Norwich bulletin., 1913-07-26

are driven with the wind long dis tances. Many dead moths are found in the globes of the arc lights. The Egg Stage. The eggs are usually laid in oval clusters of from 200 to 400 eggs each and on the under side of leaf. The eggs are laid the first three weeks of July, and the masses are reddish brown from the hairs of the female moth, and about -fourths of an inch ! long. The eggs are spherical. and yell low in color. They hatch in from Is to 20 days after being deposited
 The Caterpillar. 1 The young caterpillars, after hatch 1 ing from the eggs late in July or early in August, feed at first on the leaf CT leaves are deVoured. In September a number of leaves are drawn together and fastened and lined with the silk spun by the caterpillarS, making a nest in which the larvae spend the winter, a hundred or more sometimes living in one nest. The larvae emerge in spring and feed upon the leaves which first appear, and continue to devour the foliage, increasing in size and melting four or five times until fully grown, and they are about an inch and one half long when they spin their cocoons about the 20th of June.
 The caterpillar is dark brown in col or. with light brown hairs. On each side, so that it shows both dorsally and laterally, there is a row of white tufts, one on each segment, and appearing as an interrupted white band when seen from above. On each of the ninth and tenth Nsegments there Is a small red tubercle bearing hairs.
 The Cocoon.
 The cocoon is usually made between folded leaves or in the crevices of the bark or some other sheltered place. The pupae are commonly found in masses more or less loosely held to- gether by the silken webs and hairs from the caterpillars. This stage lasts about twenty days, depending some what upon the weather conditions. It is a matter where the individual interest of property owners is of the utmost value.
 Methods of Controlling the Brown Tail Moth.
 The gypsy moth eggs, after being deposited, remain for about nine months before matching, and this is much the longest period of any stage of the insects existence. But with the brown tail moth the egg state lasts only between two and three weeks, and the larva or caterpillar
 
 the important control work must be done Caterpillars occur on infested trees from August 1St until the latter part of the following June. Control measures are chiefly of two kinds destroying the winter nests, and spray ing the foliage with poison to kill the caterp1IiarS.
 Scouting for winter nests should be done when the trees are bare, and any kind of tree pruner with a, long handle is advised. The nests are nearly al ways at the extremities of the tWigs, and can be readily seen during the winter months. As they are clipped from the trees they should be gath- cred and burned. If left on the ground" the caterpillars inside them keep alive and crawl upon the trees when warm weather comes in the spring.
 After the leaves appear, the cater pillars are no longer found in the nests and the only way of destroying poison For this purpose lead arsen ate should be used at the rate of pounds in 50 gallons of water for the young caterpillars, but pounds should be used against those nearly fullgroWn.
 Natural Enemies,
 The most important natural enemy of the brown-tail moth is a fungus, EmpuSa aulicae, which in certain sea sons destroys large portions of the cat erpillars which may be found dead on the trunks of trees and the stones of buildings and walls. Sometimes large numbers die in their nests. There are a number of native insect enemies and parasites of the brown tail moth besides several imported ones which it is hoped may in time check this insect