REPORTS OF OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS. Zl 



great benefit, since these useful fowls will succeed in digging ap and 



destroying large numbers of these and other noxious insects. 



While on the subject of caterpillars injuring green fruits, I may add 

 that the well-known corn ear-worm (Heliotkii armiger) sometimes • 

 out the interior of green peaches. On the 14th of June of the present 

 year. Mr. G. A. Compere, of Los Angeles, handed me a green peach 

 containing a caterpillar of this kind that had hollowed out the entire 

 interior of the peach. I removed it from its habitation and offered it 

 a fresh, half-grown peach, into which it at once began to gnaw an 

 entrance. This caterpillar pupated during the latter part of June, and 

 the moth issued on the 25th of July. 



As also bearing upon this subject I may add that on the 13th of 

 September, 1891, I received from Mr. F. G. Ryan a green orange about 

 three-quarters of an inch in diameter, in which were two holes extend- 

 ing quite to the center of the orange, and in one of them was a halt 

 grown corn ear-worm, busily engaged in feeding upon the interior 

 portion of the orange. This is the first instance that has come to my 

 notice of this insect attacking oranges, although I have occasionally 

 seen it feeding upon orange leaves. 



Tent Caterpillars. — During the latter part of April, 1892, while in 

 tigating the leaf-eating caterpillars occurring in the orchards of 

 Alameda and Santa Clara counties, I found quite a large number of 

 colonies of a thinly hairy caterpillar which, by rearing to the per- 

 fect state, was identified by Dr. Eiley as CUsiocampa thoraciea Stretch. 



The moths appear during the month of June, and shortly afterward 

 deposit their eggs upon the smaller twigs of the trees on the leaves ot 

 which the caterpillars are to feed. The eggs are deposited upon one 

 end in an irregular band completely encircling the twig and measuring 

 from 5 to 9 nim . in width, each cluster containing upward of 250 

 These are arranged somewhat spirally, and are partially covered over 

 with a brown substance resembling glue: but this does not entirely 

 conceal the eggs. They do not hatch until the following April. 



Shortly after issuing from the egg the young caterpillars proceed to 

 spin over them a silken web or tent, and in this tent they pass the 

 greater portion of their time when not engaged in feeding. Before 

 attaining their full size they desert their tent and live exposed upon 

 the tree, but still keep together in companies, and during the warmer 

 portion of the day may frequently be seen huddled together upon one 

 side of the trunk of the tree. I have found colonies of these caterpil- 

 lars on cherry, plum, prone, and willow, and they ted indiscriminately 

 upon the leaves of each of these trees. The caterpillars from the dif- 

 ferent trees were indistinguishable, as were also the moths into which 

 they were finally transformed. On one occasion I saw a nearly full- 

 grown caterpillar of this species feeding upon the leaf o( the common 

 nettle ( TJrtica holoserioea). This was growing beneath a willow tree. 

 and the caterpillar had evidently fed upon the leaves of the latter 

 until dislodged by accident. 



