THE IRRORATE LEAFHOPPER. 95 
Rocky Mountains. It is dark brown, the surface minutely irrorate 
on the vertex and pronotum, and with numerous fine reticulations 
or irrorations on the wings. (See fig. 25.) It is nearly one-half inch 
in length. 
The life cycle of the species is not known in detail, but the nymphs 
occur quite commonly in grassland, meadows, pastures, and some- 
times in wheat fields during the latter part of the summer. They are 
rather flattened and are more or less distinctly irrorate, with minute 
patches on the head, pronotum, and abdomen. Figure 25, f, rep- 
resents a nymph taken at Toledo, Ohio, associated with the adults, 
and where other species were not present, so that there can be little 
doubt as to its being the nymph of this species. Such nymphs have 
been taken in many cases associated with adults of irroratus where 
Fig. 25.—The irrorate leafhopper (Pilepsius irroretus): a, Adult; 6, vertex and pronotum; c, face; d, 
female genitalia; e,male genitalia; /, nymph from specimen taken at Toledo, Ohio. AIl enlarged: 
(Original.) 
the species is abundant and at widely separated localities, so that 
there is practically no doubt as to its identity, although no rearing 
of the nymph has been made. 
While the species is abundant throughout the Eastern and Central 
States and indeed throughout its entire range, its economic impor- 
tance is not fully recognized since it occurs in quite general distribu- 
tion and has never been recorded as swarming in any one particular 
place. It is hardly possible to collect leafhoppers in any part of the 
country, especially during late summer and autumn, without finding 
an abundance of this species, and it is certain that they must cause 
some injury in the crops which they affect. As mentioned on a pre- 
ceding page, it was observed by Herbert T. Osborn swarming toward 
evening around trees at Urbana, IIl., in the autumn of 1909, It is 
29460°—Bull. 108—12 7 
