312 THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 



her eggs on her cocoon, but, unlike the two preceding species, 

 does not cover them with anything. The larva differs from 

 either of the preceding in having an extra pair of pencils 

 of plume-like hairs arising from the sides of the second 

 abdominal segment ; the head is jet-black ; the glands on the 

 sixth and seventh abdominal segments are vermilion-red or 

 sometimes bright orange ; and the tubercles on the sides of 

 the back of the second and third thoracic and the sixth 

 and seventh abdominal segments are orange-red or yellow 

 margined with pale yellow. 



The Gipsy Moth, PortJietria dispar (Por-the'tri-a dis'par). — 

 This is a European species which has been introduced into 

 Massachusetts. It has become such a serious pest that the 

 Legislature of that State has appropriated a large sum of 

 money to be expended in efforts to eradicate it ; this work is 

 now going on. The male is yellowish brown ; the female, 



white (Fig. 378). In each 

 the fore wings are crossed 

 by many dark lines and bear 

 a black lunule on the discal 

 vein. The specimen figured 

 is unusually small. The eggs 

 are laid in a mass on any 

 fig. 378 —Porthetria dispar, female. convenient object and are 

 covered with hair from the abdomen of the female. The 

 larva differs greatly in appearance from that of the preceding 

 genus, lacking the peculiar pencils and tufts of hair ; but the 

 characteristic glands of the sixth and seventh abdominal 

 segments are present and are red. The body is dark brown 

 or black, finely reticulated with pale yellow, and with narrow 

 yellow dorsal and subdorsal lines. On the dorsal aspect of 

 each segment there is a pair of prominent, rounded tubercles 

 bearing spiny black hairs. The first five pairs of these 

 tubercles are bluish, the others dark crimson-red. There 

 are also two rows of tubercles on each side of the body 

 which bear longer hairs. 



