OCR Text |
Show ARMY OF CATERPILLARS IS DEVOURING FOLIAGE V FOLIAGE on Washington's trees Is being dovoured wholesalo by an army of tussock caterpillars, tho larvao of tho tussock moth, and apparently ap-parently nothing can bo dono to chock tho ravages of thoso now doing tho damage, though precautions can bo taken against a repetition of tho pest next year. Aiding nnd nbettlng tho tussock caterpillars aro tho cohorts of tho "fall web worms," which aro by no means so nuniorous, but which, nevertheless, never-theless, aro doing an ImmcnBo amount of damage. For many years tho tussock caterpillar cater-pillar has beon tho most serious of tho shade-treo pests In Philadelphia, Now York, Brooklyn and lloston, but It was not until 181)5 thnt It appeared In Washington In sufficient numbors to bo regarded ns a inennco to tho foliage. foli-age. In that year also tho fall web worm wns more abundant In this city than It had been since 1SSC. In 1001 tho pests of both kinds again appeared In great numbors, and now thcro Is another Invasion, giving a period of six years between each groat attack. Hitherto tho chief check upon tho Insects has been tho parasites that como In great numbers In tho samo years that tho caterpillars abound and destroy moBt of tho multitude of eggs laid by tho pests. Destruction by - man has hclpod, but has accounted for but n Bmall percentage of tho eggs put out of business. Trees of which tho follago has been Injured or even totally destroyed by' these maraudors may bo soon on almost al-most Any street of Washington, tho caterpillars nttacktng by proferonco poplars, soft maples, olms, aldors, birches nnd willows. Hut othor troos by no means cscapo tholr doprcdn-Hons, doprcdn-Hons, though tho glngko nnd tulip nro almost Immuno. Resides destroying the follago, tho catorplllnrs aro offensively offen-sively Intrusive, Invading tho" homos of the residents and otherwise becoming becom-ing a nuisance. As usually seen, tho tusBock cntor-pillar cntor-pillar has two big, hairy protuberances like horns sticking out of where his forehead would bo If ho had one, and nnother ono really two closo togoth-or togoth-or projecting like tho rudder of nn airship. Ho Is excessively hnlry nnd ugly, und his hnlrs aro Btuck In looso-ly looso-ly nnd aro apt to fall out on any person per-son upon whom ho drops, causing Inflammation In-flammation nnd swolllng. Thoso hnlrs are finally tangled up In tho Bilk as tho catorplllar weaves his cocoon, nnd become part of tho ogg reccptaclo, leaving tho cntorplllar n "smooth worm," not n "woolly ono," and looking look-ing far unlike his original hirsute solf. |