Norwich bulletin., 1914-04-10
PEST OF BROWNTAIL
 MOTH IS SPREADING
State Entomoloeist Gives the Facts in
 Department Bulletin.

Department Bulletin.
 The Connecticut agricultural experi- ment station has issued Bulletin 1S2, March, 1914, on the browntail moth. The bulletin, which covers 25 pages, contains an article on the browntail moth by W. E. Britton. state ento- mologist. including it's discovery and spread in Connecticut and other fea- lures. There are also a number or pictures of trees stripped by the cater pillars, winter nests on fruit trees, egg masses on a leaf, the brownta1 cater pillars natural size. etc.
 The report may be summed up as follows:
 Distribution.
 The browntail moth was probably in troduced accidentally on nursery stock at Somerville, Mass. more than 20 years ago; it was brought to the at tention of entomologists in 1897. It has long been known as a pest in Europe, where it causes much damage to fruit, shade and forest trees. It also occurs in western Asia and in northern Africa The insect has spread toward the north and east much faster than toward the south and west, probably going in the direction of the prevailing winds. It now covers part of Nova ' Scotia, southern Maine, nearly the whole of New Hampshire, almost the entire eastern half of Vermont, all but 1 the extreme western portion of MasSa- ] chuSetts, all of Rhode Island, and the northeast portion (abOut one-thlrd) ; in Connecticut in April. 1910; within | a few years it will probably extend al 1 over the state.
 1 Damage.
 The caterpilars feed upon many kinds of trees and injure them, but seem to prefer fruit trees. Oak, maple and elm are next attacked.
 The hairs of the caterpillars breaE ] off and blow about; on coming in con i tact with the human skin they cause { 1 rash or irritation, accompanied by in tense itching. which is very serious 1 with some persons.
 Life Cycle.
 The eggs are laid on the under sid of a leaf the first half of July, II
 masses containing from 200 to 4O eggs. They hatch inside of thre'
 weeks, or early in August, and tn
 young caterpillars skeletonize tn
 leaves from the upper side, mahn;
 their nest in September at the tips o the twigs. They live in this nes
 through the winter, emerge and feet
 on the new leaves in the spring. be
 coming full grown about the middle o
 June. They then transform to pupa
 in the folded leaves and from 15 to ?
 days later the moths appear. Bot
 sexes are white with brown hairs a
 the end of the adboden; they fly a
 night and swarm around electri
 lights. The moths have a wing expans
 varying from one to one and one-hal inches.
 Natural Enemies. A fungus in moist seasons kills man
 caterpillars. Some kinds of birds de vour them and many kinds eat tn [ Many sites have been I'm , ported into Massachusetts from Europ and other countries and some of theI
 have become established. Colonies C
 two of the most promising have bee brought into Connecticut; one or theI has been planted in ten different town and has been recovered several mile from the point where liberated. The bulletins of this station ar mailed free to citizens of ConnecticJ who apply for them, and to others a far as the editions permit, 3 Regarding the moth in this sectio < of the state, the bulletin says tha 7,133 nests weredestroyed early i 1911, being 112 in Thompson, 937 a Woodstock, 5.989 in Putnam, S9 Pomfret and in Killingly. In the winter of 191112 the territor was again searched and total of sos a nests were found in nine towns, 2 a follows: Thompson 966, Woodstock 69 \ Putnam 26O (against 5,9S9 the prev < ous vear). Pomfret S2, Killingly 2 3 Brooklyn 35, Sterling 1, Plainfield 1 A and Stafford L In May. 1912, cater pillars were found in Norwich by J. N Flaming. MT Caffrey visited the plat and found that only comparative small area between two streets scene to be infested, and had all the trees B that area sprayed with poison. At present the scouts are at Wor and they have found nests in Granb \ Columbia, Lebaron. Colchester, Lee N ward. Groton, New London, Waterfor K East Lyme, Old Lyme and SaYbroo Nests have recently been found ( E Fishers Island.