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worms, or, as they are sometimes called, cedar worms, because they are 
usually found on that tree, but also live upon a great variety of trees’ 
Briefly their history may be told as follows : 
The two sexes of this moth that issue from these cases in the fall 
vary greatly, the male having the wings sparsely covered with a coat¬ 
ing of scales that come off soon after he issues from his case, leaving 
transparent bee-like wings, while the female is wingless and remains 
in her case or follicle till after she has paired with the male, when she 
depoits her eggs in the follicle, works her way out, falls to the ground 
exhausted, and dies. The eggs remain in this case throughout the 
winter to hatch out the next May. The first effort the young worm 
makes upon finding itself free from the egg is to spin a cone-like case 
of silk mingled with such other substances as may be at hand, which 
covers and protects all but the anterior part of the body. It carries 
this erect in the air as it feeds, adding to it as growth requires a more 
commodious apartment until it becomes too heavy to be borne in this 
way. After this the case is pendant. About the middle of the sum¬ 
mer the worms attain their full size, when they quit the trees upon 
which they fed and wander about, and it is at this period only that 
they push their migrations beyond the treewhere the eggs were de¬ 
posited. As the female is without wings and does not leave her case 
until after the eggs are placed in position, it is evident this restless 
disposition when the larva are full grown is the only provision nature 
has made for the diffusion of the species. After their wanderings 
cease they attach the follicle to a twig of some tree or shrub by a 
strong cord of silk and change to chrysalids; the male the smaller, 
showing the cases of the future wings, but the female having more of 
the shape of the caterpillar. At the proper season the perfect insects 
issue from there to deposit eggs that pass through the cycle of changes 
already given. 
From the above it is evident that these insects are local in the 
character of their work, and as they must spread very slowly. It is 
also evident from the manner in which the eggs pass the wdnter that 
they may be easily managed by gathering these follicles at any time 
during the winter and burning them, as that will destroy the eggs 
and with them the prospect for the next brood of worms. They are 
not abundant in the northern portion of the state, being more of a 
southern than a northern insect; but they are more or less common 
in southern Illinois. The only complaint I heard from their depre¬ 
dations the past season was from Grand Tower where they did some 
damage to cedar trees. 
Spec. Char. Moth —The wings of the male expand about an inch, and, 
as usually found, are almost devoid of scales so that they look more 
like bees than moths; body brownish, black, antennae broadly pec¬ 
tinate to two-thirds of its length; female wingless. 
