Observe the two kinds of insects. Describe each. Are there any differences in the cocoons from which they emerge?
Which form of insect places the egg mass and is therefore the female? Note the number and shape of the eggs and how they are protected.
The female moths have no wings and do not move far from the cocoons from which they emerge, while the males have the power of flight.
As outdoor work, look for the egg masses on trees and fences and devise means of combating the tussock-moth.
Gathering and destroying the egg masses during the winter is found to be fairly effective in checking these insects. Since the cocoons frequently contain parasites that prey upon the larvæ, it is advisable that only the cocoons that have egg masses attached to them should be destroyed; the others are harmless and may contain the useful parasites.
The egg masses may be kept over winter in a box in a cool place, and the hatching of the tiny larvæ and their subsequent rapid growth observed.
POTATO BEETLE
The eggs of this beetle may be found in early summer in clusters on the under surfaces of the leaves of potato plants.
Egg.—Observe the size, colour, shape, position, and number in a cluster; appearance of head from outer end after a week.
Larva.—Observe the colour, shape, head, legs, voracious appetite, movements, rapid growth, destructiveness.