THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE BIRCH TINGITID, 

 CORYTHUCHA PALLIPES PARSHLEY 



By Carl J. Drake 



The yellow birch tingitid made its appearance under three differ- 

 ent names — viz., pallipes Parshley, cyrta Parshley and hetulae 

 Drake — in the same paper by Gibson (1918, pp. 69-105) on the 

 study of the Genus Corythucha 8tal. According to pagination 

 pallipes has page-priorit}^ and is the valid name for the species. 

 Parshley (1920, pp. 28 and 29) has recently pointed out the fact 

 that cTjrta and hetulae are identical. Dr. Parshley has kindly 

 loaned me the type series of pallipes and cyrta and we are fully 

 convinced that cyrta and hetulae are not only specifically the same, 

 but also synonymous with pallipes. Although cyrta and hetulae 

 can be connected up in the type series, Gibson {I. c, p. 86) failed 

 to observe this identity. Lack of food-plant data and a series 

 showing variability accounts for the original failure to note the 

 kinship of pallipes and cyrta. 



The yellow birch tingid is undoubtedly the most common species 

 of Heteroptera living in the vicinity of Cranberry Lake. It seems 

 to show a decided preference for yellow birch, Betula lutea 

 Michx. f ., but it is also very common on white birch, Betula alha L., 

 beech, Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. and ironwood or hop hornbean. 

 Ostrya virginiana Mill. K, Koch. Dr. Osborn noted a young 

 mountain ash, Pyrus amcrieana (Marsh) DC. badly infested by 

 pallipes at Barber Point in July. The writer also found the insect 

 breeding on mountain maple, Acer spicatum Lam., soft maple. 

 Acer saccharinum L., hard maple, Acer- saccharum Marsh, and 

 striped maple or moosewood, Acer pennsylvanicum L., but the 

 species seems to breed only occasionally and never in large num- 

 bers on maples. The type series of pallipes (1918, Parshley in 

 Gibson, p. 86) were collected on an introduced willow; Salix siehol- 

 diana. at Stanford, Connecticut, by Mr. W. E, Britton. T have 

 seen several other specimens, bearing the same date, locality and 

 food-plant, that must have been collected with the t^^pes by Mr. 

 Britton. The number of specimens would seem to indicate that 

 the insect must have been at least feeding and perhaps breeding 

 on the introduced willow. The insect has not been observed to 

 feed or breed on the willows (growing near badly infested birch 

 trees) in the Cranberry Lake region. Parshley (in Gibson, 1918, 

 p. 85) also states that this insect (under cyrta) has been taken on 

 sphagnum, but does not list this as a food plant. Two or three 

 published records report CorytJnicha juglandis Fitch upon birch, 

 but these probably refer to pallipes. In fact T have seen pallipes, 

 bearing food-plant label "birch", in a few collections wrongly 

 determined as C. juglandis Fitch. Corythucha pcrgandei fleide- 

 mann and Corythucha heidemantu. Drake occasionally feed and 



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