THE AMERICAN LACKEY-CATERPILLAR. 373 



two oblique, straight, dirty white lines. It expands from 

 one inch and a quarter to one inch and a half, or a little 

 more. This moth* closely resembles the castrensis, and 

 still more the Netistria of Europe, from both of which, 

 however, it is easily distinguished by the oblique lines on 

 the fore wings, which are not wavy as in the foreign spe- 

 cies. Moreover, the caterpillar is very different from both 

 of the European lackeys ; and it does not seem probable that 

 either of them, if introduced into this country, could have 

 so wholly lost their original characters. Our insect belongs 

 to the same genus, or kind, now called Olidocampa, or 

 tent-caterpillar, from its habits ; and I propose to distin- 

 guish it furthermore from its near allies by the name of 

 Americana, the American tent-caterpillar or lackey. The 

 moths appear in great numbers in July, flying about and 

 often entering houses by night. At this time they lay their 

 eggs, selecting the wild cherry, in preference to all other 

 trees, for this purpose, and, next to these, apple-trees, the 

 extensive introduction and great increase of which, in this 

 country, afford an abundant and tempting supply of food 

 to the caterpillars, in the place of the native cherry-trees 

 that formerly, it would seem, sufficed for their nourishment. 

 These insects, because they are the most common and most 

 abundant in all parts of our country, and have obtained 

 such notoriety that in common language they are almost 

 exclusively known among us by the name of the caterpil- 

 lars, are the worst enemies of the orchard. Where proper 

 attention has not been paid to the destruction of them, they 

 prevail to such an extent as almost entirely to strip the 

 apple and cherry trees of their foliage, by their attacks 



* A short but very accurate account of this insect may be found in the late 

 Professor Peck's "Natural History of the Canker-Worm," printed at Boston, 

 among the papers of the Massachusetts Society for promoting Agriculture, in 

 the year 1796. Professor Peck seems to have been aware that it was not identical 

 with the Neustria, but he forbore to give it another scientific name. It is figured, 

 in its different forms, in Mr. Abbot's " Natural History of the Insects of Georgia," 

 where it is named castrensis by Sir J. E. Smith, the editor of the work. 



