30 BULLETIN 1238, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



and no attempt will be made to present a complete list. Besides 

 feeding on the larvae, such birds as are present in the late fall and 

 early spring prey upon the moths as they emerge and make their way 

 up the trees. Birds seem to be among the most important of the 

 enemies of the cankerworms. 



INSECT ENEMIES. 



PBEDATOKS. 



The following beetles have been recorded as feeding on cankerworm 

 larvae : Calosoma willcoxi Lee, G. frigidum Kirby, G. calidum Fab., 

 and G. scrutator Fab. In addition, Forbes (23) found spring 

 cankerworm remains in the intestinal tracts of the following carabid 

 beetles in Illinois: Galerita janus Fab., Calathus gregarius Say, 

 Evartkrus sodalis Lee, Ghlaenius diffinis Chd., Harpalus caliginosus 

 Fab., and Harpalus pennsylv aniens De Geer. The pentatomid bug 

 Podisus modestus Dall., a mirid (Lygus sp.), two species of ants, a 

 species of Panorpa, and the rapacious soldier-bug (Sinea diadema 

 Fab.) have all been recorded as feeding on cankerworm larvae. 



The fraternal potter- wasp (Eumenes fraternus Say) has been 

 known to store her nest with 20 cankerworm larvae (14) • 



This list of predators could doubtless be extended to include many 

 other predacious insects, particularly those having general feeding 

 habits, which probably do not refuse any cankerworms they may 

 chance to find. 



PABASITES. 



A number of insect parasites of the cankerworms have been 

 recorded. In the vicinity of Wallingford, Conn., neither species has 

 been very severely parasitized, although several different parasites 

 have been reared in small numbers. The recorded parasites of both 

 species of cankerworms are noted below, together with a few ob- 

 servations made at Wallingford. 



Telenomus gnophaelae Ashm. — This was recorded by Girault (SI) 

 as a parasite of the eggs of the fall cankerworm. A. B. Gahan, 

 of the Bureau of Entomology, however, has expressed some doubts 

 as to the correctness of this determination, as none of the specimens 

 which he has had from cankerworm eggs agree with Ashmead's 

 type of gnophaelae. 



Telenomus sp. — In 1919, 80 adults of a species of Telenomus 

 emerged from 2 of 32 fall cankerworm egg masses under observation 

 at Wallingford. The following year no egg parasites were reared. 

 Sherman (39) reports that a species of Telenomus has been reared 

 in numbers from eggs of the fall cankerworm in the mountainous 

 regions of North Carolina. 



Platyg aster sp. — In 1840 Herrick (8) reared a species of egg 

 parasite in considerable numbers from the eggs of the fall canker- 

 worm, and expressed the opinion that it belonged to the genus 

 Platygaster. As far as can be determined, no parasite of the eggs 

 of the fall cankerworm since reared has been referred to that genus, 

 and A. B. Gahan states that there can be little doubt that what 

 Herrick had was in reality a Telenomus. 



Meteorus hyphantriae Riley. — A few cocoons of Meteorus hyphan- 

 triae were found in trays containing nearly full-grown larvae of the 



