New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-07-01
THE CATERPILLAR PLAG UE.
PARKS swARNuNG WITH THE rEsTs-THE CAUSE OF
THE TROUBLE.

THE TROUBLE.
New-York is suffering from plague OF
caerplars Contrary the belief entertained by some
sccnists evidently much behind the times, that every
nsect uas It's tree which Is lis habitat Its Island the
cater plars now infestng this unhappy tree city arc
Ia be found on every The nurses and children ana
the moe old gentlemen who frequen Madison Square and
Union Square driven almost frantic by Them IHey
have bunones Of harEe TUFTS upon their bodies and
HACK oumes upon and tails. and when those
tufts and pumes come In contact with the skin Oh
chlldrens nccks and bare arms or with the SHINING
scalps Of tho badneaded they produce sensation OF
peculiarly dsagreeabe character The bodies OF these
worms are yellow the head Is coral REL aud there arc
two coral red the other end They are about an
incn long and somewhat slender. The tramps do not
mind them apparently. The gentlemen Interested In the
Democratic party who lounge upon the benches In the
City Hall Park allow them 20 arrange themselves Pic
turesquey upon their hats and eyLsmolng garments
and take no notice caterpillar more adventurous
than his fellow. crawls upon Dushy whskers which he
probably mistakes for kind OF subbe But 10 the
old gentlemen who like read the papers in the fresh
air OF Madison Square, they unmitigated nui-
sance George Francis Train accepts them as compi
and thinks hs electricity has brought Them 10 the
Square. venerable citizen who knew him. seeing him
profnsey decorated with specimens OF the orgyd teco
stioaa SAID Heaven bless my soul Mr. TRAM, you're
all caterpillars Lett brush you off," Train got up
Indignantly and looked bin with the air Of sick lion
and growled OUT "Let them be- I'd rather they should
touch than you" Tue aged man thought this u
clear instance OF mental arrangement
Some people suppose that the "orgy" is an i'm
portaton, and think iG is the caterpillar
of the well known British butterfly, the tortoise
shell which has been assisted to immigTate here by
British gold for the ruin OF American shaderees. But
this ia an error 1t smaller than the tortoseshe both
as caterpillar and butterfly, and Is deficient in the
beauty which the other is conspicuous The female
is wngless male has ashen-gray wings crossed by
vayy bands Of darker hue on.the upper pair which
is a small black spot the TIP. and minute white
crescent near the outer angle Some people have
believed that this is the old nchworm, the measurer
the army caterpillar Of twelve ago. and clamor for
more sparrows But the fact Is the sparrows do not
like them and will touch them II they can get other
food. There 10 no way OF getting rid OF these pests
saye by removing the cocoons which
the female lays her eggs This cannot be done
for The sprng brood very easily accomplished for
the fall brood The female, being winges never leaves
TIE spot where as a butterfly che emerged from the
cocoon She hangs to It, and after Improvisation lays
her eeys probably e. the number OF 400. upon IT, Then
abe secures the cocoon thoroughly to twg with
yiscd substance which acts like cement and Is also
waterproof audshe leaf over the eggadcn cocoon
and makes that waterproof Also aud connects 1t with the
same yscid substance TO twig In winter the stalk Of
leaf breaks but 1t remains covering the eggs that hatch
out In spring into the present plaques This Is the time
for removing them for they can easily be discovered
then when the trees are eaness.
The havoc this "orgy" Is creating ia very
marked upon all shade-trees Some years ago
Miss DIX sgnaxec the ravages he had made upon baw
thorn hedges Newport But now they are upon every
tree OF any sze In NewYork and can be found by hun
dreds OF thousands the trees IN Hudson st. Hoboken
In the Central Park these pests have shown preference
for no particular tree but have attacked with undiscrn
inare yoracy all the trees along the drives. They
show liking for the vicinity OF roads, and this 10 De-
causa the butterflies hover about the droppings OF
horses One can easy discern the destruction thev are
working for IN many trees the leaves on the lower
branches are visibly perforated.
EnOmoogsts attribute the enormous swarms OF cater
pars this year 20 the fact that last year there was
great falling OF IN h0mptera an insect that has haoit
of posting eggs In the body OF oaterpllars being
furnished With piercer aud oypositors for that pur
nose The caterpillar bearing ts uninved guests spins
ia cocoon and oranges into chrysas, which furnishes
food 10 the avs OF the sinful hemiptera when the ia
ter are not developed In sufficient numbers there no
check rpon the OF tue lepdoptera and they ac
eordingiy swarm. Hence the present anguish.