SPRUCE BUDWORM. I9 



there are in addition several infestations in more western locali- 

 ties as in Manitoba and Vancouver, while in the United States 

 in Philadelphia in July 191 1 the moths were so abundant that 

 according to the daily papers street car traffic v/as suspended 

 on one occasion owing to the moths upon the tracks. Dr. W. E. 

 Britton (Twelfth Report, 1912) states "In Connecticut I have 

 never seen them as abundant as they were the past season." 



According to the observations of Dr. Packard the infestation 

 of 30 years ago in Maine was practically confined to the coast 

 region westward of the Penobscot river chiefly in Knox, Lin- 

 coln, Sagadahoc, and Cumberland Counties. The present out- 

 break covers a much wider range for we have records of the 

 occurrence of the caterpillars from Aroostook, Penobscot, Pis- 

 catacjuis, Hancock, and Waldo counties. In the vicinity of Cas- 

 tine, on the shores of Penobscot Bay and in the Moosehead lake 

 region the insect was first reported in 191 1, and though in all 

 probability it occurred in various localities the previous year no 

 reports were received at this Station of its occurrence in 1910, 

 in Maine. The following extract from a letter of July 5, 191 1 

 received from Mr. E. L. Dean of Greenville Junction gives an 

 idea of the situation in that locality. 



"We think the worms have all transformed to pupae, and most of the 

 pupae have hatched into moths which are getting to be very numerous 

 in the woods now. As nearly as we can learn the infested region is 

 from the East Outlet of Moosehead Lake to Township No. 4. Range 

 .6, B. K. P. W. K. P. We have not heard of any of the worms north 

 of Moose River. We cannot say how far south they are, but the 

 center of the infestation seems to be in the vicinity of Parlin Road. The 

 worms have been working on all sizes of spruce and fir trees and we 

 think they have worked more on the fir than on the spruce. The worms 

 have eaten this season's growth and the small trees from which the 

 entire season's growth has been stripped are apparently dead." 



HABITS AND DESCRIPTION. : 



The first intimation that we usually have of the presence of 

 the spruce bud worm is in the late spring or early summer 

 when we see the trees by the roadside as well as in the woods 

 look as if a light fire had passed through them. The little 

 caterpillars feed upon the needles of the new bud or terminal 



