the stem. The nymphs reach maturity and transform to adults in about 40 to 70 
days, depending on the weather. The adults then fly to the pine hosts and begin 
feeding on needle-bearing twigs. In the Lake States, adult transformation is about 
80 percent complete by early to mid-July. 
Nymphal populations are sometimes reduced by late spring frosts in the Lake 
States. Hot, dry weather also kills many young nymphs, especially in open planta- 
tions. Insect parasites and predators provide a certain amount of control but are 
unable to prevent outbreaks. Recommended preventive control measures include 
selection of sites for red or jack pine plantations that are comparatively free of hosts 
favored by the nymphs, dense planting to secure early crown closure, and planting 
on good sites. Methods of direct control of adults and nymphs are available (7334, 
135). 
Prosapia bicincta (Say) occurs from Massachusetts to Florida and west to Kansas 
and Texas. Adults are dark brown and about 9 mm long. There usually are two 
distinct bands across the wings and a narrower orange band on the thorax between 
the humeral angles. Adults have been recorded feeding on holly, redbud, cherry, 
and a wide variety of other woody and herbaceous plants. Infested leaves of holly 
become distorted, stunted, and discolored and may have necrotic areas at feeding 
sites. 
Clastoptera undulata Uhler nymphs and adults have been observed feeding on 
the young twigs of horsetail casuarina in Florida. In heavily infested areas, the 
adults may be attracted to lights in such large numbers that they become a nuisance. 
The alder spittlebug, C. obtusa (Say), a common species, feeds on various shrubs 
and trees, including hickory, birch, and alder. The pecan spittlebug, C. achatina 
Germar, is occasionally a serious pest of pecan in the Midwest. It feeds on the 
terminals, sometimes killing fruit-producing shoots. The dogwood spittlebug, C. 
proteus Fitch, has been recorded on pine. C. salicis (De Geer) frequently occurs in 
large numbers on willow. The meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius (L.), 
occasionally feeds on Scotch pine in the Northeast. 
Family Cicadidae 
Cicadas 
Cicadas are the largest members of the order Homoptera in the United States. 
The adults are stocky, heavy-bodied insects with large compound eyes and mem- 
branous wings, and some reach a length of 50 mm. There are two common types, 
(1) the dog-day cicadas, often called harvest flies, and (2) the periodical cicadas, 
also known as 17-year locusts. The dog-day group contains large blackish species, 
usually with greenish markings. The life cycle lasts from 2 to 5 years but, because 
of overlapping broods, some adults appear every year. Periodical cicadas differ 
from the dog-day group in being smaller and in having reddish eyes, reddish legs, 
and reddish wing veins. The life cycle is 13 years in the South and 17 years in the 
North. 
Cicadas deposit their eggs in the twigs of trees and shrubs and often damage 
twigs so severely that their terminal portions die. When the eggs hatch, the young 
nymphs drop to the ground, enter the soil, and feed on roots. Here the nymph 
remains until ready to molt for the last time, years later. Before molting, it emerges 
from the ground and climbs upon some object, usually the trunk of a tree, fastens its 
claws in the bark, and molts. The adults of some species live 5 to 6 weeks. 
The periodical cicada, Magicicada septendecim (L.) (fig. 23A), is widely 
distributed in the Eastern United States, and it lays its eggs in more than 70 species 
of trees and other plants. The most susceptible of the trees appear to be the oaks, 
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