ADDITIONS TO THE THIRD REPORT ON THE CAUSES OF 

 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE EVERGREEN AND OTHER 

 FOREST TREES IN NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND. 



By A. S. Packard. 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 



Iii Dr. Packard's third report, prepared for the Report of the Ento- 

 mologist, Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture for 1885, was 

 contained certain matter, mainly descriptive, which, though valuable, 

 was considered hardly appropriate for a report which it is desired to 

 make severely plain and practical. This matter was, therefore, pruned 

 from the Annual Report and is published here in the more limited edi- 

 tion of the Bulletin.— (C. V. R.) 



THE BLACK-HEADED SPRUCE BUD WORM. 



(Teras variance, n. sp., Fern aid.) 



This caterpillar is so commonly met with on the spruce and fir that we 

 have given it the above English name, though there are other species 

 which have green bodies and black heads. We first met with it on the 

 terminal shoots of the Black Spruce on Peaks Island, in Portland Har- 

 bor, June 22, 18SJ, and also at Brunswick and Harpswell on the day 

 following, when it was associated with the caterpillars of the Spruce 

 Bud-worm (Tortri.c fumiferana). Unlike that species it does not, so far 

 as we have observed, cause any decided alteration in the appearance of 

 the shoots of the tree, not being social or abundant enough to strip the 

 leaves from a single shoot, as in the case of the Spruce Bud-worm, or 

 the Reddish-yellow Spruce Bud-worm (Steganoptycha rateeburgiana) 

 found on the White Spruce last season. 



The egg-laying habits are not yet known, as none of the moths on 

 issuing from the chrysalis mated or proceeded to deposit eggs. 



The caterpillars usually live near the ends of the shoots, feeding on 

 the new leaves, which begin to grow out early in June; cutting off the 

 tender leaves, they make a passage-way between them and the shoot, 

 which they line with white silk. When disturbed they rapidly crawl 

 out of their silken retreat and let themselves down to the •.•round by a 

 17334— Xo. 12 2 17 



