Tent Caterpillars. 



i95 



dirty yellow appearance, with a black head and four rows of 

 black dots and numerous hairs. They at once spin a single 

 leaf together, eating only the epidermis, and attaching the 

 leaf by silk to the twig so that it cannot fall off. 



Towards September they commence to make a regular 

 tent or nest, attaching a number of leaves together by silk. 

 The leaves are lined and covered with silk, and all firmly 

 united. This nest is used as a place of protection from cold 

 and damp, and as a nocturnal residence, just as in the case of 

 the Lackey Moth. During the latter part of August or in 

 September the larvae moult, and still feed on as long as 

 the leaves contain any sap. Even after the leaves have 

 fallen it is not unusual to see the larvae on a warm sunny 

 day basking in the sun outside the tent. As the weather 

 becomes cold they become dormant, and remain in their 

 dwelling. The hardest frosts do not seem to harm them. 

 In the spring they commence to feed on the leaves as 

 they open, the larvae wandering freely over the trees. Very 

 frequently the colony divides, two nests being made, and 

 sometimes even a third is formed. Early in May they 

 moult again, and assume a deep brown appearance, with 

 reddish-brown hairs, a row of white spots on each side, 

 a narrow double broken line of red alone on the dorsum, 

 black between, and with two prominent bright red tubercles 

 •on the back of the eleventh and twelfth segments, depressed 

 in the centre ; these tubercles can be elevated or depressed 

 by the larvae at will. After this last moult they spread out 

 over the fruit trees, forsaking their nests, and then devour 

 the leafage very ravenously. 



From the end of June to the beginning of July they spin a 

 cocoon amongst the leaves of fruit trees, as a rule several 

 together forming a large mass united by a dusky web. In 

 this they change to deep brown pupae. Kollar says as many 

 as twelve may be gathered in one ball ; as many as forty 

 have been counted on a damson tree. From these pupae the 

 moths hatch out in the latter part of July and August, and 

 soon commence to lay fresh eggs on the trees. 



Natural Enemies — -Kollar records that both the eggs and 

 the larvae of P. chrysorrhcea are attacked by Ichneumon Flies. 



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