The sight of a horde of gypsy-moth larvae defoliating a forest is one of the most urgent arguments for the use of modern pesticides. The ugly, hairy, 2-in. caterpillars eat every leaf in their path; the rustle of their ill-smelling droppings sounds like falling rain. But public ap prehension about the possible dangers of chemical insect killers is now shielding the hungry worms from DDT and other long-lasting poisons. State and federal authorities are turning with some misgivings to less controversial means of protecting the forests.
This summer's anti-gypsy-moth campaign in New Jersey has sprayed 41,000 acres of infested...
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