FISHERIES, GAME AND FORESTS. 



W 



Natural Enemies. This insect has so many natural enemies, that account of them 

 should always be taken in any effort to check the pest. It is probable that quite a 

 number of birds prey on the caterpillars of this species. In a recent article, Mr. E. H. 

 Forbush, Ornithologist to the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, has given a 

 list of forty-seven species of native birds which have been observed feeding on hairy 

 caterpillars. It has been known for some years that the robin, Baltimore oriole, black 

 billed cuckoo, and yellow billed cuckoo will feed on the caterpillars of this species, and 

 it is very probable that a number of others do the same to a greater or less extent. 



The insect parasites are extremely valuable allies and should be encouraged in 

 every practical manner. It has been shown by Dr. L. O. Howard, that in Washington, 

 D. C, Pimpla inquisitor Say, illustrated below, and Chaleis ovata Say are the two 

 species most effective in controlling this pest, and that large numbers of the former 

 insect hibernate as larvae within the cocoons of the host. Unfortunately these 

 beneficial parasites are in turn the prey of others. These latter sometimes almost 



Figure i.— Pimpla inquisitor : a, full grown summer larva ; d, hibernating larva ; c, mouth parts of larva ; d, adult 

 female ; e, abdomen of adult male from side — all enlarged ; c, greatly enlarged. Lines beside figures represent 

 natural size. (After Howard : U. S. Department Agriculture, Division Entomology. Tech. ser. No. 5, 1897). 



exterminate the beneficial forms (those which prey directly on the caterpillars). One 

 of the most common of these pernicious hyperparasites, Dibrachys bondicanns Ratz.,. 

 is represented in the accompanying figure (2). 



Remedies. The simplest and most satisfactory remedy is found in gathering and 

 destroying the egg masses. Prizes were offered in Rochester, N. Y., in 1894, to 

 school children gathering the largest number of egg masses, and most excellent results 

 were obtained. In places where this is practically the only shade tree pest, this system 

 or the payment of a bounty on the egg masses would undoubtedly result in the pest 

 being kept under control at a comparatively small outlay. As the eggs are in a com- 

 pact mass which is readily torn from the supporting cocoon, either by hand or some 



