ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 103 



It lives in societies, making its home in a mass of half-eatea 

 and browned leaves, drawn together by silken threads, from 

 which it drops, when the tree or branch is jarred, suspended in 

 the air by a thread of silk. The larva is of a pale yellowish- 

 green color, with a dusky or blackish stripe along each side, 

 edged above by a narrow whitish stripe ; there is also a dusky 

 line along the middle of the back. Its head is shining yel- 

 low, and the top of the next segment is of the same color ; 

 on each ring there are several small black dots, from each of 

 which arises a fine yellow hair. While young, the caterpillars 

 eat only the green pulpy tissue of the leaves, leaving the net- 

 work of veins entire ; later on, they consume^ the whole of 

 the leaf except its coarser veins. They also frequently gnaw 

 holes or irregular cavities in the young apples. These larvae 

 feed on the leaves of the cherry as well as those of the apple. 



When full grown, they are about half an inch long. They 

 then change to chrysalids within the mass of eaten leaves oc- 

 cupied by the larvse, and ordinarily spin a slight cocoon in a 

 fold of a leaf, but when they are very abundant the foliage 

 is so entirely consumed that they have to look for shelter 

 elsewhere. Their chrysalids are then often found under dry 

 leaves on the surface of the ground, in crevices in the bark of 

 the tree, and in other suitable hiding-places. The chrysalis 

 is about a quarter of an inch long ; at first it is of a tawny- 

 yellow color, which gradually changes 

 to a darker hue. In ten or twelve ^i®- 9^- 



days the perfect insect is produced. 



The moth (Fig. 99) is of an ash-gray 

 color. The fore wings are sprinkled 

 with black atoms, and have four black 

 dots near the middle, and six or seven 

 smaller ones along the hinder margin. 

 The hind wings are dusky above and beneath, with a glossy 

 azure-blue reflection, blackish veins, and long, dusky fringes. 

 The antennae are alternately striped with black and white. 

 Sometimes the fore wings are of a tawny yellow, in other 



