INSECT PESTS OF OHIO SHADE AND FOREST TREES 231 



lighter than that of D, ministra; in the latter the thoracic shield 

 only is yellow, while with the former the yellow encompasses the 

 entire neck ; and with D. ministra the yellow lines on the sides of the 

 body extend back to the tip while on D. drexelii they end in a jumble 

 before the tip is reached. The eggs and pupae are also very simi- 

 lar, the eggs being deposited on the leaves and the pupae, of course, 

 being found beneath the surface of the soil. 



Life history. — The life history is so similar to that of D, 

 ministra that an account of it is not necessary. There is probably 

 but one brood per season. 



Nature of work. — The injury by this species is confined to the 

 destruction of the foliage of the host; but, since the insect is not 

 generally prevalent and abundant in Ohio, the actual damage is not 

 great. 



Food plants. — Of the food plants, witch-hazel, walnut, linden, 

 sassafras, Vaccinium stamineum and Vaccinium corymbosum, the 

 writer has found this insect more frequently upon sassafras than 

 upon any other host. 



Distribution. — This species has been observed more frequently 

 by the writer in the southern part of the State than in other sec- 

 tions. Further it is known to occur in New York and New Jersey. 



Control — The execution of control measures rarely will be found 

 necessary. Spraying with poisons doubtless would be effective. 



(Datana major Grote and Robison) 



Description. — In all forms excepting the larval, this species 

 resembles D. ministra. The well-grown larvae, however, is de- 

 cidedly different. The head is reddish as is also the cervical shield 

 and bases of the legs. The most striking dissimilarity, however, is 

 the fact that the yellow parallel lines extending lengthwise of the 

 body are broken with black, giving the insect a finely spotted 

 appearance. It has been taken by the writer but once in the State 

 and seemingly is of rare occurrence. It is therefore at present of 

 no importance as a pest and is treated here in the foregoing brief 

 manner merely to assist those in identifying it who might casually 

 encounter it. *»• 



THE LOCUST LEAF BEETLE 



(Chalepus dorsalis Thunb.) 



The most destructive single species of the hilly woodlands of 

 southern Ohio is the locust leaf beetle, and because of this fact it 

 merits careful consideration. The browning of the foliage of the 

 black locust in the summer and fall is due to the feeding of the 

 adult beetles and to the mining of the leaf tissues by the larval form. 



