The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-09-04
Eat render I'arts Of Leaves Until
Nothing Is Left bur
Stems.
NAPLES AND ELMS SUFFER.
Car Be Washed OFF With a Hose
~ Stream Is Kept on
Them Long
Enough

~. fouls trees are infested with IsIy
Ilttle worms that have formed colonies OF
thousanGa and are running the trees. par
;icuiariy the NAPLES and Gins. In some
parts of ths city the trees are completely
nleshed in a web spun by the worms.
There IL bush IN the yard Of Bishop
Robertson Hall o: Lonffeliow boulevard
that looks like a snow-bank. Gardeners
are burning the WORMS in the branches.
The worms move across 2 leaf in a squad
Of ten. each squad seemingly to have a
captain. The squad rests At Intervals. the
VOTES separate and suddenly begin "a
weave. They move together a. II dFi!lsd.
the heads moving sixteenth % an 5nch
tD the right. then the sane distance TO III"
left. in perfect time and At lightning speed.
They weave FOR few seconds. then rest
and then weave again. After the leaf y
coyered with thu web the worms nrocee,i
% eat the ;euderest part % the Leaf until
nothing f. left but the stems.
CAPTAIN r r. Ire. editor Df the Inter
STATE Grocer. who is "A student 81 insects.
say- thev ere toe Iro-uettfe4 ca:errillaT-
This caterpillar that - infesting the
fruit trees" h. gaid. Is known 20 the en-
fOrnolog!sfs ~ the 'F'roinethea.' and 81 is
the prOgenetor of the PrOmetfea moth. 4
very pretty uiCht-fytne insect that Is
Ssmet..n-- three inches wide from tip TO
tsp Of The Wig The caierpillars are 70
IaclOus creatures and previous to their
will cOuEITnc 100 times its own weight
IN vegetation. tt destructive possibilities
ere. therefore. snOrnous- A colony Of
ih@rn VII destroy every leaf on a large
IDsp'e tree "a "a half dozen days.
They are seldom or ever found until
i'.e last Of August in this section Of the
country, and there s. but one brood n
year - them. but further south two
t-gnlr a year are produced.
SMALL IN SIZE
When the caterpillar II first Matched
from tho tiny pin-head eggs. they are
not more than one-hfth Of an inch in
length. They are invariably found in col
oilies and are seldom found separated from
zach other. They move IN regular army
style across leaf and when they have
-Dtrer to the other end Of ~ there Will
- found nothing behind them but the
skeleton OF the leaf They always eat
casual observer may not see them on a
tree.
at the end Of one day 81 hungry ac-
iivity their bodies VIII have grown pre-
oeptibIy and after three days OF alternate
eating by night and resting by day. they
viii he Ave times as large as at the time
of Matching
This is about the time that thcv ie-
gin 10 spin their silken webs or beds Or
caTpet that are found beneath them
This Is a peculiar sight as the queer ac-
they are having military drill they
stop their feeding and begin 20 ,novs
their heads from side 10 side. sixI
uf an inch each way in rythrnatlc motion.
Actually they are spinning their silken
carpet from the spinnersts in their
mouths. The side to eide motion lays the
silk which does rot become visible until
dry.
when tire carpet Is spun. the cater
pilier rests on IL for twelve hours OF
more and goes through transformation.
In which the skifi IL shed.
The reason for the SILK carpet Re thai
II the caterpillar did not have its ineshes
in which 10 fix fis feet before transform
Ing, he would not be able 70 crawl out IF
his old skin. The caterpillar finally gets
TO be two inches long and then changes
into the puJae form inside Of "A rolled
leaf, and completes its final transform
ton into the handsome Pro-nethes moth.
There are several Ways Of destroying
these WORMS. but all are tedious. strong
solution Of soep sIds sprayed over a tree
or plant from below Will drive them away.
They can be washed of with a hose II the
stream is kept on them long enough, but
thfy should be killed on the ground. els.
they will crawl gp the tree again. Where
there are only one OF two trees 20 be
freed from them. the infested leaves can
- nicked off in a basket from a step
ladder aad dropped into fire. This must
. re-tai1iy and thoroughly done 10 insure
success.
To burn them with a torch while 81 the
tree branches does the tee much harm"