52 Tl-Ifi CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



and the eggs in them were so numerous that in many cases it was impos- 

 sible to raise the bark for the purpose of "budding" the trees. 



The incisions and eggs are usually most abundant on the south and 

 the upper side of the limbs, comparatively few being found on the shady 

 or under sides. The first imagines were noticed in the orchard on July 

 1 6th, and a few days later they became quite abundant. On the young 

 tender twigs of the apple trees, especially those nearest to the ground, 

 large numbers of the insects were found busily extracting the juices with 

 their slender beaks. Upon close examination the twigs plainly showed 

 the traces of their punctures. They were also very abundant on beans, 

 potatoes and several kinds of weeds, in many cases completely covering 

 the stems, and all engaged in feeding upon the juices of the plants. 

 Bean-stalks that were attacked in this way were considerably injured, as 

 numerous dark knotty formations occurred at the places that were much 

 punctured, so that the growth of the plant was decidedly checked. 



The insect was first noticed depositing eggs about August 12th, and a 

 few incisions were then to be found on the branches. This depositing of 

 eggs continued until Oct. 8th, when a severe frost killed a great many of 

 the tree-hoppers, although a few escaped and continued the work until 

 Oct. 26th. After that date they were not noted. 



Some of the eggs of the season of 1884 were collected last spring and 

 kept in a very tight box. They were hatched during the first week in 

 June, and with them were a number of small Dipterous flies, evidently 

 parasites upon the eggs of Ceresa. I watched for these parasites in the 

 summer and autumn, and first found them August 31st, on limbs where 

 the tree-hoppers were depositing eggs. The parasites were found in 

 larger numbers a little later, and I had the satisfaction of distinctly 

 seeing a number of them insert the abdomen and sometimes almost the 

 entire body deeply into the gaping slits made by the ovipositors of the 

 tree-hoppers. Prof Riley thinks that the parasite may be an undescribed 

 species. 



As I did not know the best conditions or food for the young larvae of 

 Ceresa^ I placed them in a glass jar and gave them the tender twigs and 

 leaves of apple trees. From these they seemed to extract the juices, and 

 they could be seen in rows on the ribs of the leaves, with extended beaks, 

 while little particles of a clear gummy substance were often found at the 

 places where the insects had been sucking the juices. I afterwards added 

 bits of grasses, etc., to their food, but after some time they ceased feed- 



