THE GYPSY MOTH IN ENGLAND. 



260 



prietors of Orchards," published in London in 1816, gives 

 the fullest and most complete account of the gypsy moth that 

 I have seen in English up to that date. He states that this 

 caterpillar is common in gardens and woods, where it does 

 considerable damage. 



Stephens, in Vol. H, page 56, ''Illustrations of British 

 Entomology," Haustellata, 1829, says it is not common near 

 London, but appears to abound in the fens of Huntingdonshire. 

 He also refers to the statement that it was introduced into 

 Britain by eggs imported by Mr. Collinson, but says that the 

 abundance with which it occurs near Whittlesea, and the dis- 

 similarity of the indigenous specimens (which are invaria- 

 bly paler, with stronger markings) to the foreign, sufficiently 

 refute the opinion. 



Curtis, in his "British Entomology," Vol. XYI, 1839, 

 alludes to the scarcity of this species in the time of Donovan, 

 and speaks of finding them in considerable numbers, wheii a 

 boy, in the marshes at Horning, in Norfolk. Mr. Stainton, 

 in his ''Manual of Butterflies and Moths," Yol. I, page 130, 

 1857, says, "It is found plentifully in fenny districts, but is 

 not generally common." George Kearley, in the "Ento- 

 mologist's Weekly Intelligencer," Yol. lY, page 192, 1858, 

 speaks of the gradual disappearance of the gypsy moth in 

 England, and states that it was claimed by some to have 

 actually become extinct in that country. Mr. Richard South, 

 in the " Entomologist," Yol. XXY, page 259, 1892, states 

 that entomologists in 1870 seem to have been a little troubled 

 about the right of the gypsy moth to be considered a British 

 insect, referring, of course, to those caterpillars or imagoes 

 which were then found at large. He further says, after speak- 

 ing of specimens having been found from time to time, that 

 there is no reasonable doubt that this species is extinct in 

 England; "that somewhere about the fourth decade of this 

 century, the species began to decrease in numbers, and that 

 toward the end of the fifties it had practically ceased to exist 

 as a wildling in this country." 



Numerous attempts have been made to introduce this insect 

 into England again, but they do not appear to have been 

 successful. Many entomologists have bred it in confinement, 

 continuing until it can now be regarded only as a semi-do- 



