Tent Caterpii,i.ars. 



563 



Colonies of the caterpillars can be seen at almost any time of 

 day clustered together on the bark of the trunk or large 

 branches of the infested trees. Such a cluster of caterpillars is 

 shown in figure 104. The apple tent caterpillar may usually be 

 found in its nest during the day, but its forest relative makes no 

 such retreat or home. Where these clusters of caterpillars 

 occur in reach on the trunks of the trees it is an easy matter to 

 sweep them off and crush them. It is also an easy matter to 

 dislodge the clusters occurring high up in the tree on the 

 branches. One has simply to climb the tree with a padded mal- 

 let and suddenly jar 

 (shaking will not do) 

 the branches on which 

 the caterpillars are 

 clustered, when nearly 

 every caterpillar will 

 drop to the ground as 

 if shot, some spinn- 

 ing down by a silken 

 thread, which, how- 

 ever, they seem to be 

 unable to ascend as a 

 canker-worm does. 

 One should not be sat- 

 isfied with jarring the 

 caterpillars onto the 

 ground, but a sheet or 

 canvass should have 

 been previously spread 

 beneath the tree, and 

 someone employed 

 to at once sweep the 

 caterpillars into some 

 receptacle where they 

 can be burned or 

 otherwise destroyed. 



104. — A family of Forest Tent Caterpillars rest- 

 ing during the day on the bark, about one 

 ■•■ third natural size. 



Two men could thus remove and destroy 

 nearly all the forest tent caterpillars on a large shade tree in a 

 few minutes, and thus stop the breeding of the insect for the next 



