956 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



York state. Favoring circumstances may bring about its introduction *•* 

 within a year or two or it may not occur for a number of years. The 

 following brief notice has therefore been prepared in order that citizens 

 of the state of New York may have at hand reliable information concern- 

 ing a pest they must expect to meet shortly. The well known habits 

 of this species emphasize the value of being forewarned. The extermi- 

 nation of the pest in America may now be placed among the impossibili- 

 ties, but it is of greatest importance that it be kept under control, as it 

 spreads over the country. 



History in America. This insect was introduced into Medford 

 (Mass.) in 1868 or 1869 by Leopold Trouvelot, who imported it in the 

 course of some experiments on silkworms. Justice to Mr Trouvelot 

 compels the statement that the insect escaped from him by accident, 

 and that he did all in his power to repair the mischief. Very little was 

 seen of the creature for about 10 years, and then the caterpillars began 

 to be abundant about the place where they had become established, and 

 from then on their numbers increased till 1889, when Medford and 

 vicinity were literally overrun with hordes of voracious caterpillars. The 

 infestation bordered closely on a plague. An act was passed in the 

 winter of 1890 providing for the appointment of a special commission 

 and placing at its disposal $25,000, which sum was subsequently increased 

 by an equal amount. The work of that year showed the insect to be 

 present over a much larger territory than had been supposed. A farther 

 appropriation of $50,000 was made in 1891, and from then till 1899 the 

 appropriations ranged from $75,000 to $190,000 annually for the purpose 

 of exterminating this species, the total amount appropriated by the com- 

 monwealth of Massachusetts for work against the gipsy moth being 

 $1,155,000. This is a large amount of money to be expended m ex- 

 terminating an insect, but it is very small compared to the loss we may 

 reasonably expect from the devastations of this pest. The work was 

 hindered from time to time by delayed appropriations, and yet, in spite 

 of this and other obstacles, good progress was being made in the work 

 of extermination. Its abandonment at this stage can hardly be 

 regarded as other than a grave misfortune. The general results obtained 

 were most striking to a visitor. Places, where in 1891 defoliated trees, 

 crawling caterpillars and signs of desolation had been prominent fea- 

 tures, were in 1895 an( ^ ^^> seen to be comparatively free from the 

 pests, and the injuries to vegetation slight or none. The checking of the 

 insect over a large area was so thorough as to lead many to forget its 

 earlier destructiveness and to despise its powers. At the close of 1899 



