THE INSECT WORLD. 



orchards very early in the spring. During the winter we often 

 find on the small twigs of the apple an incomplete belt of a 

 very dark brown, wax- 

 like material. If we 314- 

 examine this carefully 

 we find it to consist of 

 a very large number of 

 eggs soldered together, 

 from which caterpillars 

 hatch, sometimes be- 

 fore the leaves have 

 started, which at once 

 spin a little web or tent 

 in the nearest fork. 

 Here they live in com- 

 pany, moving out from 

 time to time to feed 

 upon the surrounding 

 leaves, and increasing 

 the size of their habita- 

 tion as they grow. The 

 * ' tents' ' form promi- 

 nent and unsightly 

 objects in neglected 

 orchards, and are some- 

 times rather unpleas- 

 antly conspicuous in 

 others that purport to 

 be well kept. When 

 full-grown the cater- 

 pillars abandon the 

 nest, crawl to some 

 convenient shelter in 

 the vicinity, and spin a 

 yellow, rather thin cocoon, which becomes covered with a fine 

 yellow powder. The moth is dull reddish in color, more or less 

 brown-tinged, and the fore-wings have two oblique, pale stripes. 

 The males are considerably smaller than the females, and as a 

 rule darker in color, tending to have the wing between the lines 



The American tent-caterpillars, a and on the out- 

 side of their tent near the entrance ; d, cocoon ; c, 

 egg-mass of an allied species ; above all the female 

 moth, Clisiocampa america?ia. 



