Preface 
The focus of “Insects of Eastern Forests” 1s primarily on insect pests of trees and 
wood products east of 100° longitude, north of Mexico. In a similar manner, the 
region west of this meridian is treated in ““Western Forest Insects,”’ by R. L. Furniss 
and V. M. Carolin, published in 1977 (U.S. Department of Agriculture Mis- 
cellaneous Publication No. 1339) (457). Although the information included in these 
books is directed to professional foresters and forest entomologists, others in related 
fields and students should find them valuable references. 
Insects are not alone in causing damage to trees and wood products. Therefore, it 
is important to include other small animals such as certain mites and mollusks that 
also injure trees and their products. Common arthropod pests that are found in the 
forest environment are mentioned briefly. Many kinds of insects and related 
arthropods are beneficial because they suppress populations of damaging species, 
so this book also includes information on these groups. 
The original treatment of this subject was given in F. C. Craighead’s “Insect 
Enemies of Eastern Forests” (U.S. Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Pub- 
lication 657), published in 1950 (26/). This valuable handbook was written in the 
late 1930’s but publication was halted by the wartime emergency. When it finally 
was made available, DDT was the most promising development for the control of 
many forest pests, and a small amount of information on this ““wonder chemical” 
was fitted into the text. By the ttme W. L. Baker’s “Eastern Forest Insects” (U.S. 
Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication 1175) was published in 1972 
(45), DDT was no longer permitted for agricultural and forestry purposes. Empha- 
sis shifted from long-lived insecticides to those whose effectiveness was brief and 
less harmful to the environment, and even to the development of more sophisticated 
systems for regulating pest populations. This is where research and application are 
now concentrating. 
The popularity of Baker’s ‘Eastern Forest Insects” soon made it unavailable. It 1s 
superseded by this volume, which closely follows Baker’s format but provides 
additional information that is the result of another decade of research in entomology 
and forest pest management. 
With the firm conviction that insect classification is the proper responsibility of 
specialists, keys to species are omitted. However, the user is helped to the degree 
possible by several keys to damage symptoms. The inevitable desire to apply 
standardized names to all things led to the biennial publication of approved 
common names of insects by the Entomological Society of America (/4, /272). 
“Insects of Eastern Forests” follows the protocol of placing accepted common 
names before the scientific name and unapproved common names after the scien- 
tific names. 
The rapidly changing situation for controlling insects mitigates against naming 
specific insecticides for this purpose. Current information can be obtained from 
agricultural extension specialists. 
The biology, life history, and damage of eastern forest insects is emphasized in 
the text and illustrations to provide the reader with immediate background informa- 
tion required for intelligent decisionmaking. To further assist the reader in this 
ix 
