MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 49 



After feeding for four or five weeks the caterpillars leave the 

 tree in search of a sheltered place for their cocoons, a crevice 

 in the bark, the eaves of buildings, or rubbish piles, proving 

 attractive for this purpose. The cocoon is an elongated oval 

 with the outer silk delicate and loosely woven and the inner part 

 firmer and close. The inner cell is painted on the inside with 

 a thick yellow liquid which soaks through the cocoon and soon 

 dries to a yellow powder. 



The insect remains in the cocoon from two to three weeks, 

 when it emerges as a brown moth expanding about one and 

 one-half inches. The fore wings are crossed obliquely by two 

 pale lines. The general color of the moth varies from buff to 

 reddish brown in different individuals. 



Fig. 21. Female moth photographed in resting position, slightly 



enlarged. 



REMEDIES. 



This insect is so easy to combat that its presence to any great 

 extent in an orchard is due largely to negligence. During the 

 bright days of winter and spring the egg-rings are readily 

 detected on young twigs as their varnished surfaces glisten in 

 the sun. These should be removed and burned at pruning time. 



Since the caterpillars often congregate in their tents at night 

 and usually during stormy weather they can frequently be 

 destroyed, the whole colony at once, by soaking the tent with 

 kerosene emulsion, or soap or washing powder suds. This may 

 be applied by a swab attached to a pole, any time when the 

 whole family is "at home." 



Arsenical sprays will kill the caterpillars and may be applied 

 to the branches near the tents. Trees sprayed early in the spring 

 for the bud moth and other early caterpillars will be sufficiently 

 protected against the tent caterpillar also. 

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