LIFE HISTORY OF THE BKOWN-TAIL MOTH. 



23 



under burlaps, beneath the clapboards or under the eaves of 

 houses, or in any situation which affords reasonable shelter. As a 

 rule the cocoons will be found in masses, and, as the silk with which 

 they are constructed is interwoven with hairs from the bodies of the 

 caterpillars, severe poisoning may result in removing thejn from 

 their resting places. The pupal stage lasts about 20 days, most of 

 the moths emerging during the first 10 days in July. Weather con- 

 ditions during the spring serve to accelerate or retard the growth of 

 the caterpillars, so that the time of pupation and emergence of the 

 moths varies considerably. 



THE ADULTS. 



(PI. IV, figs. 2, 3.) 



Both males and females 

 are white and bear a tuft of 

 yellowish-brown hairs at the 

 end of the abdomen, from 

 which the name ' ' brown- tail 

 moth '' is derived . Although 

 the abdomen of the female 

 is much larger than that of 

 the male, the female of the 

 brown- tail moth, unlike that 

 of the gipsy moth, is capable 

 of strong flight, and the 

 spread of the species is there- 

 fore not handicapped as in 

 the case of the latter species. 

 Both sexes fly more fre- 

 quently at night than in the 

 daj'time, although most of 

 the eggs are deposited dur- 

 ing the day. The moths are 

 attracted to strong light, 

 especially electric arc lights 

 in cities and towns, and 

 during the nights when the motlis are most abundant the areas 

 around these lights sometimes have the general appearance of a 

 heavy snowfall, due to the great number of flying insects. Stores 

 and houses in the neighborhood are often invaded by the moths, 

 and several cases are on record where merchants have been obliged 

 to close their stores during the height of a moth flight in order 

 to prevent annoyance and trouble caused by the enormous num- 



Fig. 5.— Oak tree in winter, showing webs of the brown-tail 

 moth at tips otbranches. ( Original. ) 



