Important orders of forest insects 
The primary purpose of this publication is to list and briefly 
discuss the more important insects affecting forest and shade 
trees and wood products. Its secondary purpose is to discuss some 
of the other insects that are also abundant in the forest, but are 
not usually thought of as forest insects. Many of these insects 
are also of economic importance, either as pests of man or of 
other forms of animal life. Given the ever-increasing use of for- 
ested areas for recreational purposes and the growing public 
concern about our wild life resources, it seems no longer advisable 
to omit these insects from a discussion of important forest insects. 
Order ANOPLURA 
Sucking lice 
Sucking lice are small wingless insects that live on the skin 
of various mammals and suck their blood. Their bodies are flat- 
tened; the mouth parts consist of piercing stylets; and there is 
a rostrum with many tiny hooks at the front of the head. The 
tarsus consists of a single segment with a single large claw. This 
claw is opposed by a toothed projection on the tibia. The body 
louse, Pediculus humanus L., and the crab louse, Phthirus pubis 
(L.), attack man, and a number of other species attack various 
kinds of livestock and other animals. For treatments of the order 
see Ewing (236) and Ferris (243). Eddy et al. (220) and Cole 
et al (145) discussed the control of species attacking man. 
Order MALLOPHAGA 
Chewing Lice 
Chewing lice are all external parasites of birds and animals. 
The adults are small, usually flattened, and wingless. They feed 
on the feathers, hairs, or skin of their hosts. None are known to 
attack man. The family is divided into six families. Members of 
the family Trichodestidae attack various species of domestic ani- 
mals; the other five (Menoponidae, Laemobothridae, Philopteri- 
dae, Gyroptidae, and Ricinidae) feed mostly on birds and poultry. 
Order SIPHONAPTERA 
Fleas 
Fleas are small wingless, hard-bodied, jumping insects. The 
body is strongly flattened laterally and is armed with numerous 
backward-projecting spines or bristles. There may be no eyes; the 
mouth parts are formed for sucking; and the legs are long. Adults 
feed on the blood of birds, wild and domestic animals, and man. The 
larvae feed on organic matter, their own cast skins, and the feces 
of the adults. Many species are economic pests. About 75 species 
of animals and birds in Eastern United States are attacked by 
more than 50 different species of fleas (261). 
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