128 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



mixture. Usually no special treatment is required for this insect 

 if the trees are thoroughly protected from the tent caterpillar. 



THE FALL CANKER WORM. Anisoptcryx poiiietaria, Harris. 

 This insect has been very bad at times in Maine, doing much 

 damage to fruit and shade trees. Parasites and other enemies 

 soon control it, however, so that it does not usually do damage 

 in the same locality more than two successive seasons. 



Description. 



Eggs.-^Grdi.yish., flattened above, with a centi-al puncture and a brown 

 circle near the border. Each female lays lOO or 200 eggs in rows 

 arranged in clusters on the twigs or branches, or on fences and buildings, 

 usually in exposed situations. 



Larva. — Pale olive green when young, but varying in color, when 

 grown, from greenish yellow to dark brown. Dorsal band broad, brown- 

 ish; lateral lines three, white, the middle one paler; broad brown bands 

 below the lateral lines, and below that a broad white band. Under side, 

 flesh-colored ; head brown. 



These caterpillars belong to the group of inch or measuring worms, 

 because they alternately loop and extend the body in moving. When at 

 rest they sometimes assume an erect position, and can hardly be told 

 from twigs. When full grown they are about one inch long. When 

 mature they crawl down the trunk or let themselves to the ground by a 

 silken thread, and burrow to a depth of from two to six inches. They 

 make a tough cocoon of buff colored silk interwoven with earth, and in 

 twenty-four hours turn into the chrysalis. 



Chrysalis. — Light greyish brown ; about half an inch long. The male 

 slender, and provided with wing cases; the female larger, and without 

 wing cases. 



Perfect Insect (male).— A moth provided with wings, the fore wings 

 brownish gray, glossy, crossed by two whitish irregular bands, the outer 

 one enlarging into a pale spot at the apex. Hind wings grayish brown 

 with a white band crossing them, and in the center a faint blackish dot. 



Perfect Insect (female). — Wingless; uniform shining ash color above, 

 gray beneath ; length three to four-tenths of an inch. Sluggish of move- 

 ment and spider-like in appearance. 



Life History. 



The eggs hatch about the time the buds on the apple trees 

 expand. The young worms feed upon the tender leaves, seeking 

 shelter within the expanding flowers or buds when the weather 

 is wet and cold. They eat holes in the leaves while young, but 



