138 MAINE STATE COLLEGE 



crawl to the base of trees, which they climb. The tendency to 



climb is so strong in these insects tbey blindly ascend fences and 

 houses, as well as trees, and deposit their eggs. The eggs thus 

 laid would hatch, but the young larvae would perish. This shows 

 that the instinct of insects is not the infallible guide claimed by 

 some. They make mistakes in judgment, like us mortals. This 

 species has been abundant here this season. My boys had quite 

 a box of females and eggs which they took upon fence posts 

 duiing my absence. So this blind habit of laying the eggs seems 

 common, though I have never seen it recorded in any of the ento- 

 mological works. Will make note of it some time in the future, 

 and give you credit for the observation. "Will be pleased to 

 answer questions about insects any time. 



Yours truly, 

 Oroxo. F. L. Harvet. 



THE FOEEST TEXT-CATERPILLAR. 



Clisiocarrqja sylvatka. Harris. 



The Forest Tent-caterpillar was so abundant the past season 

 in several localities in the Penobscot Valley that it caused serious 

 alarm upon the part of many, as to the safety of our forests and 

 orchards. Several articles bearing upon the subject appeared in 

 the local papers. It is no doubt true that it is a great drain upon 

 the vitality of forest trees to lose their leaves and have to replace 

 them. They probably do not regain their normal vigor for sev- 

 eral years and many die from this cause. There is however no 

 need of serious alarm, as the history of this insect shows it does 

 not continue to increase many years in succession, but generally 

 disappears almost entirely after the second season. To ascertain 

 how tar parasites were destroying this pest the writer took 135 

 cocoons last fall and from them was able to rear only twenty 

 moths. 



This shows that only about fifteen per cent, survived the attacks 

 of parasites and other mishaps. From the cocoons came forth 

 about ninety parasites ; two species of Ichneumons and two 

 species of Tachina flies. As only twenty moths came forth this 

 leaves about twenty-five deaths to be accounted for in some other 

 way. Some of the cocoons seemed affected by a disease, proba- 

 bly bacterial, that may account for part of the mortality. This 



