4 CIRCULAR 2 7 7, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



By the time the cocoon is completed the appearance of the larva 

 within has changed considerably. It has lost its brilliant coloring 

 and has become a flabby, helpless, yellowish mass. It passes the 

 winter in this condition, and in the spring it once more sheds its skin 

 and then pupates. Later the moth issues from the pupal cocoon by 

 forcing off a circular lid or cap at the upper end. 



In Massachusetts the foliage of Norway maple (Acer platanoides 

 L.), sycamore maple (A. pseud oplatanus L.), buckthorn (Rhamnus 

 spp.), black birch (B etui a nigra L.), wild and cultivated cherry 



Figuke 8. — Leaf of Norway maple partly skeletonized from the feeding of young larvae of 

 the oriental moth. Slightly reduced. 



FOOD PLANTS 



(Prunus spp.), apple (Mains spp.),, pear (Pyrus spp.), and plum 

 (Prunus spp.) is most commonly and severely injured by the larvae 

 of the oriental moth (figs. 5 and 6). The foliage of several other 

 trees is, however, fed upon, particularly when the insect is abundant. 

 Among these less-favored food plants are other maples (Acer spp.), 

 oak (Quercus spp.), poplar (Populus spp.), willow (Salix spp.), 

 honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos L.), hickory (Hicoria spp.), and 

 hackberry (Celtis spip.). 



There may, of course, be other trees, not represented in the infested 

 territory but growing elsewhere in the United States, that the 

 oriental moth will attack. In Japan it is said to be particularly 

 abundant in certain pear-growing sections; in other sections it is 

 a common pest of persimmon (Dlospyros spp.) and is sometimes 

 numerous upon plum. 



NATURAL ENEMIES 



Since becoming established in Massachusetts the oriental moth 

 has never been attacked to an appreciable extent by any native para- 



