long black hair pencils on the first and seventh abdominal seg- 
ments (fig. 112). 
Adults appear from late May to early July. The female deposits 
her eggs in batches of 50 to 400 eggs each in a single layer on the 
undersides of the leaves. The larvae feed gregariously until 
nearly mature. Winter is spent in the pupal stage in gray, hairy 
cocoons under rubbish and stones on the ground. There is one 
generation per year. This species is often abundant locally, but 
it seldom, if ever, causes serious defoliation. 
The spotted tussock moth, Halisidota maculata (Harr.), occurs 
from coast to coast in the Northern States and southern Canada. 
The larvae feed on the foliage of various deciduous trees such as 
oak, poplar, birch, beech, black locust, boxelder, wild black 
cherry, maple, and willow. The oaks, willow, and poplar are par- 
ticularly attractive. The adult is pale yellow, with long, somewhat 
pointed, brown-spotted forewings and has a wingspread of 37 to 
50 mm. Full-grown larvae are about 30 mm. long, dull black 
above, are thickly clothed with tufts of black and bright yellow 
to whitish hairs, and have a row of short tufts down the middle 
of the dorsum. The tufts on the third thoracic and eighth ab- 
dominal segments are longest and bear an intermixture of white, 
yellowish, and black hairs, with those cn the thorax overhanging 
the head. The larvae are solitary feeders except during outbreaks 
and are found from July to October. Winter is spent as a pupa 
in a hairy cocoon and there is one generation per year. This spe- 
cies is occasionally abundant enough to damage shade trees. 
The pale tussock moth, Halisidota tesselaris (J. E. Smith), oc- 
curs in southern Canada and throughout the eastern part of the 
United States. The larvae feed on practically all common, decidu- 
ous trees and shrubs. The adult is pale yellow and has a wing- 
spread of about 50 mm. The forewings are translucent and 
crossed by five broad, darkish bands. Full-grown larvae are dark- 
ish and densely clothed with compact tufts of light yellow or | 
dirty white fine hairs. Black pencils rise in pairs from the second 
and third thoracic and eighth abdominal segments (fig. 118). 
Adults appear in June and July and the larvae, which usually 
feed singly, are present from August to October. The winter is 
spent as a pupa in a brownish, hairy cocoon, and there is one gen- 
eration per year. This species is frequently abundant in the for- 
est and along roadsides in the South Central States, but is usually 
of minor importance. 
COURTESY CONN. AGR. EXPT. STA. 
FIGURE 112.—Larvae of the 
hickory tussock moth, 
Halisidota caryae. 
