The Bagworm Drive 



Anna Parfitt Barton 



During the fall of 19 19, trees in District of Columbia were infested 

 with bagworms. They appeared on the trees and shrubs in nearly all 

 parts of the city. As an object lesson and part of the nature study 

 work a "Drive" was instituted among the school children by the 

 corps of Nature-Study teachers. The history and habits were 

 carefully studied in the classes of the upper grades and the boys and 

 girls impressed with the importance of destroying them. 



On the completion of the lesson, the enthusiasm of the children 

 led to numerous expeditions being organized after school hours 

 for the purpose of collecting bagworms. Yards both front and 

 back were visited and many a housekeeper found out for the first 

 time what was causing her evergreens to look so bare and dead. 

 Willing permission was given by many of the prominent citizens 

 to the boys to scout their lawns and estates for the pest. A 

 frequent scene was groups of children on these collecting tours 

 among the shrubbery along the streets and in the parks. 



The cocoons were brought into the class rooms where they were 

 counted and scores posted for each class. The drive was competi- 

 tive and by posters and the awarding of gold stars, interest was 

 maintained. In one class each member, at first, pledged one 

 hundred bagworms ; in a week raised the pledge to two hundred ; 

 by the third raised it to five hundred, and not one of them failed to 

 reach this number. 



In some neighborhoods the trees were entirely stripped of bag- 

 worms. One boy collected over two thousand and the class of 

 which he was a member collected more than sixteen thousand. 

 The " Drive" lasted four weeks. The total number reached was over 

 one hundred thousand. When it is borne in mind that each 

 female cocoon contains approximately one hundred eggs the result 

 is startling. These figures are quoted from actual record and tend 

 to show the magnitude of the work. 



At first, it was the intention of the nature study corps to make a 

 feature of the burning of the cocoons in front of the class. Further 

 study and investigation led to another ending of the story. These 

 cocoons, although apparently well protected from attacks of the 

 birds, are visited by a parasite fly that lays her eggs among those 

 of the bagworm. The parasites hatch out first and feed upon their 



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