2 Department Circular 288, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



HOST PLANTS. 



Megalopyge opercularis has a rather wide range of host plants. It 

 has been reported by Watson ^ and others as feeding regularly on 

 citrus trees in Florida, and in the ^^-riter's work in Texas has been 

 taken commonly on hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), elm ( Ulmus, two 

 or three species), cultivated and wild plum {Prunus spp.), sycamore 

 {Platanus occidentalis) , and oak (Quercus, several species), and fre- 

 quently on rose bushes {Rosa spp.). The trees are listed in about 

 the order in which they are preferred by the caterpiUars as food. 



DESCRIPTION OF STAGES. 



THE ADULT. 



Both sexes are yellowish brown, the wings being clothed with rather long wa\'y hairs, 

 some of which are white, especially along the veins, giving an appearance of silvery 

 streaks. The forewings are strongly marked with dark brown, particularly toward the 



Fig. 1.— Male moth of the puss caterpillar. 



anterior border. The wing spread of the female is nearly 1^ inches, and the male is 

 somewhat smaller. The legs are also covered with long hair and the tarsi, being black, 

 contrast rather strongly with the lighter hahs above. (See Figs. 1 and 2.) 



THE EGG. 



The eggs are pale yellow, elongate oval, the sides nearly parallel for some distance 

 and the ends bluntly rounded. The average length is about 1.2 millimctei-s and the 

 width 0.6 millimeter. The eggs are laid in rows in the form of an arc, usually 8 to 12 

 eggs in a row. Sometimes two or three parallel rows about one-fourth of an inch ai)art 

 are deposited, the female mo\dng forward a little after each row is laid. As the e^^ 

 are deposited the tip of the abdomen is swun^ laterally, the head of the moth serving 

 as a pivot. Occasionally one row of eggs is laid direct Iv on top of another. Kearly 

 always the eggs are well covered with the long yellowish hairs from the abdomen of 

 the moth (Fig. 3), and when the insect has completed OA-iposition the body is often 

 practically denuded of hair. The head end of the embryo is toward the center of the 

 circle. The eggs are usually deposited on the leaves of trees. 



1 Watson, J. R. Insects of a citnis prove. University of Florida Agricultural Experiment Station Bul- 

 letin 148, p. 245-246. June, 1918- 



