BIOLOGY OF THE MEMBRACIDAE OF THE 

 CAYUGA LAKE BASIN 



\\ . D. FUNKHOUSER 



The purpose of this study is to summarize the work of seven years, in 

 field and laboratory, on the biologj^ of the species of Membracidae found 

 in the Cayuga Lake Basin and particularly in the vicinity of Ithaca, 

 New York. Sixty-one species of this family of Homoptera have been 

 reported from the basin. A few of these are very rare and are known only 

 from occasional records of the past twenty years. Most of them, how- 

 ever, have been recognized, and parts, if not all, of their life histories 

 determined. The life cycles of the majority of the local forms have been 

 worked out in detail and in a few cases the results of the work have been 

 published. Since the life histories of the closely related forms agree in 

 many respects, the separate discussion of each species would result in a 

 multiplication of details, and therefore an attempt is made in this report 

 to incorporate the data in such form as to give a general idea of the whole 

 subject, omitting unnecessary repetition, condensing the facts common to 

 all forms, tabulating whenever possible the data showing fluctuation and 

 variation, and paying special attention to peculiar or unique j^henomena. 



The membracid fauna in the immediate vicinity of Ithaca has been 

 rather thoroly studied. During certain seasons daily field notes have 

 been made for periods of from six to eight consecutive weeks, and careful 

 records kept of climatic and seasonal conditions with respect to their 

 bearing on the ecological problems involved. 



The fauna of the other parts of the valley has not been so well worked 

 out, but large quantities of material from various stations have made it 

 possible for the investigator to form a fairly accurate idea of the membracid 

 representatives in the basin as a whole. That part of the basin at the 

 northern extremity of the lake is the least known, as it has not been 

 possible to do extensive collecting in that region. There is no reason for 

 believing that the area offers any particular problems or differs in any 

 important respect from the remainder of the valley, but recent botanical 



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