284 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I916. 



While the observations of this season add little to the past 

 records, the fact that specimens were bred from white birch 

 and hazel seems to make a record worth while. 



Our specimens were taken as last instar nymphs on July 

 25th at which time they were beginning to change to adults and 

 adults have been common on various plants since to early 

 August. See fig. so, e and /. 



Records carry the species as adult as late as Sept. 5th, so it 

 may be considered certain that there is a single generation in 

 this latitude and that the winter is passed in the egg form, the 

 eggs hatching in spring or early summer, probably in June or 

 early July, and the larval stages are passed rapidly. 



Dog-wood Spittle Insect. 



(Clastoptera proteus Fitch.) 



As the specific name implies this species is extremely vari- 

 able and occurs in several forms, the more common ones being 

 black in color with bright yellow cross bands on the thorax, 

 in some cases with bright yellow spots on the base of the elytra 

 and in others without these spots. See fig. 50, g, h, and i. 



The species is supposed to occur on a variety of plants, but 

 at Orono it has been taken for the larval stages, especially on 

 the dogwood. Nymphs of apparently the final stage were taken 

 during the summer of 1914 and adults were reared from these 

 of both the color varieties. In 1916 still younger nymphs, the 

 smallest found about two millimeters in length, were taken on 

 dogwood and these are the smallest that have been secured. 

 These were taken July 2nd, 7th and 10th and represent evi- 

 dently individuals that have hatched from eggs that have sur- 

 vived the winter as no trace of earlier generation or of hiber- 

 nating females has been found. These earlier nymphs agree 

 closely with the older nymphs observed in 1914 except that 

 the head and thorax are nearly black or solid dark olive green, 

 while the abdomen is clear white or a very light greenish white. 

 The beak extends to the hind coxse and is dusky greenish olive, 

 as are also the legs which are of about uniform size, or the 

 hind ones possibly a trifle the larger. 



Five fairly distinct sizes or forms representing probably as 

 many stages are included in the series, but there is very little 



