Specific Pests 159 
from two to four years in the trunks or roots of trees, but 
the majority are leaf-eaters. Of this group it will be neces- 
sary to describe several in detail as being of great importance. 
Tussock Moth. The caterpillar is easily recognized by 
its coral-red head, with a pair of long black plumes above 
it and a single one at the other extremity, the small male 
moth has delicately-marked gray or grayish-white wings, 
while the gray-bodied female is wingless; the cocoon is 
spun in crevices of the bark, the eggs are deposited on the 
empty cocoon in a conspicuous white frothy mass, which 
soon hardens, and in which the wintering takes place. The 
caterpillars emerge in May, hanging by silken threads when 
young, spinning their cocoons in early July, the moths flying 
in July and August. Two or three generations form in a 
year. 
They feed on maple, basswood, horse-chestnut, buckeye, 
elm, and a number of other species, and become in some 
localities a veritable scourge, wandering long distances for 
food supply. 
Gathering the egg masses not later than the middle of 
May, or destroying them with creosote oil, which is easily 
done, is also most effective. A loose cotton band will pre- 
vent the ascent of wandering females and caterpillars. 
Spraying early in the season and as far as practicable on 
the under side of the leaves, where the young caterpillars 
feed, or else later with stronger doses, and shaking the 
caterpillars from the limbs of younger trees may also be 
resorted to. 
Forest Tent-caterpillar or Maple-worm, a black to steel- 
blue caterpillar, about two inches in length when full grown, 
with whitish diamond-shaped spots along the back, emerges 
very early in spring (April), clustering around the limbs in 
numbers when not feeding, and, if shaken off, hanging down 
