271 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
horse-chestnut. Mention is made also of 
the damage done by this insect to young 
nursery trees and young forest saplings. 
The newly hatched larvae -of the leop- 
ard moth are scarcely one-sixteenth of 
an inch in length. When full grown 
they are about two inches long. This in- 
crease in size is accomplished by a series 
of molts or sheddings of the skin. Al- 
most as soon as the larvae hatch they 
begin to search for food. As the eggs 
from which they emerge may be depos- 
ited on the trunks and larger limbs of 
trees, the larvae often have to crawl long 
distances before they reach the twigs 
and young growing shoots which they 
first enter. 
On the difficulty of identifying this 
pest, Mr. Chapman says: 
“One of the obstacles I have met in my study 
of this insect is the difficulty in determining its 
presence in our trees and shrubs. This difficulty 
arises because the habits of the larvae are so dif- 
ferent from those of the ordinary tree-pests. There 
are a few manifestations however, that will help 
us answer the question often asked, “How are we 
to know that the damage is caused by the leopard 
moth ?” 
We have already seen from the habits of the 
newly hatched larvae, that they seek the tips of 
small branches or twigs and enter the stem at 
the axis of a leaf or twig two or three leaves back. 
In a week or ten days the leaves wilt and die, so 
that a tree attacked by these small larvae will show 
wilted or dried up leaves at the tips of the 
branches. The typical number of leaves that wilt 
on an elm is three, while a whole whorl of com- 
pound leaves will die on an ash or horse-chestnut. 
If such tips are promptly dealt with and cut 
off one can readily find where the larvae first en- 
tered. As the larvae grow older they migrate fur- 
ther back from the tip of the branch. Thus larger 
limbs are often seen hanging partly detached, or 
they may fall to the ground during a wind-storm. 
Such branches, if examined show that they have 
been wholly or partially girdled or even cut off. 
Another manifestation is the frass, or chips, 
forced out of the opening made by the larvae. If 
it is a shrub in which the larva is working there 
is usually a large-sized pile of frass on the ground 
beneath the opening, but if they are working in 
the limbs and trunks of trees the frass scatters as 
it falls to the ground, unless it collects on a limb 
beneath the opening. As the cavity beneath the 
bark grows larger the frass is not thrown out as 
it is made but collects in quantities and is then 
all discharged at one time. During the interval 
between each discharge, the opening is temporarily 
closed by the larva spinning a diaphragm across it. 
This is lighter in color than the surrounding bark 
and very often it is the only thing that would indi- 
cate the presence of the borer. And finally the 
old dry pupae cases, or skins are readily seen 
partly protruding from holes on the under surface 
of branches or from the bases of shrubs and small 
trees.” 
Mr. Chapman points out that any 
mechanical method of destroying the 
leopard moth larvae, such as spraying 
with insecticides, is impossible, for the 
larva passes most of its life hidden be- 
neath the bark. On this account any 
method that will apply to wood borers 
in general will prove effective in com- 
bating the leopard moth caterpillar. 
A common method of control is to 
prune and cut back all infested parts. 
This is very effective if the larvae have 
not secured too great a hold on the 
trees and cannot be reached individually 
with carbon bisulphide or a wire. It is 
used most effectively where the young 
larvae are just beginning to show in the 
twigs and tips of small branches, which 
wilt and die. These can be very suc- 
cessfully reached with a pair of hooks 
ordinarily used to remove the nests of 
the brown-tail moths. 
In shrubbery, where the larvae are 
more easily detected and not so hard to 
reach, j a wire is a good instrument to 
use. Run the wire into the hole through 
which the frass is forced by the insect. 
The burrow can easily be followed and 
VARIOUS STAGES OF THE LEOPARD 
MOTH (CHAPMAN). 
the larvae either gouged and killed out- 
right or pulled out through the opening. 
A flexible stick can also be used in reach- 
ing the majority of the larger larvae. 
Bisulphide of carbon should be used 
in all cases where the larvae cannot be 
reached by wire. If applied correctly 
and carefully it seldom fails, but im- 
properly injected it is worse than noth- 
ing. It should be injected into the open- 
ing of the burrow and the opening then 
stopped up with some such substance as 
grafting wax or putty. 
The Gypsy Moth. 
Unlike the brown-tail moth, the gypsy 
moth winters in the egg stage. Although 
winged, the female gypsy moth does not 
fly, but deposits the eggs in any convenient 
place to which it can crawl. The egg 
masses are most commonly attached to the 
bark of trees, but they are also found in 
such places as under edges of stones, be- 
neath fence rails, on buildings, and in old 
cans and rubbish. The eggs are laid in 
July and August in a mass of 400 to 500. 
They are covered with tan colored hairs 
from the body of the female moth, and 
form an irregular oval of about the size 
and shape shown in the figure. As the 
eggs do not hatch until about May 1, eight 
months at least are available for their de- 
struction. The gypsy caterpillars attain a 
length of more than two inches. They pass 
about two weeks in the dormant pupal 
stage. The pupal skin is then broken and 
the adult moths emerge to deposit eggs 
during July and August. The egg mass 
is the only stage of this insect that has to 
do with the winter’s work. No single 
method of destruction against the gypsy 
month is more effective than killing the 
eggs. The egg masses, wherever accessible, 
can be killed from August to May by soak- 
ing them thoroughly with creosote mix- 
ture. The creosote may be applied with 
a small swab or paint brush. Creosote 
mixture may be purchased at agricultural 
warehouses and seed stores at from 50 
cents to $1 per gallon, depending on the 
quantity. 
Elm Park Beetle. 
The elm bark beetle is small, meas- 
uring from 2 to 3 mm. in length. The 
thorax is black, shining and somewhat 
longer than broad; the elytra are pitchy 
red, but the antennae and legs are light- 
brown in color. The elytra are covered 
with finely punctured longitudinal stria- 
tions, and the abdomen, which is thickly 
covered with hairs, bears a stout hori- 
zontal projection on the second seg- 
ment, characteristic of this species. 
Bark-beetles do not as a rule breed 
promiscuously in all kinds of trees, but 
each species usually confines its attack 
'to a few varieties, sometimes to a single 
genus or even to a single species. In 
Europe E. niultistriata confines its attack 
almost entirely to elms, preferring 
weakened or sickly trees, though never 
attacking decayed ones. In this coun- 
try it has generally confined itself to the 
elm. 
The larvae on hatching begin to feed 
immediately, extending their larval 
mines at right angles to the egg galler- 
ies, through the inner layer of bark, 
marking the surface of the wood. The 
galleries, at first, are very small, in- 
creasing in size gradually as the larvae 
become older and work farther from the 
point of hatching. The larvae pass the 
winter in the inner bark, and continue 
their development with the first warm 
days of spring. Within a few days of 
transformation, they leave the inner 
bark and work through the outer bark 
to within a few millimeters of the sur- 
face. The larvae change to pupae and 
lie in these blind chambers in a quies- 
cent state from two to three weeks, 
when they change to adult beetles. The 
larval mines bear such a definite rela- 
tion to the egg gallery that the species 
can readily be determined by their char- 
acter. If the bark in which the beetles 
are working is sound and nutritious, the 
galleries are short and definite; but if 
sap-decayed, they vary greatly in size. 
Some broods cover an area of over a 
