REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I9OO 961 



A number of predaceous and parasitic insects have either been reared 

 from this insect or observed preying on it, but none of them are of suffi- 

 cient importance to warrant special mention in this connection. 



Recommendations. Investigate anything that arouses a suspicion 

 that it may be the gipsy moth, but be in no undue haste to identify the 

 insect. It will be much more satisfactory to submit the specimens to an 

 entomologist than to arouse unnecessary fears. There have already been 

 several false alarms occasioned by persons with more enthusiasm than 

 discretion, who have attempted to identify an insect with which they 

 were unacquainted. 



It would undoubtedly pay to exterminate a small colony, but in 

 the course of time this will be impracticable. We must learn to con- 

 trol it on our own land. The inability of the female to fly and the 

 conspicuousness of the egg masses make this task relatively easy, unless 

 the pest is allowed to escape to the woods. There a private individual 

 could hardly cope with the insect. The point of establishment in this 

 state is almost bound to be near some dwelling, and therefore the species 

 need not be allowed to establish itself in wild land, at least for some 

 years. 



One of the most effective methods of keeping this pest under control 

 is the careful collection and burning of the conspicuous egg masses. 

 This can be done most effectually in the fall, during the winter and in 

 early spring. No ordinary fire running over the ground can be relied on 

 to kill the eggs. The only safe way is to put them in a stove or similar 

 fire and burn them up. Creosote oil applied to the egg mass will soak 

 in and kill the eggs. The following preparation was used in the work 

 against the gipsy moth : creosote oil, 5 %; carbolic acid, 20 %; spirits 

 of turpentine, 20 % and 10 % of coal tar. The latter was added to 

 color the compound and thus show at a glance what clusters had been 

 treated. 



The caterpillars prefer to hide during the daytime, and advantage may 

 be taken of this habit to tie burlap bands in the middle around the tree 

 trunks and then turn the upper portion of the burlap down over the 

 string. The bands can be lifted daily and the caterpillars beneath killed. 

 This method proved of such great value in the work against the gipsy 

 moth that thousands of trees were banded during the latter part of the 

 caterpillar season. 



The insect is quite resistant to arsenical poisons, and it requires a large 

 dose to kill it, specially when the caterpillar is nearly grown. There is 

 probably no better poison for this pest than arsenate of lead, using at 



