270 



THE GYPSY MOTH. 



mesticated species in England ; and complete degeneration of 

 the stock, by the process known as "in-and-in breeding," is 

 possibly averted by the periodical introduction of eggs from 

 the Continent. 



The late Mr. J. Jenner Weir, in a letter to Insect Life," 

 Vol. IV, page 138, 1891, said that the gypsy moth had been 

 unintentionally exterminated in England, and further writes, 

 " I think the gypsy moth must have been destroyed simply 

 by collectors." Mr. C. G. Barrett, in his ' ' Lepidoptera of 

 the British Islands," Vol. II, page 303, 1894, gives a very 

 good history of the occurrence of this moth in England and 

 of its probable disappearance, but without assigning any 

 cause for such disappearance. 



Mr. C. Nicholson read a paper on the life-history of the 

 gypsy moth, before the City of London Entomological and 

 Natural History Society, Sept. 18, 1894, in which he pro- 

 posed for discussion, among others, the question why this in- 

 sect had become extinct in England. Mr. J. W, Tutt gave it 

 as his opinion that it was because the insect was not a native. 

 '* Its whole history proved it to be an imported species, even 

 when it first became known. Thousands of specimens in all 

 stages had been set loose in various parts of the country, 

 but, with the exception of an odd specimen here and there, 

 no specimens were taken wild. Its abundance in the fens for 

 a year or two simply pointed to the care with which it was 

 put out, and to the temporar}^ existence of favorable condi- 

 tions. There are thousands of acres of land, to all intents 

 and purposes fitted for jts establishment here, but it — pos- 

 sibly the agriculturists would say fortunately — will not 

 establish itself." 



The history of the gypsy moth in the United States does 

 not seem to lend force to the view taken by Mr. Tutt, as 

 much as we wish it might prove true, for it seems to thrive 

 as well here as in any part of the old world. America is 

 indebted to Europe for a long list of insect pests, many of 

 which are far more injurious, because of their unrestricted 

 increase, than in their native country; notable among these 

 are the currant saw-fly {N^ematus rihesii), the larch saw-fly 

 {JSfe^natus erichsonii) ^ the cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapce)^ 

 the Bufialo carpet-beetle (Anthrenus scrophularioe) and many 



