closely resembles the castrensis, and still more the Neustria of Europe, from both of which, however, it is easily distinguished by the oblique lines on the fore-wings, which are not wavy as in the foreign species. Moreover, the caterpillar is very different from both of the European lackeys; and it does no seem probable that either of them, if introduced into this country, could have so wholly lost their original characters. Our insect belongs to the same genus, or kind, now called Clisiocampa, or tent-caterpillar, from its habits; and I propose to distinguish it furthermore from its near allies by the name of Americana, the American tent-caterpillar or lackey. The moths appear in great numbers in July, flying about and often entering houses by night. At this time they lay their eggs, selecting the wild cherry, in preference to all other trees, for this purpose, and, next to these, apple-trees, the extensive introduction and great increase of which, in this country, afford an abundant and tempting supply of food to the caterpillars in the place of the native cherry-trees that formerly, it would seem, sufficed for their nourishment. These insects, because they are the most common and most abundant in all parts of our country, and have obtained such notoriety that in common language they are almost exclusively known among us by the name of the caterpillars, are the worst enemies of the orchard. Where proper attention has not been paid to the destruction of them, they prevail to such an extent as almost entirely to strip the apple and cherry trees of their foliage, by their attacks continued during the seven weeks of their life in the caterpillar form. The trees, in those orchards and gardens where they have been suffered to breed for a succession of years, become prematurely old, in consequence of the efforts they are obliged to make to repair, at an unseasonable time, the loss of their foliage, and are rendered unfruitful, and consequently unprofitable. But this is not all; these pernicious insects spread in every direction, from the trees of the careless and indolent, to those of their more careful and industrious neighbours, whose labors are thereby greatly increased, its different forms, in Mr. Abbot's "Natural History of the Insects of Georgia," where it is named castrensis, by Sir J. E. Smith, the editor of the work. and have to be followed up year after year, without any prospect of permanent relief. Many methods and receipts for the destruction of these insects have been published and recommended, but have failed to exterminate them, and indeed have done but little to lessen their numbers. Mr. Lowell has justly said that "the great difficulty is the neglect to do any thing, till after the caterpillars have covered the trees with their nests. Then the labors of the sluggard commence, and one tree, let his receipt be ever so perfect and powerful, will cost him as much time and labor as ten trees would have required three weeks sooner." The means to be employed may be stated under three heads. The first is, the collection and destruction of the eggs. These should be sought for in the winter and the early part of spring, when there are no leaves on the trees. They are easily discovered at this time, and may be removed with the thumb-nail and fore-finger. Nurseries and the lower limbs of large trees may thus be entirely cleared of the clusters of eggs during a few visits made at the proper season. If a liberal bounty for the collection of the eggs were to be offered, and continued for the space of ten years, these destructive caterpillars would be nearly exterminated at the end of that time. Under the second head are to be mentioned the most approved plans for destroying the caterpillars after they are hatched, and have begun to make their nests or tents. It is well known that the caterpillars come out to feed twice during the daytime, namely, in the forenoon and afternoon, and that they rarely leave their nests before nine in the morning, and return to them again at noon. During the early part of the season, while the nests are small, and the caterpillars young and tender, and at those hours when the insects are gathered together within their common habitation, they may be effectually destroyed by crushing them by hand in the nests. A brush, somewhat like a bottle-brush, fixed to a long handle, as recommended by the late Colonel Pickering, or, for the want thereof, a dried mullein head and its stalk fastened to a pole, will be useful to remove the nests, with the caterpillars * See the "Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal," Vol. VII., page 391. contained therein, from those branches which are too high to be reached by hand. Instead of the brush, we may use, with nearly equal success, a small mop or sponge, dipped as often as necessary into a pailful of refuse soap-suds, strong white-wash, or cheap oil. The mop should be thrust into the nest and turned round a little, so as to wet the caterpillars with the liquid, which will kill every one that it touches. These means, to be effectual, should be employed during the proper hours, that is, early in the morning, at mid-day, or at night, and as soon in the spring as the caterpillars begin to make their nests; and they should be repeated as often, at least, as once a week, till the insects leave the trees. Early attention and perseverance in the use of these remedies. will, in time, save the farmer hundreds of dollars, and abundance of mortification and disappointment, besides rewarding him with the grateful sight of the verdant foliage, snowy blossoms, and rich fruits of his orchard in their proper seasons. Under the third head, I beg leave to urge the people of this Commonwealth to declare war against these caterpillars, a war of extermination, to be waged annually during the month of May and the beginning of June. Let every able-bodied citizen, who is the owner of an apple or cherry tree, cultivated or wild, within our borders, appear on duty, and open the campaign on the first washing-day in May, armed and equipped with brush and pail, as above directed, and give battle to the common enemy; and let every housewife be careful to reserve for use a plentiful supply of ammunition, strong waste soap-suds, after every weekly wash, till the liveried host shall have decamped from their quarters, and retreated for the If every man is prompt to do his duty, I venture to predict that the enemy will be completely conquered, in less time than it will take to exterminate the Indians in Florida. season. Another caterpillar, whose habits are similar to those of the preceding, is now and then met with, in Massachusetts, upon oak and walnut trees, and more rarely still upon apple-trees. According to Mr. Abbot "it is sometimes so plentiful in Virginia as to strip the oak-trees bare." It may be called Clisiocampa silvatica, the tent-caterpillar of the forest. With us it comes to its full size from the tenth to the twentieth of June, and then measures about two inches in length. There are a few short yellow hairs scattered over its body, particularly on the sides, where they are thickest. The general color of the whole body is light blue, clear on the back, and greenish at the sides; the head is blue, and without spots; there are two yellow spots, and four black dots on the top of the first ring; along the top of the back is a row of eleven oval white spots, beginning on the second ring, and two small elevated black and hairy dots on each ring, except the eleventh, which has only one of larger size; on each side of the back is a reddish stripe bordered by slender black lines; and lower down on each side is another stripe of a yellow color between two black lines; the under-side of the body is blue-black. This kind of caterpillar lives in communities of three or four hundred individuals under a common web or tent, which is sometimes made against the trunk of the trees. When fully grown they leave the trees, get into places sheltered from rain, and make their cocoons, which exactly resemble those of the apple-tree tent-caterpillars in form, size, and materials. The moths appear in sixteen or twenty days afterwards. They are of a brownish yellow or nankin color; the hind-wings, except at base, are light rusty brown; and on the fore-wings are two oblique rust-brown and nearly straight parallel lines. A variety is sometimes found with a broad red-brown band across the fore-wings, occupying the whole space, which, in other individuals, intervenes between the oblique lines. The wings expand from one inch and one quarter, to one inch and three quarters. The great difference in the caterpillar will not permit us to refer this species to the Neustria of Europe, for which Sir J. E. Smith* mistook it, or to the castrensis, which it more closely resembles in its winged form. Most caterpillars are round, that is, cylindrical, or nearly so ; but there are some belonging to this group that are very broad, slightly convex above, and perfectly flat beneath. They seem indeed to be much broader and more flattened than they really are, by reason of the hairs on their sides, which spread out so as nearly to conceal the feet, and form a kind of fringe along each side of the body. These hairs grow mostly from horizontal fleshy appendages or long warts, somewhat like legs, and of which "See Abbot's "Insects of Georgia," where it is figured. there is one hanging from the side of every ring; those on the first ring being much longer than the others, which progressively decrease in size to the last. On the forepart of the body one or two velvet-like and highly colored bands may be seen when the caterpillar is in motion; and on the top of the eleventh ring there is generally a long naked wart. When these singular caterpillars are not eating, they remain at rest, stretched out on the limbs of trees, and they often so nearly resemble the bark in color as to escape observation. From the lappets, or leg-like appendages, hanging to their sides, they are called lappet-caterpillars by English writers. Twice I have found, on the apple-tree, in the month of September, caterpillars of this kind, measuring, when fully grown, two inches and a half in length, and above half an inch in breadth. The upper side was gray, variegated with irregular white spots, and sprinkled all over with fine black dots; on the forepart of the body there were two transverse velvet-like bands of a rich scarlet color, one on the hind part of the second, and the other on the third ring, and on each of these bands were three black dots; the under-side of the body was orange-colored, with a row of diamondshaped black spots; the hairs on the sides were gray, and many of them were tipped with a white knob. The caterpillar eats the leaves of the apple-tree, feeding only in the night, and remaining perfectly quiet during the day. The moth produced from it was supposed by Sir J. E. Smith* to be the same as the European Ilicifolia, or holly-leaved lappet-moth, from which, however, it differs in so many respects that I shall venture to give it another name. It belongs to the genus Gastropacha, so called from the very thick bodies of the moths; and the present species may be named Americana, the American lappet-moth. Were it not for its regular shape, it might, when at rest, very easily be mistaken for a dry, brown, and crumpled leaf. The feelers are somewhat prominent like a short beak; the edges of the under-wings are very much notched, as are the hinder and inner edges of the forewings, and these notches are white; its general color is a redbrown; behind the middle of each of the wings is a pale band, * See Abbot's "Insects of Georgia," p. 101, pl. 51. |