. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. 2 BULLETIN 443^ U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTURE. pillar. Without these natural checks the caterpillar multipHed and became destructively numerous. At the present time the introduced and native natural enemies are apparently reducing its numbers and it is hoped that it will soon cease to be a menace. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE RANGE CATERPILLAR. The newly hatched caterpillars (fig. 2) are one-fourth of an inch long, dark brown or black in color, covered with fiine prickles or spines, and may be seen during the cooler pa
. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. 2 BULLETIN 443^ U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTURE. pillar. Without these natural checks the caterpillar multipHed and became destructively numerous. At the present time the introduced and native natural enemies are apparently reducing its numbers and it is hoped that it will soon cease to be a menace. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE RANGE CATERPILLAR. The newly hatched caterpillars (fig. 2) are one-fourth of an inch long, dark brown or black in color, covered with fiine prickles or spines, and may be seen during the cooler parts of the day feeding in groups. When not feeding, or during cold or wet weather, the. Fig. 2.—Hatching of the eggs of the New Mexico range caterpillar. Size of larvae indicated by metric rule beneath. (C. N. Ainslie.) small caterpillars (fig. 3) ascend a grass or weed stem and twine themselves together in a tight ball, for mutual warmth and protection against cold or rain. When in this position they are conspicuous objects upon the prairie. These small caterpillars feed upon their various food plants, growing rapidly larger, and as this occurs they separate from one another, and generally feed alone. In this process of growth the caterpillar "sheds its skin," or molts, five times, after each molt becoming larger and of a different color, gradually chang- ing from the dark brown or black of the newly hatched caterpillars to a uniform light brown, then to a light brown streaked with yellow, and finally the full-grown caterpillars appear, yellow in color, with faint black markings. These full-grown yellowish caterpillars are from 2 to 3 inches long and as thick as a man's little finger, being. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original United States. Dept. of Agriculture. [Washington, D. C. ?
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