56 FIELD WORK AGAINST GIPSY AND BROWN-TAIL MOTHS. 



totally to exterminate the insect in this State, but this can not be 

 accomplished and the region kept free from infestation unless the 

 vigorous work which is now being carried on in the other New England 

 States is maintained. Throughout the period that the work has been 

 in progress in Rhode Island most cordial relations have existed 

 between the state superintendent and this office, and this is one of 

 the factors which has made the work so successful. 



The amount appropriated by the State during the four years the 

 work has been in progress is $33,100. In addition to this the 

 National Government has expended about $28,000. 



WORK IN THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 



Adult specimens of the gipsy moth were found by Mr. Ernest 

 Frensch, a local collector of insects, at Stonington, Conn., near the 

 Rhode Island state line during the summer of 1905. He reported 

 the matter early in the year 1906 to Dr. W. E. Britton, state entomol- 

 ogist of Connecticut, who at once made an investigation and found 

 that the report was correct. An emergency fund was available in 

 that State, and was placed at the disposal of the state entomologist 

 for the purpose of stamping out the pest. 



The work has been managed in a very efficient manner, and each 

 year such assistance as was desired has been furnished by the 

 Bureau of Entomology. The original infestation covered practically 

 1 square mile, this having been determined by very careful scouting 

 operations. This colony has been very difficult to treat successfully 

 owing to the broken and rocky character of the ground and to a large 

 number of pastures and brush-covered areas which furnished excel- 

 lent places in which the eggs of the moth could be deposited. In 

 the autumn of 1906 a determined effort was made by the state 

 entomologist to exterminate the moth in this town, and all brush 

 was cut in the woodland and pastures throughout the infested area. 

 The following summer the trees were burlapped after having been 

 previously pruned and all cavities sealed with cement or patched 

 with zinc. Many stone walls were burned out with a cyclone burner, 

 some spraying was done during the caterpillar season, and a number 

 of trees were banded with tanglefoot. Working on the theory that 

 colonies originated from the introduction of caterpillars by some 

 peddler or milkman or other person making frequent visits over 

 quite a large area, several of the adjoining towns were scouted to 

 determine if other colonies existed from which these caterpillars 

 might have been distributed. No evidence was found, however, of 

 outside colonies. During the summer of 1906 approximately 10,000 

 caterpillars were destroyed, and during the winter of 1906-7, 118 

 egg clusters were treated with creosote. By following up the methods 

 already outlined the infestation has decreased each year, and during 



