The wheel bug, Ari/us cristatus (L.), 1s an important predator of various forest 
insects. As a young nymph it feeds on aphids, and later it attacks lepidopterous 
larvae such as the fall webworm and other insects such as the locust borer. The adult 
is a large, striking insect, with coglike teeth projecting from a median, longitudinal 
ridge on the thorax. The female is much larger than the male and may reach a length 
of 30 mm. 
Other species attacking forest insects include: Sinea spinipes (Herrich-Schaffer), 
which feeds on the fall webworm in the South; Acholla multispinosa (De Geer), an 
enemy of the pine webworm; Zelus exsanguis Stal, an enemy of the gypsy moth; 
and Melanolestes picipes (Herrich-Schaffer), an enemy of May beetles and their 
larvae. The biologies of various species of this family have been reported (/0/3). 
Family Nabidae 
Damsel Bugs 
Damsel bugs appear to be entirely predatory on soft-bodied plant-feeding insects. 
Adults are usually pale brown to straw colored and about 8 mm long. The forelegs 
are quite slender and fitted for grasping, having the tibiae armed with minute spines 
and the femora enlarged. Nabis sordidus Reuter is a common species in eastern 
forests. It often occurs in large numbers on rank undergrowth. 
Family Anthocoridae 
Flower Bugs 
The majority, if not all, of the members of this family of small bugs are 
predacious on other insects. The adults may be found on flowers, under loose bark, 
in leaf litter, or in decaying fungi. Anthocoris musculus (Say) feeds on soft-bodied, 
leaf-feeding insects, principally lace bugs, on deciduous trees in the Northern 
States. Elatophilus inimica (Drake & Harris) feeds on the red pine scale in 
Connecticut; it has also been found on pines infested with Matsucoccus gallicolus 
Morrison in Massachusetts. The majority of flower bugs are black with white » 
markings and are only about 3 to 5 mm long. Orius insidiosus (Say) 1s a common 
predator of insect eggs. 
Family Miridae 
Plant Bugs 
This is the largest family in the order Hemiptera, with about 1,600 species 
occurring in the United States and Canada alone (675). The majority of species 
appear to be phytophagous. Many others are predacious and feed on a wide variety 
of young or soft-bodied insects. The adults are 2 to 9 mm long. The antennae and 
beak are each four-segmented, with the second segment of the beak longer than the 
head. The tarsi are usually three-segmented. The hemelytra, when fully developed, 
are separated into a clavus, corium, cuneus, and membrane. In some species, the 
hemelytra are abbreviated and the membrane is either absent or reduced to a narrow 
band. 
The oaks, ashes, hickories, and birches serve as hosts for many species. Trop- 
idosteptes amoenus Reuter has caused noticeable injury to ash seedlings in nurser- 
ies in the Lake States: the tarnished plant bug. Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beau- 
vois), is often injurious to ornamentals and to forest nursery trees. It causes split- 
stem lesions on the stems of young Populus. The stems sometimes break at the 
lesion (J054). Young, succulent growth of elm is frequently damaged by the 
feeding of Neolygus invitus (Say). 
Seven plant bugs restricted to honeylocust were investigated in Pennsylvania, and 
the life history of the honeylocust plant bug, Diaphnocoris chlorionis (Say), is 
given along with biological observations on Lopidea incurva Knight, Lygocoris 
tinctus (Knight), Pilophorus walshii Uhler, Plagiognathus delicatus (Uhler), and 
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