Bombyx Dispar, Gipsy Moth

Its little caterpillar is found in early spring on the leaves of fruit trees, as they burst from the bud. M. Kollar, to whose pages I am so much indebted for accurate information relative to this species, says that -

"In unfavourable weather they collect upon the trunk near the top, or in the forks of the branches, and enclose themselves in a web; but when they feed, they disperse themselves all over the tree. They are immediately distinguished from other caterpillars by their large yellow-spotted head, and by the six pairs of red dots on the hinder part of the back.

"The males are dark brown, and their (brewings have three or four undulating blackish stripes. The females are whitish-grey, and their (brewings are traversed by brownish stripes.

"The moth lays her eggs in various places in August and September, but chiefly on the trunks of the fruit trees, on which the caterpillars lived. It also lays its eggs in places that are not very near fruit trees, viz., on garden buildings, palings and walls, so that the young caterpillars have to go a considerable distance in search of food, which is seldom the case with insects. The eggs lie in a shapeless mass one inch long, and a quarter of an inch high, to the number of two to five hundred together, and are surrounded with yellowish hair, which preserves them from the winter's cold".

Bombyx Monacha, Black Arch Moth

Its caterpillar prefers the leaves of the fir tribe, but also attacks fruit trees, the oak, aspen, elm, lime, and willow. M. Kollar states that - "The moth is of the medium size. It sits during the day, with its wings lying close to its body in a slanting direction; and when its wings are expanded, they measure above two inches from one point to the other. There are four or five black notched lines on the upper wings, on a white ground, and there is a black spot between the middle ones. The front of the body is white, with black spots, and the abdomen varied with black rings, and red incisions, which, however, are sometimes wanting.

"The caterpillar, when fully grown, measures from one and a half to one and three-quarter inches, the transverse diameter one line and a half. It is usually of a brown grey mixed with black, and occasionally entirely black; sometimes, but still more rarely, it is of a whitish colour. The head is large, covered with short hairs, and it has a brownish line along the forehead, which ends in a triangular spot of the same colour over the mouth. Wherever it goes it spins a thread after it out of the spinnerds under the mouth. If its rest- ing-place be shaken, it hastily lets itself down and curls itself up. It usually goes into the pupa state from the beginning of June to July, when the caterpillar is fully grown; the pupa is surrounded by a slight web, which is sometimes formed among the foliage, and sometimes over hollows of the bark; after which the caterpillar skin is cast oft" in three or four days. The pupa is three-quarters of an inch long: at first green, then a brownish red, and afterwards becomes somewhat darker, or rather blackish, with a metallic appearance.

"The moth sometimes appears in the last days of July or beginning of August; but the late ones do not appear till September. After pairing, the fe-male lays her eggs by means of her ovipositor, in the cracks of the bark of the old trees, in the form of a bunch of grapes, to the amount of twenty or thirty in each cluster. As the ovipositor cannot be used on the beach, oak, and birch, she lays her eggs on the bark, and flaps her wings over them, to cover them with the dust from her wings and body. One female usually lavs one hundred and twenty eggs in the course of twenty-four hours, at three or four intervals. They are not spherical, but flat on two sides, and very sharp and rough to the touch".