190 ^OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION: BULLETIN 194 



"The larvae transform to pupae during the month of June, the 

 moths appearing from the latter part of June till the latter part of 

 July. In exceptional cases these dates may be considerably ex- 

 tended. Males emerge in advance of the opposite sex, and 

 shortly afterwards the females appear, pairing takes place and egg 

 deposition begins. The embryos are frequently vi^ell developed with- 

 in the egg in two or three weeks after oviposition, but as a rule the 

 caterpillars, do not emerge till the next ^ring, A case is on record 

 of eggs hatching in early September, 1895, at Woburn, Mass., but 

 the round of life was not completed, and in this northern latitude at 

 least, there need be little fear of two generations annually."* 



The insect feeds upon the foliage of practically all of the shrubs 

 and plants grown for economic and ornamental purposes. 



Concerning recommendations for combatting this pest, Dr. Felt 

 has the following to say: 



"Investigate anything that arouses a suspicion that it may be the 

 gypsy moth, but be in no undue haste to identify the insect. It will 

 be much more satisfactory to submit the specimens to an entomolo- 

 gist 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 impi'acticable. We must learn 

 to control 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 pqint of 

 establishment in this state is almost bound to be near some dwell- 

 ing, 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. Creosote oil 

 applied to the egg-mass will soak in and kill the eggs. The follow- 

 ing preparation was used in the work against the gypsy moth: 

 Creosote oil, SO percent; carbolic acid, 10 percent; spirts of turpen- 

 tine, 20 percent, and 10 psrcent of coal tar. The latter was added 

 to color the compound and thus Show at a glance what clusters had 

 been treated."t 



♦Insects Affecting Park and Woodland Trees. N. Y. State Museum Memoir 8 

 tibid. 



