive work was discovered in Central Park, New 
York. It is now thoroughly established in the East and is the 
most destructive of the wood-borers both on account of the 
extent of the damage accomplished by each individual and by 
reason of the large number of ornamental trees and shrubs which 
it attacks. 
The larva of this moth has been known and combatted to some 
extent in the New York Botanical Garden for several years, but 
it is only recently that the identity of the insect has been recog- 
nized. Since the identity and habits of any parasite must be 
known before it can be combatted intelligently the object of 
the present paper is to recall what is known of the habits of this 
insect and to call the attention of the public to the amount of 
damage which is accomplished by it with the hope of impressing 
upon them the necessity of the employment of more thorough 
means of suppressing the pest. 
LirE History. 
The larvae upon hatching make their way to the smaller 
branches, usually a crotch, and bore into the tissues of the host, 
increasing rapidly in size. At maturity the larva attains a length 
of two inches, and is a nearly cylindrical white grub with a 
brownish-black head and posterior segments. The larva may 
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