Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1909-06-03
BROWN TAIL MOTH
THREATENS IDAHO
Pest Imported Into the State On Seedlings
Threaten Our Orchards With
Great Destruction

insect. In fact, intend to have made
this season a very thorough inspec-
tion of all nurseries in order, if pos
sible, to find any infestation which
has escaped us this spring. AS this
would be more serious pest than
any now within our boundaries, have
taken every possible precaution to
prevent any importation into the
state, but anticipate that some other
states which have no inspection laws
or a small force of officials for the
territory to be covered, will find areas
of infestation and from these dis
tricts we are liable to have it
brought into Idaho. Should these
fears prove correct, it may be nee
essary to plan quarantine against all
foreign stock"
recent bulletin issued by the
horticultural department give a
description of the brown tail moth,
as follows:
1.-The caterpillar -larya-of the
brown tail moth is primarily an enemy
of pear, apple, cherry, peach and
other fruit trees, but it is also found
commonly upon various shrubs that
grow in dooryards; in Massachusetts
it has begun to attack the forest trees
and now affects especially the oaks. -
"The insect does not hibernate
in fha aocy ctooa &c doaa fbo rvpsv
moth. but as the young caterpillar.
1t has. like the gypsy moth, but one
generation each year. The eggs are
laid in masses on the under side of
the leaves in the latter part of July.
The egg masses are brown and covered
with hair and each contains about 300
eggs. The masses are much smaller
than those of the gypsy moth, aver
aging about two thirds Of an inch in
length by one-fourth of an inch in
width. -
"The eggs hatch during August and
the young caterpiars feed in clusters
on the upper surface of the leaves, a
little later begin to spin their webs
be drawing together a, number of
leaves with silk, in which web large
number of caterpillars sow themselves
away for the winter. These webs or
nests, composed of leaves and silk
will average from FIVE to six inches
in length and each will contain 200 or
more caterpillars. They feed until
cold weather. when all enter the
holes and close the exitholes. They
are then about one fourth grown OF
one quarter of an inch long.
n" Early the following spring. as
soon as the buds begin to appear on
the fruit trees, they issue from the
over-wintering nests and attack first
the buds and the blossoms and later
the foliage. The full grown larva
is about two inches long. reddish
: brown in color, with a broken white
stripe on each side and two red dots
on the back near the hind end. They
will migrate from one tree to an
other, completely stripping the foil
! age as they go. When full grown
they spin their cocoons either on the
tree trunks or within the leaves
} on the branches of the trees.
The moths are pure white, ex-
cept that the female has conspicuous
bunch of brown hair at the tip of the
abdomen, from which it derives tbs
! name 'brown-tail. . The female ex-
pands about one and one-half inches
; and the male is smaller. Both female
and male fly redaily, largely at night,
and are greatly attracted by electric
liUhts -