Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-06-12
REGARDING THE Gypsy MOTH AND WHAT is III
BEING DONE TO GET RID OF HIM IN NAME

The work Of hunting out and destroy :
ing the winter nests of the gipsy moth
in Maine, which was commenced the
first Of April under the provisions of
an act passed by the last Legislature
and entitled IAN Act to provide for the
protection Of trees and shrubs from
the Introduction and ravages Of dan
gcroIs inse cts and Diseases" and for
which the sam Of $4,000 was appro-
priated for the present year and like
amount for the year 1905. has now been
going on for Two months at the hands
of men in the employ of the STATE and
also Of the United States government,
the latter rarty working under the pro-
visions of a bill which was passed by
the 59th Congress and which appro-
pria,ed the sum of So, 500 to be devoted
10 staying the further spread of both
the gypsy and brown-tail moths.
That the work has been successful 50
far DIS i has been carried is shown by
the large number Of nests which have
been found and destroyed by the two
| forces since they entered the field. The
| importance of the work cannot be I'M
dereatirnated, for while at present the
most thicHly infested district is shown
to be in the extreme southern part of
the State ana near the New Hampshire
| line, Isolated infeStatiOns have been
| found at sufficiently remote points
from that district to show that the en-
| tire state is mCnaced by the pest. ana
| tile situation is the more grave from
the fact that the female moth deposits
her egg clusters in places that render
the colony fairly safe from discovery
until it is well established.
| Another danger connected with the
presence Of the moth in the State is the
fact that being stranger to Maine
people in general. very few would be
able to identify the pest should they
find one. Very valuable assistance in
| the matter of Identification may be
| found in the March bulletin of the De-
partment Of Agriculture, in which Prof.
l.. F. Hitchings, the State entOmolO-
gist. gives a complete history of the
moth and its habits. In speaking Of
the pest Porf. Hitchings says:
There are four distinct stages in
the life history of this insect, namely,
the egg. larva or caterpillar, pura and
adult or perfect moth.
1.-The eggs are deposited in masses of
! from 800 to soc in a cluster. These are
laid during the period from the last Of
July to the middle Of August The
eggs are very small. the cluster aver
aging about an inch in diameter. of
| irregular outline, tiattened and covered
with a yellowish, feltlike substance
which comes from the body Of the fe-
male during the process Of laying the
| eggs AS the female moth is q very
weak flyer, these eggs are not de-
posted on the leaves as are those Of
| the brOWn-tail moth. but are placed on
the trunks Of the trees on the under
side of large limbs, very often hidden
away under rocks, brush-piles. fence
rails md holes in trees, in fact. in any
out Of thew place where the moth
can crawl in and be unmolestcd. These
eggs do not hatch until the following
spring when the leaves are sufficiently
developed to furnish food for the young
caterpillars.
THE young catcrpillars hatch from
the first to the middle of MAY. They
are so small as not to b. seen by the
| casual observer, as they crawl up the
| trees. They are almost black in color
with very slight bodies about one
eight of an inch in length. covered with
numerous hairs. AS they grow they
shed their skins. or moult, several
times before reaching maturity. In
the advance stages, the most of the
| feeding is done during the night
They reach their full growth from the
| first to the middle of July, depending
lines extending the whole length Of the