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This itwn ia f ilnwd at tha raductlon ratio chackad baiow / Ca documant aat film* au taux da rMuetion indiquA eislaaaoua. lOx 14x 18x 22x 26x 30x y 12x Itx 20x 24x 28x 32x Th« copy filmed h«r« has b««n reproduced thanks to tha ganarosity of: Library Agrieuhura Canada Tha images appearing hare are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. L'exemplaire filmi f ut reproduit grice i la g^ntroslti da: Bibliothiqua Agrieuhura Canada Las Images suivantes ont M reproduites avac la plus grand soin. compta tenu de la condition at da la netteti de rexempiaire film*, et en conformity avac las conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies In printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. 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Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartas, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atre filmte i des taux de rMuction diff irenta. Lorsque l« document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit eii un seul clichA. il est film* A partir da I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A drolte. et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrsmmas suivants illustrent la mAthr^4e. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 •Mcaocorv msoiution tbt omit (ANSI ond ISO TEST CHART Ho. 2) IM M2^ \3i Li* tii [40 ■ 2.0 A i APPLIED IfvHGE 1653 Eost Mom Stre«t ftOQfm*CT. N»« York U609 USA (716) 482 - 0300 - Phon* (716) 2M- 5989 -Fax DOMINION OF CANADA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ENTOMOLOGICAL BRANCH C. GcBOON Hewitt, Dominion Entomolooist THE WHITE-MARKED TUSSOCK MOTH AND ITS CONTROL ON SHADE TREES AND ORCHARD TREES BT J. M. SWAINE Assistant Entomologist, in charge of Forest Insect Investigations AMD C K. SANDERS Field Officer CIRCULAR No. 11 Published by direction of the Hon. T. A. Crerar, Minister of Agrici'lture, Ottawa, Ont. 63".70U CITTAWA J. DE IjMtKOQLERIK TACIIf: PRINTER TO TIU; KING'S MOST EXCKIXEXT MAJE.STV MIS ISSUED MARCH 7. 1918. '■ Y^E SHALL BE PLEASED to hev from anv one cooceming damage or troaUe of any kind due to intect peits. No pottage ii required on such letter* of inquiry when addreued: DOMINION ENTOMOLOGIST, Department of Agriculture, OTTAWA, ONT. Such inqwrie* should be accompanied in all case* where it is possible by specimens of the insects. The insect* should be sent packed with their food plant in a strong wooden or tin box to prevent loss in transit. Packages up to 12 ounces in weight may be mailed free and every package should bear or contain the sender's name and address and be accompanied by a letter. DkPARTMKNT of A.hly d('po>itctal)ly a pest <' Sn-nt ap|K*arance. The male is a beautiful gnyish moth, al" i an inch ami .i across the wings when spread, with tufteil legs, feathered antenna-, her mass of eggs, and dies. The Eggs. — The eggs are deposite together, protects them from adverse wc'ther condition; , and in some measure probably from their enemies. The individual eggs are small, whitish, and nearly spherical The egg-masses of the closely related Rusty Tussock Moth are laid bare upon the cocoon, without the frothy covering, and are thus easily flistinguished from those of the White-marked Tussock. The Caterpillar.- The caterpillar of this siM;cies is perhaps as well known as any ether among our shade-tree insects, owing both to its remarkable abundance during the outbreaks, and to the striking beiuty of its colours and. vestiture. The length, when full-grov,n. is slightly more than an inch. The 5 colours are in longitudinal bancU, more Htrongly marked Ix-hind, yel'm' hclow. greyiiih on the »ioeH, with - bright yellow, »ubdorsal band alMive on each side of a median ' hrk band. The median dor»al lit • bears four prominent white or yellowish brushes of hair, one «m each of the first four abclominal segments, and a small coral re«l tubercle on each of the sixth and seventh segments. The head and the upper part of the first thoracic segment are bright coral red. Two long black pencds of plumed hairs project from the sides of the first thoracic segment over the head, and a similar pencil upwards and backwards from the median line of the eighth alxlominal segment, the twelfth including the head. The body is sparsely clothed with long, greyish hairs arising in radiating tufts from yellowish tulicrcles. The Rusty Tussock Caterpillar differs in being less brightly coloured and in having a pencil of long black hairs on each side of the fourth segment id-hind the head. The Pupa. — The adult caterpillars spin greyish silken cocoons, attachitl usuali/ to the bark of tree trunks. Within the c(x:oon the caterpillar changes its skin and appears as the chrysalis. The male chrysalis is brown or nearly black, and sparsely clothed with greyish hairs; that of the female is much larger, without the distinct wing cases, and has a transverse patch of light-coloured scales across the back of each of the first three segments behind the head. The cocoon of the female is tougher and darker in colour than that of the male. The Life-History and Habits. The winter is passed in the egg-stage in the white conspicuous egg-masses, attached usually to the cocoons. Normally the egg -masses are deposited upon the trunk and the under side of the larger branches, but in seasons of great abundance they occur in considerable numbers in the upper parts of the trees and upon nearby objects, such as fences and buildings. The eggs hatch usually during the month of June. In very early seasons in the district about Montreal, some egg-masses hatch in the last week of May, and the greatest activity in hatching is in the first half of June; in late seasons the greatest activity in hatching is in the last half of June, and many egg-masses remain unhatched until early in July. In Nova Scotia the eggs hatch, usually, during the last week of June. The sjiecies, thin-fore, remaii s in the egg-stage for practically ten months, from about the end of July until the following June, and a long period is offered for control by the removal of the egg-masses. The young caterpillars spread somewhat over the foliage, and feed individu- ally on the under surface of the leaves, dropping by means of a thread of silk when disturbed. As they increase in size the wandering habit becomes more marked, and they devour the greater part of the leaf, seriously or completely defoliating the trees when their numbers are great. They complete their growth 'n fr-m four to six weeks. Many of the large caterpillars wander about freely ireo to tree, so that trees which have been previously clean may become veiy badly infested by them. The older caterpillars are thus distributed locally by these wandering habits. It is pnjbable that the small caterpillars, when suspended on the silken thread, ma\ be carried considerable distances by winds, and the infestation still further extended in this way. When the caterpillar Ijccomes full grown, during July or early in August, it comes to rest, normally upon the trunk or larger branches, but during an outbreak, upon any part of the tree or upon neighouring objects. H^re it spins a greyish cocoon composed of silk and hairs from the body firmly attached to the bark or to the object upon which it rests, and wiihin this it chnnges to the chrysalis or pupa. Alxiut ten days or two weeks are passed in this condition, and then the adult moth appears from the cocoon. The wingl'.ss female seldom mo\-cs away from the cocoon out of which she has emerged; usually she crawls upon it, and after being fertilized by a male and depositing there her whitish egg-mass, dies and UMually fiillH to till- gniund. tlu iii.ili < .ii< rpillarH reaM- ftt-«linR nn,< ^pin thoir (-IM-C onx I rlier than tho fcmaliv'". ami prfxluri' HistiiK-l;v snialU r rhrvsilid:. Tlu," is only ont- briMKi annually in Kastcrn ("a a:i the U-uuty oi Ktv trcfs f', chokecherry. rose, |)ear, ap|)le, (juince, as^h, elm (several s|H'cies), sycamore or buttoiiwiMid, butternut, black walnut, hickory, oak, birch, alder, willow, poplar, spruce, tir, larch, and cypress. Natirai. Enkmiics. This s|Rcies has a very large number of natural enemies. Minute hymen- opterous parasites breed within and destroy the eggs, a large nundn-r ol hymen- opterous and dipterous parasites kill the caterpillars an>i pupa', and \'arious predaceous insects also aid in reducing their numln-rs. (\>riain fungi and bai- teria, which spread rapidly in epidemics, tiestroy great numbers of the r.iter- pillars, and are sometimes a chief agent in their control. The last outbreak of the VVhite-marki d Tussock in Eastern Canada, as already mentiontd, extended from Halifax to western Ontario, antl lastwl, in all, from 190,? to 1911 it was not anywhere abundant through* Mt the whole jieriod, owever, and ■ ■ b'ought finally and suddenly to a ilose )y the action of parasiii s and fungi . 'ie s()ecies has bretl in obscurity since that time, and is just now comi'^iv; aeair to prominence, since the scarcity of its parasites has allowed it to , u-ed to such great numln^rs. Eventually they will again effect its control, m 'inn probably to save the life of the trecf but not soon enough to prevent much -niury in addition to the disfiguration of the trees during the s- It. ner. few of 01. ■■ native l)irds fee* inter, and spring, and the trunks are properly banded to prevent reinfestation by wandering caterpillars, the foliage will be completely protected from tussock "''ThSgg!mai's "e'ehher killed by pain,„,g them with creosote, or removed '^ "'^;£:'iZH'^::'^'l^-^on,roi of the Gipsy Moth the egg-masses are killed by painting them with creosote by means of a brush. This methmi has als? been employed successfully against the Tussock Moth egg-masses, and in some cities has replaced entirely the use of the scraper and ^^■•>■e brush being considered more effecti^-c and very much cheaper Rubber-set jpamt brushes are used, attached to light pine poles, about 16 eet long ar^d U inches square. The creosote is darkened with lampblack so that the painted ecg-masses can be more easily distinguished. , . ■ u ■ > The Eee-mass Remover.— A special wire brush, 5 inches long and 1 '"ch wiue. has proven most efficient in removing the egg-masses. A narrow hoe-blade^ 6 inches long and 2 inches wide, has also been used effectively. The brush or hoe blade is attached to a long handle; two lengths may be employed, one of 10 feet and the other of 20 feet. . , „ , The work of removing or destroying the egg-masses is done usually by gangs of three men each, equipped with a 40-foot extension ladder and either egg-mass removers and canvas sheets or creosote outfits, one man directing the work from the ground. , , When the egg-masses are removed by brush or scraper, some of them are broken and the eggs are scattered about the ground Many of these eggs would probably survive end reinfest the trees; and it is therefore advisable to spread large canvas sheets on the ground beneath the trees before the operation so that the eggs may be easilv collected, or else to have all the trees properly banded before the hatching time of the eggs in the following season. In collecting the egg-masses, care should be taken not to remove the cocoons which do not bear the eggs. These cocoons contain useful parasites, and they should preserved ; thev are easily distinguished from the true egg-masses by their darker colour. The egg-masses themselves will probabh' rontain a certain number of minute egg parasites, which would lie destroyed by burning the eggs, in order to utilize the services f.f these beneficial insects, in seasons when egg-parasites are abundant, the egg-masses may be stored until spring, and then f<;«tnbuted in small, speciallv protected wooden boxes rear the infested trees; the boxes 9 should have a complete band of raupenleim or tanglefoot on the inner face >f the sides near the top, so as to prevent the escape of the young caterpillars, and should be covered with wire netting. The lioxes should he removetl after the parasites have emerged. SPRAYING WITH AU.SK.VATKS. When the egg-masses have not lieen rtmoved from the trees, and the caterpillars are numerous upon the foliage, it is possible to prevent further injury by spraying the trees with lead arsenate paste at the rate of 5 to 15 pounds to 100 gallons of water. Lead ansenate is better for this purpose than Paris green, since it can bo used in stronger solutions without danger of serious injury to the foliage, and it adhers to the leaves for a much longer time. Fi\ e pounds of lead in one hundred gallons of water will kill the caterpillars at the time of hatching, 10 pounds of poison should be used if the caterpillars are more than a few days old, and 15 pounds after they are one-third grown.' The first application should be made, if possible, just before the eggs hatch, or at least as soon as the caterpillars appear ; the sooner they are killed the less the injury will be, and also the caterpillars are much less readily killed by poisons after they become one-third grown, or even after a few days' feeding. Their first meal should carr>- the poison. See also page . . After caterpillars have been killed by the use of poison, the trees may again become infested by the older wandering caterpillars from nearby foliage. While these may actually cause little injury to the foliage, they will spin their cocoons on the trunks and branches and infest the trees for the follow- ing season. For this reason it is necessary to band the trunks before the cater- pillars begin to migrate. As a rule it would be better to depend chiefly upon the destruction or removal of the egg-masses, during the dormant season, for control in cities and towns in moderate infestations. A very heavily infested tree is often seriously defoliated before the spray can take eflfect, unless the poison is upon the leaves when the caterpillars hatch and begin to feed. The discoloration of the foliage and the houses by the spray mixtures is also an undesirable feature. When, however, the trees are very heavily laden with egg-masses, such as occurs this winter in some Ontario towns, it will be at least extremely difficult to remove all the egg-masses from all the most heavily infested trees. Under such con- ditions it is felt that the proper method of procedure is to clean the egg-masses completely from the less heavily infested s^tctions of the city, and in the most heavily infested portions to remove all egg-masses from the trunks and larger branches, but without attempting to remove all from the tops. Arrangements would be made to spray these partially cleaned trees with lead arsenate as soon as the caterpillars appear or, preferably, immediately before the eggs hatch, as well as any others which require it. The trees should all be banded with raupen- leim or tanglefoot to prevent infestation from egg-masses on neighbouring fences and the buildings, if such are close at hand. Ever>- city with many valu- able shade trees to protect should own a suitable power-spraying outfit. With a proper equipment it would always be possible to check outbreaks of either biting or sucking insects on the foliage. The White-marked Tussock is only one of many injurious shade-trees insects. BANDING THK TREES. It has already been pointed out that after the egg-masses or the caterpillars have been destroyed the trunks of the trees should be bantled so as to prevent reinfestation by wandering caterpillars. If there is any danger of infestation 'This rate is for application to shade trees; for use on fruit trees see page 12. The powdered form of lead arsenate is usea at one-half these strengths. Types of injury to apple* by the White-m«rked Tiusock o»terpiUan. Fig. 5 shows the caterpillar at work.— Orignal. 11 from hatching eg:gs on the ground or on objects near the trees the bands should tie applied before the eggs hatch, and at the latest they should be n place before the migration time of the caterpillars. The date of hatching varies so widely with the weather conditions of the season that no definite date can be recom- mended, but the bands should usually be in place by the middle of June, and in some seasons before that time. Tree Tanglefoot.— Several devices for preventing the caterpillars climbing the trees, such as bands of cotton, burlap, metal, and various sticky substances, have gradually given place to the sticky mixture known as "Tree Tangle- toot, which may be obtained in bulk from any dealer in insecticides. A fair sub- stitute may be made by boiling together equal parts of castor oil and resin The tanglefoot is applied with a wooden paddle so as to form a complete ring about the trunk, 4 inches wide, from 5 to 8 feet from the ground. Before the mixture is applied the surface o' the trunk on which the application is to be made should be scraped unless the bark is already sufificiently smooth. The tanglefoot gradually hardens on the surface, and it is therefore advisable to break its surface by scraping it over with a coarse comb at intervals of ten clays or two weeks. Instead of applying the tanglefoot to the bark it may bo spread upon a strip of canvas or burlap fastened around the trunk. When the material known as raupenleim is available, it makes the most ettective band; it is more easily applied, and remains stickv for a much longer time. * WhUe the trees are being banded, any connections with infested locations should l3e broken. Telegraph wires or branches interlocking with infested trees may remfest the clean trees after all ordinary precautions have been taken- and It IS therefore necessary to band telegraph and telephone poles whose wires have any connection with the shade trees to be protected, or to cutoutwitli trimmers the branches which connect with the sources of infestation Spraying Outfit.— For spraying cicy shade trees effectively it is absolutelv necessary- to have an efficient spraying outfit. A power sprayer is required capable ot giving from 400 to 600 pounds pressure, and with a pump capacitv great enough so that a solid stream may be held constantly from 65 to 85 feet up from the nozzle. These requirements should be insisted upon when pur- chasing spiaying outfits for shade-tree work. The White-marked Tusscxk Moth as a.\ Orchard Pest. By G. E. Sanders. At intervals of from ten to seven years, most orchards in Canada are visited by the Tussock Moth. From one week to ten days after the blossoms fall the young larva emerge from the egg and begin to feed on the leaves. After feeding for two weeks on the leaves the jaws become strong enough so that they can attack the fruit. From that time until thev pupate, or from early July until mid-August, the larvae feed on the fruit rather than on the leaves of the anole In 1907 1911, and 1916-17 the Tussock Moth was the most serious peft in many of the orchards of the Maritime Provinces, damaging in some cases as high as 50 per cent of the fruit. The injury to the fruit is somewhat similar to that inflicted by the Fruit Worms, but instead of a round deep bite into the fruit, the injury by Tussock caterpillars usually takes the form of long narrow shallow, irregular channels, which do not heal over as smoothly as Fruit Worm injur>% but rather with a thick, brown, corky scab. The larvae of the White-marked Tussock emerge just before the time of the fourth, or last, summer spray, and in the past the last summer sprav has been recomme.ided as the proper spray to control it. In the spraying work of 1917 it was found that from forty-four trees receiving the first spray only 9 1 12 per cent of the fruit showed Tussock injury. Fourty-four trees receiving the 8«;ond or pre-blossom spray only, 6.5 per cent of the fruit showed Tussock iniurv Forty-four trees receiving the third or after-blossom spray only, 4.9 per 5/cAo^e°— Standard paste lead arsenate 12 to 15 pounds to 100 ^Uons of water, and no fungicide; the lead arsenate at this strength is an efficient ""^Sco^ Choice.— Sodium sulphide (soluble sulphur 3 to 3i pounds. Sul- focide 2-2J quarts, Spra sulphur 3 pounds; arsenate of lime, li pounds (in serious outbreaks If to 2 pounds); hydrated or water-slaked lime, 20 to 25 pounds; water, 100 gallons. . Third CAotcc— Lime-sulphur 1 .006 sp. gr. or two gallons commercial con- centrate to 100 gallons water. Arsenate of lime IJ pounds (and m serious out- breaks, 2 pounds), to 100 gallons. (In applying lime-sulphur for the third spray, do not wet the under side of the leaves, apply the spray to the upper side)