446 MISC. PUBLICATION 657, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
cera dentosa Grote, need be discussed. ‘This moth is reddish brown to 
olive brown, with a wing expanse of about 114 inches. The fore- 
wings are dusted and streaked outwardly with darker shades, and the 
median space is brownish black: the hind wings are reddish to black- 
ish. The full-grown larva is about 114 inches in length. The head 
is blackish, dotted with white, and the body black dorsally and lat- 
erally. It is marked by many small white spots arranged in two more 
or less irregular, transverse rows on each segment. The venter is 
brown. The head and body are sparsely clothed in hght and dark 
hairs. This species is distributed from southern New England to 
Towa and southward into Texas. Britton (56) reported it as feeding 
on barberry and as sometimes abundant locally, particularly on hedges 
and in nurseries. The moths emerge late in June and July. The lar- 
vae may be found during August and September. 
Each larva spins together + several leaves on a twig and in this web 
constructs a rather dense silken tube in which it lives. Its excrement 
adheres to the tube, thus causing an unsightly appearance in addition 
to the injury by defohation. ‘The larva pupates in a tough cell com- 
posed of silk and particles of soil. 
Famiry EPIPASCHIIDAE 
The family Epipaschiidae comprises a large group of species, most 
of which are tropical insects, and comparatively few species are 
found in North America. The larvae are normally leaf rollers or web 
makers. 
The pine webworm (7etralopha robustella Zell.) is one of the North 
American forms. The moth has a wing expanse of from 7% to 1 inch. 
The forewings, in general, have the basal third purple- black, the center 
third grayish, and the outer third blackish, fading toward the distal 
portion. The hind wings and body are smoky-gray (fig. 97,C). The 
full-grown larva is about 34 inch in length. The head and the cervical 
and anal shields are tan with darker markings, and the body is yel- 
lowish brown with two prominent, dark-brown longitudinal stripes on 
each side (fig. 97, B). It is generally distributed from New England 
to Florida aa west to Wisconsin, and has been recorded as attacking 
pitch, red, and white pines in New England, loblolly pine in Flor ida 
and Maryland, and jack pine in Wisconsin. 
The moths emerge late in June and in July and August, and the 
larvae may be found feeding from August to October, occasionally 
to early November. The larvae live in silken tubes extending through 
more or less globular masses of excrement held together by strands 
of silk. These masses are formed on the twigs and enclose the needles 
upon which the larvae feed. They range in size up to 5 or 6 inches, 
depending on the number of larvae using them, which may be from 
2 or 3 up to 25 or more (fig. 97, A). Pupation takes place in an ov al- 
shaped cell in the soil. This species is sometimes very common In 
New England, particularly in plantations, and may cause some injury 
to seedlings or small trees. There are no records of it injuring the 
larger trees. Usually most of the injury has been done when first 
noticed. In plantations hand picking probably would be the cheapest 
method of control. 
