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Habits and Control of Tent Caterpillar
The presence of tent cater
pillars is usually recognized by
their conspicuous nests or tents
on their favorite host, wild
cherry trees.
They also infest various flow
ering shrubs, shade, fruit, and
forest trees.
The silky tents spun by the
caterpillars make yard trees
unsightly, and the caterpillars
are annoying when searching
for food or a suitable place to
spin their cocoons.
Max Smith, Lancaster County
Agricultural agent, said the
tent caterpillar is common but
isn’t a major problem for farm
ers and it’s “often not practical
for the farmer to control” the
pest.
The tent caterpillar can do
Trust a valuable
tobacco crop
to a herbicide?
Sure, if ife Balan:
A VJ V
Tobacco is probably the most pampered of all crops. For
centuries it has been cared for by hand. Chemical weed
control? Too risky. But with hands fast disappearing, some
thing is taking their place. Trustworthy Balan. Applied be
fore transplanting, Balan kills 20 weeds and grasses as
they germinate, for months. Gives tobacco plants a free
hand to mature tender and unblemished. The cost? From
$8 to $lO an acre. Don’t hesitate. See your Balan dealer.
frMmwi liiirtlw. Bmco)
Available thru
MILLER CHEMICAL & FERTILIZER CORP.
Ephrata, Penna. Phone 733-6525
or contact MILLER Representative.
major damage to ornamentals
and shrubs, however, and it’s
often worthwhile for the home
owner to spray, he said.
The caterpillar can be con
trolled by spraying, Smith not
ed.
The Eastern tent caterpillar
overwinters as eggs in a collar
like cluster containing 100 to
300 eggs which encircle small
branches.
Hatching occurs as early as
April 1 in southern counties
and continues into late April in
northern Pennsylvania.
The gregarious larvae upon
emerging construct their tents
in nearby branch crotches.
These tents are made of silken
layers and serve as protection
for larvae.
The caterpillars feed for six
to eight weeks. When mature,
they are about two inches long,
black, rather hairy, with a
white'stripe down the back and
while and blue markings on the
sides.
The mature caterpillars have
a habit of migrating to suitably
protected areas to spin their
silken tan-colored cocoons. It
is the migrating caterpillars
that are most annoying to the
homeowner.
Within the cocoon the larva
transforms into a resting stage
called the pupa. The pupal
stage lasts about three weeks.
During June and July the red
dish-brown moth with two obli
que, white bands on the fore
wings emerge and deposit eggs
in bands around small twigs.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 30,197 Q -
There is only one generation
each year.
Eastern tent caterpillars are
easily controlled when young;
the older larvae are more diffi
cult to control.
Sprays containing either Car
bary 1 (Sevin) 50 per cent wet
table powder, two tablespoon
fuls per gallon, or malathion 57
per cent liquid, 1 tablespoon
per gallon of water should be
applied when the tents are first
The entire tree need not be
sprayed, but nests and sur
•rounding branches should be
Pork Industry Film
Reported Big Success
“This film is in heavy demand, ution of these 100 prints, there
We are not able to accommodate m ' e *2O prints which have been
at] the reouests ” solcl directl y- Primarily to
‘ poik producer and other live-
That comment was attached to stock and meat industry organ
the most iccent leport on dh> a '- lons all( l fi'ins These, of
. ~ .. r ~ . . , , , course, arc also being shown to
tnbution ot the pork industry’s a va) . sc , y ot
consumer audienc
nim “New Facts About Pork,” es unc i ‘ to professionals in the
The report showed there had fields oi teaching and medi
bcen 742 showings of the movie cine.”
since fiee loan distribution be-
gan on a commeicial basis in
mid-February,
One hundred prints of the 17- Producers Council, the Meat
minute full color film pur- Board and the American Meat
chased by the Pork Industry institute. Prints may be pur-
Committee of the National Live & _ t $B5 print -
Stock and Meat Board earlier ..
this year are being distiibutecl f )om the Poik Industry Commil
by Modern Talking Picture Ser- tee of the Board, 36 South Wa
vice on a free-loan basis to col- bash, Chicago, 111, 60603. Home
leges and high schools and med- Economics teachers, dietitians
ical and health groups. The view- ;md medical groups may book
ing audience has totaled over 23,- . . . v,,,
tms film on a tree loan basis by
contacting Modern Talking Pic
“But this is just part of the service, Inc., 1212 Avenue
story,” said John Lane, Pork In- v M v
dustry Committee Secretary, of the Ameuca , N
“Besides the free-loan distrib- 10036.
thoroughly coveiert with spray
material.
If control measures are stall
ed when larvae are half grown,
two spray applications may be
needed one week apart.
Follow all salely precautions
recommended on label when
using pesticides. Store pesti
cides and dispose of empty con
tainers so that they are not a
hazard to man or animal and
are inaccessible to children. Do
not contaminate streams, ponds,
water sources, or endanger
wildlife. Protect your environ
ment.
The movie was produced
within the past year as a joint
effort of the National Pork
7