LAWSON: KANSAS CICADELLID^. 239 



Color: Light yellow. Vertex yellowish, often with the apical portion 

 distinctly reddish. Pronotum yellowish, the disc sometimes reddish or 

 orange colored. Elytra yellowish, nervures yellow, often quite hyaline, 

 especially at the tips. 



External genitalia: Female, last ventral segment very short laterally, 

 posterior margin incised on either side of a large produced median lobe 

 whose margins taper slightly from the broad base to the rounded apex; 

 last abdominal tergite large and inflated, appearing as two broad lobes 

 at the base of the pygofers, which are broad, mesally spiny, and nearly 

 or fully equal the ovipositor. Male, valve very large and inflated, a 

 little wider than long, lateral margins rounded, posterior margin truncate 

 or slightly concave, with a longitudinal median line; plates projecting 

 from under the valve as two large style-like processes, spiny, curved 

 dorsally, with a distinct black tooth on inner margin before the black- 

 tipped apices, which exceed the pygofers. 



Distribution: Taken hitherto only in Cherokee and Douglas 

 counties. Probably occurs throughout the eastern part of the 

 state. 



Hosts: This is a grass-feeding species which, according to 

 Osborn, may be of economic importance because of occurring 

 in large numbers on cultivated grasses, such as timothy. 



Genus EMPOASCA Walsh. 



The forms belonging to this genus are slender, greenish 

 species, very largely unicolorous. The elytra are long and lack 

 an appendix. The sectors of the hind wings end in a marginal 

 vein, thus agreeing with the two preceding genera, but in this 

 genus there is only one apical cell. Ocelli are present. 



The six species keyed below have been collected in the state. 

 Other species have been taken, but I am not quite certain as to 

 their specific identity. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



A. Vertex rounded, at most but slightly produced medially. 



B. Elytra with two transverse dark stripes. trifasciata. 



BB. Elytra without transverse stripes. 



C. Size large, robust, length usually about 4 mm,, elytra 



unicolorous. obtusa. 



CC. Size smaller, more slender, seldom exceeding 3.5 mm., 



claval suture of elytra whitish. albolinea. 



AA. Vertex distinctly produced medially. 



B Pronotum with a pale median line, nervures of elytra pale. 



alboneura. 



BB. Pronotum without pale line, nervures not pale. 



C Pronotum with six or eight white spots on anterior mar- 

 gin. 



CC Pronotum with three white spots on anterior margin. 



flavescens. 



