Smyrna times., 1901-07-17
TROUBLESOME PESTS TO GROWERS.
Delaware College Experimental Station Issues
a Bulletin Regarding Webworms and
Remedies for Exterminating.

NcHCuicS lOF EAteTmlndtlng.
At the present time large numbers
of fruit and shade trees throughout the
State are b eing rendered unsightly
and considerably injured by the depra-
dations of webworms. These cater
pillars hatched from eggs about July
1st and are now about half grown.
They are easily recognized by the
large web, which they spin over the
foliage and within they feed. Ounce,
apple aud cherry trees seem to be
worst attacked. The Webworms are
readily distinguished from the Tent
caterpillars which appear in the spring,
as the latter do not enclose the foliage |
in their tent, which is smaller; the |
tent caterpillars are black with awhile |
stripe down the middle of the back,
while the webworms are more COM
monty light yellowish.
When full grown the webworms are
about one-inch long, varying from pale
yellow to greenish or darker shades,
They emerge in May or June and the
females each deposit from 400 to 500
eggs in patches on the under sides of
the leaves. These eggs hatch late in
June, and become full grown about
the middle of July. Then they crawl
down the tree and burrow slightly
under the surface of the ground or
creep under loose bark, or into some
such shelter. There they spin their
silken cocoons containing numerous
hairs from their bodies, and in these
transform to pupae. From the pupae
: the moths emerge late in July or Aug
. ust and lay eggs for another brood of
: worms. These worms become full
grown late IN September or in October
and the pupae remain in the cocoons
over winter, the moths emerging the
next spring.
Therefore, as there will be another
~ brood of the worms this year, it is i'm
portant to destroy as many as possible
at once before they have left the trees
to pupate, for every worm which be-
~ comes full grown and transforms to
" papae and moth, means the appearance
. of large number of worms in Angus
10 or September.
> Remedies For Exterminating Them.
- Banding trees with cotton is of NJ
= value against this pest, though mos
no desirable means of tapping the Tus
Il sock-moth caterpillars, which are S
bo often injurious to shade trees, as tn
- webworms do not crawl from tree t
:, tree.
Spraying the trees with an arsenici
poison will soon rid them of the worms
80 Either Paris green, green arsenoi(
arsenate of lead, or arsen ite of lin
d will be found satisfactory. Par
- green or green arsenoid should be use
~ at the rate of one-fourth pound to
-: barrel of water, to VIII ich should
- added two pounds of freshly slakt
90 quick lime.
e During the winter the cOcOons ms
- be easily collected and destroyed.
i, One of the best and most commC
- means of destroying the worms is
- burn them in their webs. If this
IN done at nightfall, it can be done wit
:. out any material injury to the twig
=. which will soon put out new leav'
- and will not be permanently disfgur
and is much better than pruning {
~ the infected parts. A bundle
W rags wired to the end of long pC
makes a good torch for this work, o
porous brick wired to pole and
an urated with kerosene is even better.