8 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



depredations of this caterpillar have been much extended in recent 

 years, owing to the cessation of active control methods on the 

 part of the state in iqoo. The result is that many fruit, orna- 

 mental and shade trees have been seriously injured and the damage 

 has been especially severe in the vicinity of infested woodlands. 

 The cost of fighting the pest on unimproved lands is so great as to 

 be beyond the means of the average individual. Those unfortunate 

 enough to live in the vicinity of infested woods are not only obliged 

 to control the caterpillars upon their own grounds, but are frequently 

 seriously discommoded by those swarming on their premises from 

 adjacent defoliated woodlands [pi. 3, 4]. A partial investigation 

 in September of this year showed that large areas were very seriously 

 infested by the caterpillars of both the gipsy and brown tail moths. 

 Dead pines were familiar objects in infested woodlands and in not 

 a few instances considerable forest areas were conspicuous because 

 of the dead standing timber, mostly deciduous trees, which had 

 been repeatedly defoliated by these voracious pests. 



Danger of spreading into New York. The greatly increased 

 area occupied by the gipsy moth, coupled with its excessive abund- 

 ance in a number of localities, has materially increased the danger 

 of this pest being brought into New York State. The known 

 spread, as previously pointed out, is somewhat slow, it having made 

 its way west only about 25 or 30 miles, and its northward exten- 

 sion is presumably about the same. Fortunately the female gipsy 

 moth does not fly and as a consequence the spread of this species 

 is slow, because it must rely for dissemination upon the ability of 

 the caterpillars to crawl, their being carried by other agents, and 

 the distribution of eggs. These latter are deposited on almost 

 any object and have even been found on freight cars, so that no 

 one can predict where this species may appear within the next few 

 years. Freight cars are not, in our opinion, such dangerous carriers 

 of this insect as some other agencies,- because it is only occasionally 

 that they stand in the vicinity of adequate food for the caterpillars, 

 a necessity at the time the eggs hatch if the young are to survive. 

 Street cars, automobiles, carriages and even individuals may serve 

 as carriers. The street cars are restricted to comparatively narrow 

 limits, which is not true of automobiles. These latter, during 

 caterpillar time, may easily make a run of 100 miles from a badly 

 infested section, carrying about the vehicle several caterpillars, 

 which are thus readily established in the new location. The pos- 

 sibilities of spread in this manner are very great and numbers of 

 these vehicles undoubtedly make long runs either through or from 



