Evening star., 1920-07-15
DISTRICT WAGES WARFARE
AGAINST LEAF-EATING BUGS
Annual Summer Campaign Under Way to
Rid Trees of Destroying Beetles, Cater
pillars and Inch-Worms.

Twelve tons Of arsenate OF lead. four
high-powered spraying machines and
about thirty experienced bug and insect
fighters are at work this year under the
supervision Of Maj. F. 8. Besson. as
sistant to the Engineer Commissioner.
and Clifford Lanham, superintendent Of
trees and parks. to protect Washington's
shrubbery from the ravages OF elm leaf
beetles. t11ssock moths, and fall web
worms which feed on the leaves of
shade trees
The spraying machines started work
last May. but tho business of eliminat-
ing bugs from District trees has only
settled down in real earnest during the
past weeks Up and down miles Of
streets canopied with the 100000 trees
Of Washington the 1prayers are wend-
Ing their insect-killing paths.
ELM Leaf Beetle First Foe.
The elm leaf beetle was the first foe
against which the sprayers directed
their death nozzles. The official IT,
tie Of this beetle Is Ga1erucella Lutte
ola and 1t passes the winter in adult
condition. taking shelter In attics.
sheds, outhouses and other places. In
the case OF this insect. the adults feed
on the leaves as well as the larvae.
They are about quarter Of an inch
long, and less than half that in width.
on each wing cover. When the leaves
begin to unfold n the springtime, Mr..
beetle forsakes his shelter and heads
for an elm tree. They eat irregular
holes in the leaves. During the latter
part Of May and the beginning Of
June the eggs are deposited on the
under side of the leaves. These lar
vac hatch until July 1. They feed on
the under side of the leaves, but do
not eat through the tissue.
Hard to Reach the Insect.
And here's where a problem con-
fronts the spraying corps. It's easy
to let the arsenate Of lead stream fly
into the air and drop on top Of the
leaves. But to get the embryo bee-
ties it must hit the under side Of the
leaves. Special attention is now be-
under side Of the leaves.
Next come the caterpillars. The
official names for popular Washington
caterpillars are the "tussock moth"
and the fall webworm." Many have
noticed the frothy, whitish little de-
posits on the bark Of tree trunks. re-
sembling a dab Of the concoction
which is placed on top Of lemon me-
ringue pie. That is the first stage of
the tussock moth. He remains in this
conu1tlon from september or october
until the following spring. Then he
becomes a caterpillar and walks over
the trees, eating up leaves for four
or five weeks. And when these bugs
get through with the leaves, the only
things left are the principal veins.
Return to Spin Cocoons.
After eating up as many leaves as
possible they return to the bark, spin
cocoons and change to pupae. Two
weeks later out walk Tussock moths
and proceed to mate and lay eggs,
which brings on a second brood to-
ward the middle Of summer.
The third class of tree-feeding in
sect which gives much attention to
local shade trees is the fall webworm
or hyphantria cunea. It's presence
can be discovered by large, flmy
tents. Early in June these cater
pillars are full grown. They leave
the nests and go into Individual
cocoons. Then. after two weeks. ar
rive the adults, which produce the