INSECTS AFFECTING PARK AND WOODLAND TREES 



5 2 5 



American dagger moth 



^Apatela americana Harr. 



Large caterpillars thickly covered with yellowish hairs and bearing a pair of long 

 black hair pencils on the first and third abdominal segments and a single one on the 

 eighth, occur in September on a variety of trees. 



This is one of our rather common caterpillars. It is a quite general 

 feeder, having been recorded as living on maple, elm, chestnut, linden, 

 oak, hickory, ash, sycamore, poplar, birch and alder. 



The full grown larva is about 2 x / 2 inches long, thickly covered with 

 short pale yellow hairs and bears a pair of long black hair pencils on the 

 first and third abdominal segments and a single one on the eighth. The 

 head is black, the body greenish white above with a subdorsal and stigmatal 

 black line, venter black. 



American lappet moth 



Epicnaptera americana Harr. 



A Igrayish, scarlet-marked caterpillar about 2^/2 inches long, remarkable because 

 of the large bordering fringes on each side, occurs in September on oak, ash and 

 apple. 



This caterpillar is peculiar on account of the prominent depressed 



lappetlike fringes on each side which, when the larva is at rest, touch the 



bark and harmonize therewith so closely that the insect usually escapes 



detection. This species is never abundant enough to cause injury. The 



larva has been described by Harris as follows : 



Body large, broad, and flat, with hairs on the side spreading out so as 

 nearly to conceal the feet, the hairs arising from large lappets hanging from 

 the side of each segment, the first pair the largest ; upper side ot the body 

 gray, variegated with irregular white spots and sprinkled with fine, black 

 dots ; in front are two transverse velvetlike bands of a rich scarlet color, 

 with three black dots on each band ; underside of the body orange-colored 

 with a row of diamond-shaped black spots; length 2^ inches. 



