Courtesy Conn. Agric. Exp. Stn. 
Figure 18.—Adults of the sycamore lace bug, 
Corythucha ciliata. 
The elm lace bug, C. u/mi Osborn & Drake, feeds on American elm in many 
Eastern States and southern Canada, and on Siberian elm on the northern Great 
Plains. It 1s capable of defoliating its host. 
Heavy infestations of C. mollicula Osborn & Drake may seriously injure willow, 
its only known host, throughout the Eastern States. Heavy infestations of the 
hackberry lace bug, C. ce/tidis Osborn & Drake, often occur on hackberry in the 
Midwest. The species has also been reported from Florida. C. pallipes Parshley, the 
birch lace bug, is often abundant on young yellow birch. Other hosts include paper 
birch, beech, eastern hophornbeam, willow, mountain-ash, and maple. C. per- 
gandei Heidemann feeds principally on alder and occasionally on hazel, elm, and 
birch. C. pruni Osborn & Drake feeds on pin cherry; C. juglandis (Fitch), the 
walnut lace bug, on black walnut, butternut, and basswood; C. elegans Drake on 
willow, balsam poplar, quaking aspen, and bigtooth aspen; C. aesculi Osborn & 
Drake on buckeye; C. associata Osborn & Drake on pin cherry; C. bellula Gibson 
on hawthorn; and the hawthorn lace bug, C. cydoniae (Fitch), on hawthorn and 
pyracantha. 
The basswood lace bug, Gargaphia tiliae (Walsh), often occurs in large num- 
bers on the undersides of the leaves of basswood. Adults overwinter either under 
leaves on the ground or in bark crevices. There are two generations per year. 
Family Reduviidae 
Assassin Bugs 
Most species of assassin bugs are predacious on other insects, but some are 
blood-sucking and frequently bite people. Many species are capable of inflicting 
painful bites and will do so if carelessly handled. Most species are found on various 
parts of plants, but a few are found on the ground or under objects on or near the 
ground. Adults are varicolored, usually black, brownish, green, or orange. They 
range greatly in size, some being more than 25 mm long. The head is long, narrow, 
and cylindrical with the part behind the eyes necklike. The head bears a stout, rigid, 
three-jointed beak that usually curves downward in the form of a semiloop, with the 
tip resting in a groove in front of and between the front legs. The margins of the 
abdomen are often exposed beyond the edges of the wings. 
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