INSECT ENEMIES OF EASTERN FORESTS PALE: 
Blepharida rhois (Forst.), a species that affects the sumacs, is 
found from Maine and southern Canada to Florida, and west to Mon- 
tana and Texas. It is a straw-colored, oval beetle, averaging about 
6 mm. in length, and has prominent red spots on the upper part of 
the body. It is common but not important. Several species of the 
genera Oedionychis and Crepidodera feed on the foliage of broad- 
leaved trees, but they are not important as forest pests. 
The adult of the alder flea beetle (A/tica ambiens var. alni Harr.) 
ranges in color from cobalt blue to greenish blue. The under surface 
and the legs are bluish black. It is one of the largest of its genus 
averaging 5 to6 mm. in length. The thorax is broader than long, the 
elytra are distinctly wider at the base than the thorax, and the sur- 
face is finely but distinctly punctate. The eggs are pale orange, 
with the surface densely marked with fine pits. The full-grown 
larva is a little longer than the adult, and is dark brown to almost 
black above, and dark yellow underneath. The pupa is bright orange 
yellow at first, darkening during the transformation to the adult 
stage. It is about the same size as the adult. Woods (436) has pub- 
lished an extensive account of studies on this flea beetle. 
This species feeds on the foilage of alders, and is found from Maine 
and southern Canada to Minnesota and New Mexico. The beetles 
hibernate in dry, sheltered places, and appear in the spring when the 
foliage is developing. The adults feed for a time, eating small holes 
in the leaves, and then the eggs are laid on the lower surfaces of the 
leaves. These hatch in about a week, and the larvae feed on both 
surfaces of the leaves, sometimes as many as half a dozen being present 
on one leaf. The larval period in Maine is about 5 weeks and the 
pupal period about 10 days. In Maine and Minnesota there is one 
generation a year; farther south there may be two. 
The beetles are usually scarce, but they may occur more or less 
periodically in enormous numbers. The heavy defoliation is confined 
almost entirely to the alders, and, although these are not of great 
economic importance as forest species, the defoliation along roadsides 
and in parks is very unsightly. 
Several other species of A/tica are found on broadleaved trees, both 
adults and larvae chewing the foliage. The adults are small, from 
3 to 5 mm. in length, and metallic blue, green, or bronze. A. ulmi 
Woods, and A. carinata (Germ.), have been collected from elm foliage 
in the Northeast, and south to Florida. A. betulae Schffr. is common 
on birch foliage in northern New York, but seldom does widespread 
damage. 
The adult of the locust leaf miner (Chalepus dorsalis Thunb.) is 
about 6 mm. long with the head, antennae, legs, ventral surface, and a 
triangular area, widening posteriorly on the inner margins of the 
elytra, black. The outer margins of the elytra and the thorax are 
reddish orange. The thorax and elytra are densely punctured, and 
the latter are also deeply ridged. The milky-white eggs are thin, flat, 
and oval. The young larva is white, but when full grown is yellowish 
white and slightly longer than the adult. The honey-colored pupa 
is about the same length as the adult. 
The beetles hibernate in sheltered places, and resume activity as 
the foliage is developing. They feed for a short time, making small 
