INSECT ENEMIES OF EASTERN FORESTS eZ 
species can be controlled by the application of a contact insecticide 
(p. 52). 
The genus Corythucha contains several other species that may be- 
come so numerous as to be noticeable at times. They are listed, along 
with their hosts, as follows: C. pergandei Heidemann, the alder lace 
bug, principally alder, but occasionally hazel, elm, and birch; C. pruni 
O. & D. (=pyriformis Parsh.), the cherry lacebug, Wild cherry; C. 
juglandis (Fitch), the walnut lacebug, black walnut, butternut, and 
linden; C. pallipes Parsh. (=betula Drake=cyrta Parsh.), the birch 
lacebug, principally yellow birch, but also on white birch, beech, 
eastern hophornbeam, willow spp., mountain-ash, and maple; @. 
elegans Drake, the willow and poplar lacebug, willow, balsam poplar, 
quaking aspen, and bigtooth aspen; C. aesculi O. & D., the buckeye 
lacebug, various species of buckeye; (. associata O. & D., wild cherry ; 
C. cydoniae (Fitch), hawthorn, and C. celtidis O. & D., hackberry. 
The rhododendron lacebug (Stephanitis rhododendri Horv.), 
which feeds on rhododendron, mountain-laurel, and azalea, is a pe- 
culiar-looking insect, with elytra nearly twice the length of the body 
and rounded at the apex, with a small triangular hood, and with long 
and slender antennae. It is nearly 4 mm. long. The nymphs are al- 
most transparent, except for their bright red eyes. 
The rhododendron lacebug is of European origin and is now present 
in the United States from New England west to Ohio and south to 
North Carolina. It passes the winter in the egg stage and has two 
generations each year in the northern part of its range. Its feeding 
causes the upper surface of the leaves to become mottled or covered with 
small whitish blotches; and the underside of the leaves shows a brown- 
ish mottling from the excrement. ‘This species can be controlled by 
methods recommended for other lacebugs. Two spray applications, 
one in June and one about mid-August, should control it effectively. 
FamiIty REDUVIITDAE 
The family Reduviidae is commonly referred to as the assassin bugs 
and comprises a large group of predaceous species. They vary greatly 
in size and shape, the species of most interest in this country ranging 
from 15 to 36 mm. in length. They are characterized by a cylindrical 
head bearing a stout, rigid, 3-jointed beak which is usually curved in 
the form of a semiloop beneath the head, with the tip resting in a 
stridulatory groove located between and in front of the forelegs. 
The front legs are more or less fitted for grasping, although the femora 
are seldom much stouter than those of the middle and hind legs. _ 
Most species are beneficial, since they prey on small plant-feeding 
insects. In the forest Zelus exsanguwis (Stal.) is commonly en- 
countered on low herbage, foliage of shrubs, ,and scrub growth. 
Arilus cristatus (.), known as the wheel bug because of the peculiar 
semicircular crest on the pronotum, is perhaps of most importance, 
since it lives in trees preying upon caterpillars and other insects. 
This species is common throughout the Eastern States as far north as 
New York. It overwinters in the egg stage. The bottle-shaped eggs 
are closely cemented together in a more or less rectangular or hex- 
agonal mass. 
