American Pomology. ApplesWarder, J. A. (John Aston)
Science
American Pomology. Apples
Warder, J. A. (John Aston)
Apples
The eggs, from two to three hundred in number, are deposited on the
under side of a leaf, near the end of a twig. These soon hatch, and
the larvæ commence feeding on the upper surface, spinning their
threads from side to side, and then, attaching two or three leaves
together, they soon make a web. They continue feeding and spinning
along the twig, as they consume the tender portion of the leaf,
leaving the mere skeleton.
The caterpillars are small, of a pale yellow color, with a broad
blackish stripe on the back, and another beneath. They are thickly
clothed with whitish hair; the head and feet are black. Worms of the
same nest vary in size and colors. When about an inch long, they
disperse, and spin their cocoons. The moth is milk white, without any
markings on its wings, and is 1.25 to 1.35 inch in width. (Vide
Harris, p. 358).
Though called the Fall Web-worm, these caterpillars appear about
Cincinnati in the end of May quite abundantly, and from that time
until October, they are more or less frequent; most so in August. In
the North, they may be later; I have seen large tracts of forest
defoliated on the lake shore, in August, 1865.
REMEDIES.--For the destruction of these pests we must resort to
hand-picking, when they are in the caterpillar state. The twig or
branch should be taken off, and the worms crushed or burned. It is
fortunate for us that they are gregarious and that they spin a web,
for we can detect them while they are yet young, and when confined to
one or two leaves, so that the whole brood may be destroyed with very
little effort. Birds, and some insects, aid us in keeping them in
check.
=Clisiocampa decipiens=, (_Walker_), or _C. Americana_, (_Harris_), is
commonly known as the Tent-caterpillar, or Nest-caterpillar. The larvæ
are not indiscriminate feeders, but prefer the foliage of certain
members of the _Rosaceous_ family of plants. Their natural food
appears to be the common wild cherry, but they attack the apple so
vigorously, that they are often called the apple tree worm. Mr. Fitch
thinks they do not feed upon the peach; but I have frequently found
them upon this tree since 1855. The moth appears to be endowed with
wonderful instinct in depositing her eggs; selecting a terminal shoot
that has completed its growth, they are placed to the number of 200 or
300 around it in a broad ring or sheath, and covered with a sort of
varnish that protects them.
Very early in the spring, when the buds of the apple have just begun
to swell, the eggs hatch, and the little worms traverse the twig,
spinning a slender thread; when they reach another branch, they halt
in the bifurcation, and, moving about, soon create a slight web with
the silken threads, and from this they emerge in search of food,
spinning a thread along their route, and when they return, they travel
about, and thus enlarge their web.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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