REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I9OO 957 



the gipsy moth was known to be present in 34 cities and towns in Massa- 

 chusetts. It has not obtained, so far as known, a foothold in this country 

 outside the state of Massachusetts. 



Description. It is exceedingly important that farmers and others 

 in this state shall know something about the appearance of this insect 

 and what to expect. Do not jump at conclusions and consider the spe- 

 cimen a gipsy moth in some form because it bears a general resemblance 

 to the illustrations given herewith. It is much better to send the speci- 

 men to an entomologist and secure an authentic determination. Gen- 

 erally speaking, the statement from a non-scientific person that the ob- 

 ject in hand is a gipsy moth is of little or no value and is quite apt to be 

 incorrect. 



The eggs of this insect are deposited usually in round or oval patches 

 (pi. 1, fig. 8) on a piece of bark and then covered with the buff colored 

 scales from the under side of the female's abdomen. A completed egg 

 mass looks very much like a small piece of sponge. The eggs may be 

 found on stones, in tin cans and in fact on almost any fixed object near 

 at hand, preferably on the under surface, particularly of limbs and fence 

 rails. The nearly globular, pale yellowish or salmon colored eggs are 

 about £- of an inch in diameter, and there are usually 400 to 500 eggs 

 in a cluster, though occasionally 1000 may be found in an egg mass 



The young caterpillar is slightly over a tenth of an inch long just 

 after it emerges from the egg. It has a black head, the body is brown- 

 ish yellow and well clothed with long hairs. There is a prominent hairy 

 tubercle on either side of the segment next the head ; this gives the 

 caterpillar a peculiar broad-headed appearance, specially in its early 

 stages. The markings become plainer as it increases in size, and, when 

 full-grown, it is from 2 to 2^ inches long and has the appearance shown 

 in fig. 6 and 7 on plate 1. 



The somewhat conical, dark brown pupa ranges from %£to i}4 inches 

 long and is well represented in fig. 5 on pi. 1. It is usually found 

 lying among a few threads and securely attached to them by its terminal 

 spine. 



The male and female moths differ markedly. The former, a slender 

 olive brown, black-marked creature with finely feathered antennae and 

 having a wing spread of about ij4 inches, may be seen flying in the late 

 afternoon and early evening in considerable numbers. It is represented 

 with wings expanded and in its characteristic resting attitude in fig. 3 and 

 4 of pi. 1. The female is much heavier and lighter colored. She has 

 a wing spread of about 2 inches and is of a white or buff-white color with 



