30 



Provincial Board of Horticulture. 



1897 



their habjt of building webs or nests from which they issue to feed. The 

 Tent Cater- gggg ^j these pests are deposited upon the twigs of fruit and other trees in 

 '^ ^'' ■ ring-like clusters or patches and covered with a viscid liquid, which dries 



into a sort of varnish, by the parent moths ; this takes place during July and August. 



On the principle that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, the easiest way 

 of dealing with this pest, especially on small trees, is to destroy the egg masses, either remov- 

 ing them for the purpose, or cutting off the twigs on which they are found'. 

 'Th^th Careful searehing is required to do this, but the work can be accomplished 



in the dormant season, when there is not so much press of work in other 

 ways. If the caterpillars are allowed to hatch out, they are easily detected by their con- 

 spicuous web or nest. In the early and late portions of the day they will all be found in 

 these nests, and can be readily destroyed by crushing the nests and their contents with the 

 gloved hand, by trampling under foot, or by using a torch to burn them out. Sometimes 

 when a nest has been destroyed some of the caterpillars will be absent feeding, and within a 

 few days the nest will be repaired and the remnants of the colony r»-established, so that 

 r^eated visits should be made to the orchard in order that all may be destroyed. Neglected 

 trees are soon stripped of their foliage and become exhausted by having to reproduce foliage 

 at an unseasonable time, so that little or no fruit will be produced the following season. 



Where these pests have been neglected till they become mature, it may become necessary 

 to use the Paris green spray (No. 9) to prevent them from spreading. As egg clusters are 

 very numerous this season, we may expect that the pests will give considerable trouble during 

 the. summer, and fruit-growers should be on the alert to reduce the number as far as possible 

 by destroying them. • 



Fall Web- Worm {Hyphantria textor) is reported from Chilliwack and the Spallumcheen 



Valley. The moth of this species deposits her eggs in broad patches on the under side of the 



leaves, near the end of a branch, during 



Fall Web-Worm *^^' ^^**®'' P*""* «>* ^^7 oi* early June. 



These hatch during June and July. As 



soon as the young larvse appear they 

 begin to eat aad to spin a web over themselves for protec- 

 tion. They devour only the pulpy portion of the leaves, 

 leaving the veins and skin of the under surface untouched. 

 When full grown they are an inch or more in length, and 

 vary greatly in their markings ; some examples are pale- 

 yellow or greenish, others much darker, and of a bluish- 

 black hue. The head is black, and there is a broad, dusky 

 or blackish stripe down the back, along each side is a yellowish band, speckled more or 

 less with black. The body, is covered with long straight hairs, grouped in tufts, arising from 

 small black or orange-yellow protuberances, of which there are a number on each segment. 



The moth is of a milk-while colour, without spots. When expanded, the wings measure 

 about 1;^ inches across. From their birth the web-spinning habits of the larvije promptly leads 



to their detection, and as soon as seen they should be removed by cutting 

 The Remedy, off the twig or branch and destroying it. As they remain constantly under 



the web for so long a period, the removal of the branch insures in most 

 instances the destruction of the whole colony. See also remedy recommended for Apple-Tree 

 Tent Caterpillar. 



