INSECT ENEMIES OF EASTERN FORESTS 12s 
like the falling of very ight rain. After the nymphs have moved to a 
new location, the spots on the bark where they have fed are invaded 
by a black, sooty mold. Needles of heavily infested branches turn 
brown, and the twigs die. As the infestation continues, the branches 
die progressively from the tip toward the main trunk. Lower branches 
are generally killed first, the infestation moving upward in the crown 
until the whole tree is killed. In severe infestations Scotch pine may 
be killed in 2 or 3 years. 
Henry (220, pp. 3, 4) stated that a parasitic fungus, Entomophthora 
aphrophora K. Rastr., is the most important natural-control factor 
operating on this insect. The relationship between the two, however, 
is such that periodic outbreaks of the spittle bug may be expected about 
every 9 years. Artificial control on ornamentals may be obtained by 
spraying about the middle of June with pyrethrum extract at the 
strength of 1 pint in 50 gallons of water (p. 53). 
The Saratoga spittle bug (Aphrophora saratogensis (Fitch) ) is 
known from New England west to the Lake States and south to Florida, 
and has caused serious damage in jack and red pine plantations and 
in young open-grown natural stands of these pines in the Lake States, 
especially in Wisconsin. In its immature or nymphal stage it feeds on 
sweet fern and many other plants, usually just above the root collar 
but below the surface of the litter. Adults migrate from these hosts 
late in June or early in July and attack pine, where they may be found 
feeding until October. 
These insects, while feeding, may extract large quantities of sap 
from pines. Their feeding also causes numerous small pinholes to 
appear in the bark tissues, and some of these holes become infiltrated 
with pitch. Scar tissue forms around these wounds, and this tissue 
may coalesce and girdle branches. The first indication of injury to 
pines by this insect is an almost imperceptible yellowing of the foliage 
in September. The following spring this foliage turns brown. Dam- 
age is heaviest on poor sites, sandy barren soil, and burned areas, where 
pine is found in association with sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina 
(L.)). | 
Newly hatched nymphs probably cannot survive exposure to tem- 
peratures of 16° to 18° F. in May, especially when such low tem- 
peratures follow a much warmer period. It also appears that not only 
stands of mixed pine and hardwoods, but also well-stocked and closed 
stands of pine, suffer little or no injury by the species. Probably dam- 
age can be prevented or overcome by selecting good sites for planting 
and by encouraging the better hardwoods to help in crowding out sweet- 
fern and building up the soil. 
In New England the European species Aphrophora salicis (Deg.) 
is frequently abundant on willow. 
Famirty CICADIDAE 
The large size of the forest-inhabiting insects in this family dis- 
tinguishes them from all other Homoptera in the Eastern States. 
They appear rather short and are heavy, the wings are membranous, 
and the compound eyes are large. In so-called “song” the male 
produces a high, shrill sound that can be heard long distances. Al- 
though the length of the life cycle of many species remains unknown, 
