THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



41 



THE APPLE LEAF-HOPPER. 



Empoasca mail LeB. 

 (Fig. 35.) 



General Appearance.— The presence of the insect is made known by 

 the curling and twisting of the infested leaves, especially on nursery 

 stock : it being primarily a nursery pest. The adult insect is pale 

 j^ellowish-green in color, with white marking and is about one eighth 

 of an inch long. The young appear nuieh like the adults except that 

 they lack wings. 



Life History. — The winter is passed both in the adult and egg stage. 

 The winter eggs are white, very delicate and curved in the middle. 

 They are inserted under the bark of young apple trees ( preferably" 

 under bark of two or three years' growth). 

 These eggs hatch in the early spring so that 

 the young nymphs and hiberating adults 

 attack the first green foliage. During th^" 

 summer, eggs are deposited in large numbers 

 on the food plants in the leaf petioles or in 

 the larger veins. Favorite places are the 

 leaf petioles of apple trees and alfalfa. The 

 position of the egg under the bark or epider- 

 mis is made known by a slight swelling of 

 the surface. 



Distribution. — Throughout the State; sel- 

 dom becoming a serious pest in any locality, 

 though occasionally it may do great damage. 



Food Plants. — As previously stated, the 

 apple leaf-hopper is primarily a nursery pest 

 affecting especially young apple trees, thus 

 dwarfing them. The work is particularly on 

 the leaves. Besides the apple it feeds upon 

 currant, gooseberry, blackberry, pear, cherry, 

 plum, thorn-apple, black walnut, grapes, Cot- 

 tonwood, elm, birch, maple, box-elder, hazel, 

 choke-cherry, sumach, oak, syringa, snowball, canaigre, basswood, buck- 

 thorn, rose, buckeye, corn, beans, potatoes, sugar beet, clover, grasses, 

 buckwheat, dahlia, rhubarb, hemp, alfalfa, oats, celery and hollyhock. 

 Without doubt other plants are also attacked. 



Control. — The difficulty of control lies in the impossibility of killing 

 the eggs without injuring the young trees. Successive sprayings with 

 the oil emulsions, whale oil soap solution of 1 pound to 8 gallons of 

 water, or tobacco decoctions, as often as the young become apparent, 

 will prevent serious attacks and hold the pest in subjection. Affected 

 nursery stock should be thoroughly dipped in such solutions before 

 shipping. To prevent attacks nurseries should not be located near 



Fig. 35. — The apple leaf- 

 hopper, Empoasca inali 

 LeB. (After Forbe.s. ) 



