The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1865-06-15
From the Prairie Farmer.
r Apple-Tree Caterpillars.

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= From the Prairie Farmer.
/. r1r Apple-Tree Caterpillars.
i EDS PRA1R1E FARMER: - Dear, sirs
about the 18th inst, noticed my young
apple trees, which were set out this spring
began to look blighted, the leaves turning
brown, / thought at a casual glance it was
the "Fire- BtiGht,' but upon a more close
examination L. found a great number OF
small, dark purple worms, at work upon
! the leaves, forming in some instances, q
i web causing the leaves to crisp, and almost
invariably would be found the worm in the
curled leaf. found i'm addition to the pur-
pie worm. various other species,-green
striped &C.. they all with the exception oi
the green worm spin their web, and when
the tree is shaken some will drop Off spin
ming their web to the, ground, as a spider.
When / approach the tree they will fre-
Equently stand on their tail throwing their
head back, as if preparing for fight, are
about an inch long (tbe full grown) the
iyoung about the sixteenth part of an inch
long. My young trees which were few
weeks ago, nice, green and thrifty, now
!, wear the appearance of the Melancholy
days. Any You can give,
with regard to these pests as TO what they
| are termed. how to rid the trees Of them,
or how to prevent them going on the trees
&C., will be most Thankfully received by a
young orchardist. JNo. c. BROWN.
| KNOXVILLE, Mo.
| The Apple-tree is subject to the attack OF
such acatalogue ofinsect dcpredators, that
it would be next to impossible to tell ex-
| actly which amongst them is now at work
on Mr.. Browns trees, without seeing them.
| However, we think there is little doubt
from the description, but that it is the ia
nous or rather the infamous Palmer
worm which is just at present annoying
him; for they vary exceedingly in color
and there are many varieties which must
resemble one another.
The usual color of the Palmer worm is
pale yellowish green, with dusky and whi-
| tish stripes along the body and shining
yellow head, but specimens are always to
be found of a sulphur yellow, dirty white,
flesh red or purple color. When grown
they measure nearly an inch and usually
change TO pupe within the leaves in which
they last resided, nv spinning around them
a thin web. The pupa is tawny yellow al
| first, but soon gets darker. The moth
4 which is of an ash-grey color, comes forth
in abouta fortnight and rests with its wings
folded flat upon its back. Although the
worms vary so in color, they all have the
same destructive habit Of drawing the
leaves together with their silken thread,
causing tile ends of the twig and leaves to
| turn brown.
| Their habit Of letting themselves drop by
their web, when the tree is Jared. desig-
mates the only way to decrease their num-
bers satisfactorily, and that is by attach
| ing tin pan or other light article to a
stiff pole, besmearing it with tar or any
other adhesive substance, and catching the
worms in it by swinging it under the tree
| as they hang suspended The moth be-
longs t" the family TINEIEAE, and is now
| generally known by the scientific name of
| Choetochilus pometn''Vs. a'If
The striped caterpillar you mention, is
undoubtedly that most common Of apple
tree worms-the larva of the American
Iacl<ev moth, tC1isiocdmpa Americana) be-
longing to the same family as the silk
| worm. s".' f''A 20 4A3 q, sThE'
Their large cob-web like nests are too
| familiar to every orchardist in the land.-
| They are gregarious, and only separate
lust before spinning their cocoons, for
which purpose they get under old fences
, and the rough bark Of trees. The moths
| are OF a rusty red color, approaching to
| gray. and the female lays her eggs at the
endso Of twigs iusolid belts. The only way
to destroy thcm now. Is to get hold of the
web and crush -or burn them. Those out
ofarm's reach can be detached by sponge
tied 10 tho end ofa stiff pole or cut off by
n sharp blade attached i'm the same man
ncr. Tho proper way however, is to de-
stroy the eggsin the winter when they may
be readily discerned. s'27#
The green worm, if large, may be the
larva of our largest American moth. A tta-
cns cecropia) belonging to tho same family,
as tits frequently found on the apple-tree,
but is never numerous enough to do great
red, blue and yellow tubercles.
The canker-worm is also frequently of a
green color, although more generally
brown, with yellow stripe They may
be always recognized as they have but
four false legs, and invariably rest on their
| tails when ut ease, with their backs hrinch-
edup, They are called GEoNBTR .E or span
worms. and when full grown descend to
the ground by silken thread and change
| to light brown chrysalids. The female
moths being winglessi have to crawl mp the
trees to deposit their eggs, and the only
| way to combat them successfully is by pre-
| Venting their ascent; for which purpose
small tin or lead troughs filled with cheap
oil, placed around the tree about three feet
from the ground have given good satisfac-
tior, but the troughs being expensive, the
more common way is to apply tar around
them, either directly, or on strips of old
canvas, etc. The tar must be renewed Oft
en- enough and should be applied i'm the fall
down South, where the winters are mild.
as the moths come forth whenever the
ground is thawed
The many dotted apple-leaf worm of
Fitch fBrachytdenid MdIandl is also green
with white lines and dots. They are soli-
tary in their habits and not much noticed.
| Then there are the caterpillass of the Tiger
and Lappet moths, and the pretty yellow
tufted ones ofthe yaporer moth (Orgyia
| iescostigmd) the female of which is wing
less and lays her eggs on her cocoon; all
depredators on our apple trees, and many
othess which we may have occasion to
| speak OF at some future time.
What with the numerous aphids and
! worms that feed upon the leaves, the borers
/ that work in the trunk and limbs, and the
codling moths, curculios, etc, that destroy
I the fruit, our "democratic fruit treen has
enough to coptcndwith, and every orchard
ist should know enough about these ene-
mics to enable him TO rid his trees of them
to the best advantage.