No. 115.] 91 



The same curious cocoons (transformations of the same cater- 

 pillar) were also sent to me during August by Mr. A. S. 

 Fuller, of Ridgewood, New Jersey, he having received them from 

 a friend in Virginia, with the statement that the caterpillars had 

 eaten off all the leaves of his apple trees. 



It is interesting that this Limneria parasite manifests a special 

 fondness for the cocoon-spinning moths of the silk-worm family — 

 the Bombycidce. It is known to infest Euchwtes egle (Drury), 

 (Edemasia concinna (Sm.-Abb.), Hemileuca Maia (Drury), 

 Anisota stigm.a (Fabr.), A. senatoria (Sm.-Abb.), Dryocampa 

 ruhicunda (Fabr.), and Olisiocampa sylvatica Harris. Dr. Fitch 

 has recorded it as infesting the larva of one of our butterflies, 

 Pyrantels cardui. 



The Forest Tent-Caterpillar. 



Clisiocampa sylvatica Harris. 



Although the insect above named has long been known, and 

 much has been written of it, yet the following note received from 

 Mr. H. Babcock, of St. Albans, Yt., gives some particulars of its 

 habits that have not been recorded. 



I find on my apple trees colonies of caterpillars, unlike the 

 common apple-tree worm. They are found en masse anywhere on 

 the trunk or limbs, and when disturbed will drop and spin a silken 

 thread like a spider, but have no nests. They are of different 

 sizes, evidently not full-grown. The head is large, and of a dark 

 blue color. The backs of the largest ones are jet black, with a 

 row of bright yellow spots extending the whole length. On the 

 side is a dull blue stripe, bordered by very minute orange-colored 

 lines. There seems to be not much hair on the backs, but the 

 belly is covered with long yellow-brown hairs. They are alike on 

 cherry, plum, and apple trees. Last year I saw such colonies on two 

 or three plum and cherry trees, and supposed them to be full-sized 

 common apple-tree worms that had crawled from some neglected 

 nest, and swept them down and put them in the stove. This year 

 the same worms are thick on my apple trees, and knowing that I 

 had thoroughly fought the common worms, I examined and found 

 them to be a different species. There is also a species that in late 

 summer or early fall build nests on the ends of the limbs, inclosing 

 leaves in their nests. 



The caterpillar described and its habits given in the above 

 communication, is the Clisiocampa sylvatica of Dr. Harris, named 



