Octooer Is, 1922 
Questions About Insects 
Answered By Prof. Glenn W. Herrick 
The Saddle-back Caterpillar 
I am sending a couple of caterpillars 
which 1 picked oft' some sweet cornstalks. 
I have not seen this variety before. Can 
you tell me what they are? Bo careful of 
them. Those “horns” can sting like a 
yellow jacket. j. T. 
Farmingdalo, N. J. 
The caterpillars sent by J. T. are 
known as the saddle-back caterpillars. 
They arc of a good deal of interest from 
several points of view. They are striking 
in appearance because of their form and 
conspicuous coloration. Each caterpillar 
is reddish-brown in color, and in the mid¬ 
dle of the back there is a bright pea- 
green patch, the saddle blanket. In the 
center of the blanket is an elliptical pur¬ 
plish-brown patch, often edged with 
mum tneir nests beneath boards, stones 
and other rubbish, and very often in the 
ground. If the nest can be located, every¬ 
one of the inhabitants can be killed with 
carbon bisulphide. Not long ago the 
writer located a nest of yellow jackets, 
the inmates of which had been 
us, and fouud it 
some shrubbery close to the house 
dusk, when the workers had all 
home and entered the 
mSw 
annoying 
was in the ground by 
After 
returned 
nest, I poured a 
half teacupful of carbon bisulphide on 
Some cotton and fastened the latter in 
the bottom of a galvanized iron wash tub 
by placing a stick which had been cut a 
trifle long across the inside of the tub. 
I then inverted the tub quickly over the 
hole in the ground leading to the nest 
and scraped the soil around the edges s<> 
as to confine the fumes. In the morning 
I dug out the nest, and found in it about 
200 individuals, everyone of which was 
dead. 
It. should be remembered, of course, 
that all of the nests of both mud-daubers 
and yellow jackets will be deserted this 
Fall, and that all of the wasps except a 
few queens will die before Winter. The 
queens live over in various protected 
places, and each one that survives starts 
a new nest and a new colony in the 
Spring. GLENN W. HERRICK. 
Surprised on Saturday 
—sold on Sunday 
Why one Ford owner ordered 
a drum of Qargoyle Mobil- 
oil “F” when he drove back 
from Cleveland 
white, known as the saddle. But more hnver floor of my 
interesting than its coloration is the fact saine?'^'’ 11 i,n<l rPmod; 
that the body is armed along the sides Alpine, N. J. 
with clusters of spines, and also bears The ; nsect scr)t hy 
two large bunches of spines near each UIldcr various "names- 
end. These spines have the power of fi s b, bristletail, slicker 
stinging iir nettling the skin of individu- covered with silverv 
als with which they may Come in contact, which make it very si 
They contain a poisonous substance that impossible to catch i 
is set free when the spines pierce the fish-moth is an active 
skin, and which acts upon the blood, rapidly, quickly disap] 
The irritation is sometimes quite serious, between books, in m 
depending apparently upon the suscep- underneath loose wall 
tibility of the person affected, The parts starched clothing of 
touched by the spines swell, become in- starch in curtains, in i 
flamed, and watery blisters appear. In and on the under side < 
extreme cases numbness of the entire arm ing the Summer it mul 
may follow. There are IS or 20 cater- may cause eonsiderab 
pillars in the United States that have articles named, especifl 
this power of stinging or nettling the and books lie undisturh 
skin, among which the brown-tail moth periods of time, 
of New England is the most famous one. Librarians are in th 
When one considers, however, that there ing books from the rai 
rUE OWNER ot a gasoline service station in western 
Pennsylvania relates this experience: A neighbor drives 
his Ford to Cleveland every Saturday. When Gargoyle 
Mobiloil “E” was suggested he said, “It’s too high priced.” 
The service station man, Mr. H., replied, “I would like to 
take a run with you some time and furnish the gas and oil 
as my share of the trip.” 
On Friday night the Ford owner came around. Mr. H. 
drained the crank-case, put in Gargoyle Mobiloil “E” and 
filled up the gasoline tank. The next day they started. 
At Conneaut, Ohio, about eighty miles out, the owner 
said, “You’d better look at the oil, as I always add a quart 
here.” No oil was needed. Surprise No. /. They drove on 
to Cleveland. Still no additional oil was needed. Surprise 
No. 2. Sunday evening they started home. At Conneaut 
they looked at the oil. Only a quart of Gargoyle Mobiloil 
“E” was added. Surprise No. j. 
The Ford owner insisted that this trip had always required 
three quarts of ordinary oil. He said to Mr. H., “You’d 
better get me a drum of this Gargoyle Mobiloil ‘E’ so I will 
always have it.” 
A week’s fair trial of Gargoyle Mobiloil “E” may surprise 
you as much as it did the gentleman who drove to Cleveland. 
specifies the grade of Gargoyle Mobiloil 
for every make and model of car. Gar¬ 
goyle Mobiloil “L” is the correct grade 
for Lords. If you drive another make 
of car, send for our booklet, “Correct 
Lubrication.” 
Destroying Wasps / \ 
Wo would like to know how to kill off ' \ 
the yellow-jackets or mud-daubers. They 
are very numerous anil vicious this sea¬ 
son. slinging without cause. We have The Fish-moth or Bristletail 
tried to reduce their number by whacking 
them, but they seem more plentiful than bv using one pint of flour and 
ever Could we poison thorn or ignite fom . ths 0 f ail ounoe of whitP ai 
powdered sulphur after they have gone „ . , ,, , 
to sleep at night? w. u. T. The ” our and »*semc should he 
Michigan, oughly mixed and then moistened 
I am surprised to hear that mud-daub- ‘‘nough water to make a thin paste 
ers are troublesome. Usually they are brought to a boil. 1 he paste should 
not pugnacious. There is only the one 0 f nifaicd thinly on pieces of eardl 
mother wasp in attendance at each nest, . 1(dj ' ua ' 1,0 slipped in cracks and 
and she is usually so busy with her lob 1(?Ps " lprt ‘ver the insects are seen 
that she scarcely notices human beings. P' OSOI 'L fare should be taken t 
It might be sufficient simply to spray the [ ia * 'hildten and pet animals do m 
nests after dark with kerosene oil if the " oI “ " f tFe poisoned paste, 
nests are where this can he done. I do >u uu-li or pyr< .hrum insect pc 
not believe mud-daubers can be killed by ’ 1 ‘ ls L esh. will also prove effect] 
sulphur fumes, because there is only the estrojmg the insects. The p< 
one wasp at each nest, and she is not in s 10,1 d 10 S1 ^ ,pd about wherever the 
the nest. There is no way to confine moth s are seen. glenn w. herhi 
her where the fumes will get her. I do 
not believe they can be poisoned effec- ^ I! ® teacher was_ frying to in 
lively. It is doubtful if the wasps could Jgg 1,7 all ’'times, °anel 1 To 
he attracted to poison baits, because they answer,. “Bad habits.” she inqt 
gather spiders and insects for food. "What is it that we find so easy I 
If W. U. T. realty means yellow-jackets iuto a “ d J uu ' d to « et out ' 
• . , , , . 1 .. .. was silence for a moment, am] the 
instead of mud-daubers, then the problem Mlow aQSWcredi d Bcd.”—1 
is somewhat, different. Yellow jackets Transcript. 
IN BUYING Gargoyle Mobiloil from 
your dealer, it is safest to purchase in 
original packages. Look for the red 
Gargoyle on the container. 
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