Black Beet-seed Louse 



DESCRIPTION 



The black beet-seed louse occurs in three forms. 



1. Wingless Lice 



The majority of the 

 lice during the warmer 

 months are wingless. 

 These wingless lice (Fig. 

 6, Plate III, Page 15) 

 are a very dark, dull 

 green. As the name 

 implies, they are so 

 dark as to appear black, 

 with the exception of 

 the legs, which are 

 yellowish. Some of the 

 older individuals have 

 several white tufts on 

 the abdomen. 



2. Pupae 



As the season ad- 

 vances many of the lice 

 develop wing pads. 

 These are the imma- 

 ture "alate" or winged 

 lice. These pupae, as 

 they are sometimes 

 called, also have the 

 white tufts on the ab- 

 domen. 



3. Winged Lice 



The color of the 

 winged lice (Fig. 7, 

 Plate III, Page 15) is 

 similar to that of the 

 wingless individuals 

 except that the head 

 and thorax (that part 

 of the body just back of the head) are a shining black. The wings show 

 rainbow colors when the light strikes them at the proper angle. 



LIFE HISTORY 



The life history of this louse is very similar to that of the green peach- 

 aphis. 



The winter is spent in the egg stage on the twigs of a shrub variously 

 known in different parts of the country as spindle tree, burning bush, 

 waahoo, and strawberry bush (Fig. 24, Page 1 18). 



The first winged lice in the summer migrate to the summer hosts, 

 which include beet seed and a variety of weeds and wild plants, poppies, 



118 



Fig. 24. A Branch of Euonymus Species, showing 

 Star-shaped Fruit 



