REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I917 45 



Slug caterpillars. These peculiar, apparently legless caterpillars 

 attracted an unusual amount of attention. This was especially 

 true of the caterpillar of the hag moth, Phobetron pithe- 

 c i u m Sm. and Abb., a brownish sluglike form about three-quarters 

 of an inch long and with from a few to ten long, plumelike processes 

 extending from either side of the back. It occurs from July to 

 September feeding on the foliage of a number of trees and invariably 

 attracts notice because of its striking appearance. 



The saddleback caterpillar, Sibine stimulea Clem., was 

 also relatively abundant. It is a rich brownish caterpillar about 

 1 inch long when full grown and so colored that it appears as though 

 it wore a green saddle cloth and brownish saddle, the latter margined 

 with white and edged with black, hence the common name. Both 

 the anterior and posterior extremities are adorned with long, brown, 

 spined tubercles. This caterpillar as well as the hag moth cater- 

 pillar, is an urticating or stinging form and is capable, if handled 

 incautiously, of inflicting a severe sting. Both have been recorded 

 as feeding upon the foliage of a variety of trees and shrubs, oaks 

 and cherry being preferred, though the saddle back is sometimes 

 rather abundant upon corn. Neither are numerous enough, as a 

 rule, to warrant the advising of remedial measures, such as spraying 

 with a poison. 



Oriental peach moth (Laspeyresia molesta Busck) . 

 Wilting leaves and bored terminals of peach in late summer may 

 be the work of this insect, a species also known to attack quince, 

 apple and pear. The probabilities are that it breeds equally well 

 in the various cultivated pome and stone fruits. It is especially 

 fond of quince, thirty larvae having been found in one fruit, according 

 to Doctor Quaintance. 



This serious pest appears to have become established in New 

 York State. It was first brought to notice late in 1916 by Messrs 

 Quaintance and Wood, 1 who characterized it then as an important 

 insect enemy of the peach. Subsequent information kindly placed 

 at our disposal by Professor Quaintance indicates the occurrence 

 of the insect more or less generally over a radius of 10 or 12 miles 

 from Washington and extending northeastward to Baltimore. There 

 is another center in the vicinity of Rutherford, N. J., and it may 

 also occur at New Brunswick in that state. He adds that the 

 insect is probably generally present over most of Long Island and 

 occurs more or less generally through the parks in New York City. 



1 Journal of Agricultural Research, 7:373-7?. 1916. 



