INSECT ENEMIES OF EASTERN FORESTS 381 
Famity CITHERONIIDAE 
The Citheroniidae is a small family of stout-bodied, hairy moths, 
medium to large in size, and with strong wings. The head is gen- 
erally sunken in the prothorax, and the antennae of the males are 
strongly bipectinate on the basal half or two-thirds. 
The larvae are armed with horns, or spines, and some are thinly 
hairy. The horns, or spines, on the second thoracic segment and 
sometimes those on the third are long and usually curved. These 
larvae feed on the foliage of forest trees and shrubs, and two species 
are often pests of considerable importance. The members of this 
family do not spin cocoons but transform to pupae in the ground 
(Packard 324). The more common species of the eastern part of 
the United States will be discussed. 
There are four species of Aniésota which are often common to abun- 
dant in the eastern part of the United States. The moths are dark 
yellow or brownish with a lilac or purplish tinge. AI species have 
the forewings marked with a white discal dot, and the wing expanse 
ranges from 11% to 2% inches. The sexes differ considerably in 
appearance and size. The males in general are smaller and can be 
distinguished by their pectinate antennae. The larva has a cylin- 
drical body with two recurved, slender, smooth horns on the second 
thoracic segment, the prothoracic spines being reduced to tubercles, 
and all the other dorsal and lateral spines of the body being small. 
The anal plate has from three to four lateral and two stout, conical, 
terminal spines. The body is marked with conspicuous stripes. 
The moth of the spiny oak worm (Anisota stigma (F.)) has a wing 
expanse of from 134 to 2% inches. The wings and body are dark, 
reddish ochre, the base of the wings and the outer portion often tinged 
with lilac, and all more or less speckled. The male resembles the fe- 
male in coloration. The female closely resembles that of A. senatoria, 
and they may be often confused. The full-grown larva is 114 to 2 
inches in length. The head is cherry-red, the body pale, tawny red 
and densely covered with white granulations of uneven size with a 
faint dusky spiracular line. The second thoracic segment bears two 
spines about as long as the body is thick, the other spines are curved 
backward, the upper surface is smooth, and the under side marked with 
spinules. The anal plate is reddish with a rough surface, the spiracles 
and legs are black, but the sides of the anal legs are reddish (fig. 73, 
A). This species occurs in southern Canada and New England, south 
to Georgia, and westward to Kansas. Its larvae feed on hazelnut and 
the oaks. The moths emerge in June and July, the larvae may be 
found from July to September, and pupation takes place in the ground, 
the insect remaining in the pupal stage from fall until early summer. 
The moths of the orange-striped oak worm (Anisota senatoria (A. 
& S.)) may be distinguished from those of A. stigma by the fol- 
lowing characters: The male differs in that the hind wings are dis- 
tinctly triangular, the apex less rounded, and the wings reach only 
about two-thirds the length of the abdomen, which is less than in A. 
stigma. The wings of the female are paler, thinner, and less speckled 
than in A. stigma, and the extradiscal line in the hind wings is obsolete 
above, but fairly distinct below. The full-grown larva is about 134 
inches long. The head is large and jet black, the body jet black with 
two longitudinal dorsal stripes of yellow or orange and on each side a 
