THE RED-HUMPED CATERPILLAR. 425 



entirely dusky ; the body is brownish, and there are two 

 narrow black bands across the fore part of the thorax. The 

 wings expand from one inch and a quarter to one inch and 

 a half, or nearly. 



Our fruit-trees seem to be peculiarly subject to the ravages 

 of insects, probably because the native trees of the forest, 

 which originally yielded the insects an abundance of food, 

 have been destroyed to a great extent, and their places 

 supplied only partially by orchards, gardens, and nurseries. 

 Numerous as are the kinds of caterpillars now found on 

 cultivated trees, some are far more abundant than others, 

 and therefore more often fall under our observation, and 

 come to be better known. Such, for instance, are certain 

 gregarious caterpillars that swarm on the apple, cherry, and 

 plum trees towards the end of summer, stripping whole 

 branches of their leaves, and not unfrequently despoiling 

 our rose-bushes and thorn hedges also. These caterpillars 

 are of two kinds, very different in appearance, but alike in 

 habits and destructive propensities. The first of these may 

 be called the red-humped (Fig. 210), j,j 210 



a name that will probably bring these 

 insects to the remembrance of those 

 persons who have ever observed 

 them. Different broods make their appearance at various 

 times during August and September. The eggs from which 

 they proceed are laid, in the course of the month of July, 

 in clusters on the under side of a leaf, generally near the 

 end of a branch. When first hatched they eat only the 

 substance of the under side of the leaf, leaving the skin 

 of the upper side and all the veins untouched ; but as they 

 grow larger and stronger, they devour whole leaves from 

 the point to the stalk, and go from leaf to leaf down the 

 twigs and branches. The young caterpillars are lighter- 

 colored than the old ones, which are yellowish brown, paler 

 on the sides, and longitudinally striped with slender black 

 lines ; the head is red ; on the top of the fourth ring there 



54 



