GYPSY MOTH. This insect is abundant throughout the temperate zone in the Old World, and often does much damage to fruit, shade, and forest trees, particularly in France, Germany, and Southern Russia. It was first described by Linnus in 1758, and named by him Bombyx dispar, but later authorities place it in the genus Porthetria. The eggs of the moth are laid in August in a yellow, hairy mass on tree-trunks, rocks, and fences. They hatch the following spring, and the caterpillars feed on all kinds of trees, shrubs, and plants. Even conifers are not exempt from their ravages, and the latter trees usually die after one defoliation. By the middle of July the caterpillars become full grown, when they pupate in loose cocoons in sheltered places, and the moths emerge in about two weeks' time. The male moth is brown, and flies ac tively, while the large white female does not fly. This insect was introduced into Medford, Mass., by Leopold Trouvelot, who in 1869 was experi menting with various American and European silkworms in the effort to find some hybrid which might be exempt from the attacks of the pftbrine disease of silkworms. Trouvelot's specimens escaped accidentally, and although he notified the proper authorities, the matter was lost sight of until about 1889, when the ravages of the caterpillars at Medford were sufficient to cause general alarm. A year or two of desultory ef forts on the part of property-owners in this vicinity were sufficient to convince them that they could not successfully cope with the insect, and the aid of the State was asked. In 1890
the Legislature of Massachusetts began the effort to exterminate the moth, first placing the work in the hands of a commission, and later trans ferring it to the State Board of Agriculture. This work was carried on systematically for about ten years. at an aggregate expense to the State of nearly $1,000,000, when it was permitted to lapse, chiefly because public sentiment in Massachusetts would not support it further. The insect having become scarce, it was difficult to convince taxpayers of the necessity of further appropriations to secure the last remaining ones. Since the abandonment of the work by the Legis lature in 1900, the moth has gradually increased to a point where several municipalities have been obliged to take up the work of destroying it, using the methods originated and perfected by the Board of Agriculture. Unless thorough work can be prosecuted over the entire district, it is quite probable that in a few years damage by the moth will become much more severe than ever before. Consult: Forbush and Fernald, "The Gypsy Moth," Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture (Boston, 1896) ; Howard, "The Gypsy Moth in America," Bulletin II, United States Department of Agriculture (Washington, 1898).