Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-12-21

species Of sawflies the last so named because
they actually saw a slit in leaves or buds in
which TO deposit their eggs
As caterpillars, these insects gnaw and
kill the leaves thus depriving trees of their
power to assimilate light and air and manu-
facture their food, and so causing death.
Entomoogists say that both the gypsy and
the browntail moth were introduced from
Europe, the first in 1869 by a French scientist
intent upon breeding bigger and better silk
worms, and the second about AS years ago in
nursery stock from Holland.
Some Of the Frenchmans moths escaped
and multiplied into the race of these pests
which spread throughout New England and
into New York and New Jersey, and which the
government entQmologsts have been fighting
by guarantees, control barriers spraying and
other measures ever sim. The gypsy moths
attack almost all common trees, though apple
oak willow aspen and gray birch seem TO be
preferred. The browntail apparently is more
fastidious in its choice of foods concentrating
mostly on fruit and ornamental trees.
Outside cleaning up the woodlands or
orchards of infested rubbish and rotting
growth, the chief control measures for gypsy
moths are to paint their egg clusters-which
they deposit in splotches containing hundreds
OF eggs on tree trunks, fallen leaves and
debris or even stone walls-during the Fall
and Winter months with a now well-known
creosote mixture; TO band the trees early in
the season with sticky material or overlap
ping flap of cotton or burlap; or to spray the
trees with lead arsenate mixed with fish or
raw lnseed fixing" OIL while the caterpillars
are feeding
For browntails. cutting off the Winter
webs and burning them before the caterpilars
get going and spraying in early August are
principal control measures. OF late. however,
government scientists have been urging
greater of "silvicultural control methods"
or the cutting out Of the food trees preferred
by the insects This procedure is said to be
the only control measure which is effective
beyond a single season.
The spruce budworm, one Of the most de-
structive forest insects attacks spruce, ball
sam and pine trees incidentally the best
Christmas trees In the grub stage, the bud
worms gnaw the needles, or leaves, of their
hosts, often turning the trees Of large areas
reddish brown--as though they had been
swept by light fire-by early July,
The hemioCk looper, which gets its name
because OF the way il lunches up its caterpil-
lar body when il crawls and the pine butter
fly which feeds on the living pine needles
throughout the Northwest in the late sum
mer. are outstanding examples Of the large
family of such insects which break out in
epidemic style in different localities year
after year and take an enormous annual toll
Of the trees
The forests and woodlands swarm with
these destructive insects active or dormant
scattered or in epidemic power.
The United states Department Of Agri-
culture is constantly experimenting to find the
best methods in combating this pest In most
cases the Forest Service. IN cooperation with
the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quaran-
-, Az IL
wide forest areas But the Individual whose
fruit Tor shade trees are endangered by the
insect armies should ask the Department ~
Agriculture for advice before taking measures
against them. because the tactics Of control
vary with each species OF the insect enemy
.