New Britain herald., 1915-05-03
C'AI||I|[RP|lLLARS J ! Il | ARE
 FAMILIAR IN SPRING
Nests Should Bt Tom Out 'I
 Burned With Torch.

SplcuouS, unSlgntly nests or tents or the apple-tree tent caterpillarsp are familiar objects in the spring in trees along roadways, streams. and fences, in neglected orchards. and elsewhere. Several methods of checking the dep- relations of this caterpillar are giv- en in a new. publication of the De- partment of Agriculture. Farmers Bulletin No. 662.s, M
 These gregarious caterpillars con struct the tents for their protection, and these, at first small, are gradu- ally enlarged often to foot or more m height and diameter. the size vary ng with the number of individuals in the colony. The caterpillars feed up- oh the foliage of the trees, stripping the leaves from the limbs adjacent to the nest, and if there be several colonies in a tree as is frequently the case during periods of abundance. tue foliage may be quite destroyed, leav- ing the branches as bare as in midwin- ter. et
 Species of the tent caterpillar are found quite generally over the entire Unitd States, The moths deposit their eggs by early midsummer. or earlier in the south By fall the embryonic larvae is practically full grown, with T in the egg where it remains until the following spring. With the coming of a warm spell the larvae escape by gnawing through their egg-shells. of: ten before there is foliage out for food, and under these circumstances they may feed upon tn glutinous COW, ering of the egg mass.
 Methods of Control.
 The tent caterpillar feeds principal ly on wild cherry and apple trees, but will attack many other plants, where such trees can be removed without disadvantage this should be done. thus lessening it's food supply.
 During the, dormant period of trees when the leaves are off, the egg masses are fairly conspicuous, and with little practice may be readily found; 1t Is then that they should be cut off and burned. Trees infested with larvae during the early part of the year. or those in the immediate vicinity, are perhaps more likely to be chosen by tahe parent moth for the deposition of her eggs. and such trees at least should be searched if 1t is not practicable to extend the work to the orchard as a whole. This work may be combined with pruning to good ad- vantage, and a lookout should be kept not only for the eggs of this in- sect but for the eggs and cocoons of other injurious species which pass the winter on the trees.
 When two. egg masses are deposited close together, the resulting caterpll- lars may form a common nest. These nests are gradually enlarged and soon furnish ample protection. Ii the cat erpillars are destroyed as soon as thc small nests are detected, this will pre- vent further defoliation of the trees, and the rule should be adopted to destroy them promptly as soon as dis l covered. In this work either of two l practices may be adopted, namely, de I struction by hand or with torch. l All should Be Destroyed. :. l When in convenient X reach, the l nests may be torn out with brush I with gloved hand, or otherwise, anc l the larvae crushed on the ground care being taken to destroy any cater pillars which may have remained or I the tree.
 The use of a, torch to burn out the I nests will often be found convenient
 especially when these occur in tht l higher parts of trees. An asbestos l torch, such as is advertised by seeds l men, will be satisfactory, or one max I be made simply by tying rags to tns
 end of a. pole. The asbestos or rags ars
 saturated with kerosene and lighted
 and the caterpillars as far as poss1bi'
 crem ated. Some caterpillars, however are likely to escape, falling from th'
 nest upon the application of the torch
 In using the torch great care is nee
 essary that no important injury b. # done the tree:s 1t should not be usst
 in burning out nests except in tn,
 smaller branches and twigs, the kil 4| ling of which would be of no specia . importance. Nests in the larger limb
 should be destroyed by hand. as tn
 use of the torch may kill the bark
 resulting in permanent injury.
 j Tent caterpillars are readily de
 stroyed by arsenicals sprayed on tn ] foliage of trees, infested by them. An
 of the arsenical insecticides may b
 used. as Paris green, scheeles green
 arsenate of lead, etc. The first tw l are usd at tn rate of one-half poun to fifty gallons of water. Milk . lime from two to three pounds 2 stone lime should be added to neu 1 tralize any caustic effect of the ar senical on the foliage. Arsenate lead Is used at the rate of two pound , to each fifty gallons of water.
 EHLERTs DEATH MYsTERIoU'