[101] 



Report of the State Entomologist. 



243 



Its Spittle Observed. 

 The peculiar frothy masses of the secretion of a spittle-insect were 

 observed on June twenty- seventh, in a large clump of alders, Alnus 

 serrulata, at West Albany, N. Y. On every bush of even moderate size 

 hundreds of the masses were clinging. They were believed to be the 

 Clastoptera obtusa of Say, which Uhler represents as common on the 

 black alder in July. The larvae within the secretion may have been 

 at this time half-grown. 



Observations on the Insect. 

 On the seventh of July the locality was revisited for further observa- 

 tion. The perfect insect had made its appearance, and fifteen examples 

 of it were secured. It proved to be, as was expected, Clastoptera obtusa. 

 The species had developed unequally, for the spittle masses were still 

 abundant — some containing the larvae and others the pupae. Twigs 

 bearing the secretion were collected. When placed in a box for rear- 

 ing, if possible, the immature insects all left their coverings and 

 traveled over the box within, escaping from beneath a not very close- 

 fitting lid. The larvae were nearly white. Their legs were long in 

 proportion to the size of the body and were moved rapidly in walking. 

 The pupae, which had but recently undergone their transformation, 

 show but little coloring, especially on their wing-pads. With increased 

 age they become more deeply colored, and are olive-green on their 

 thorax, wing-cases and legs. The thin, transparent cases from which 

 the larvae had emerged were adhering to the stems and leaves of the 

 alders. 



The Spittle Mass. 

 G. obtusa belongs to a group of Hemipterous insects, known as 

 " spittle-insects," from the frothy, liquid mass, resembling human 

 spittle, in which the larvae and the pupae live concealed. These insects 

 derive their sustenance from the stem or plant or grass upon which 

 they are found, by sucking the juices through the proboscis with 

 which all of the Hemiptera are provided in place of the cutting 

 jaws or mandibles of most of the other orders. The excess of the sap 

 beyond what is needed for their sustenance, is thrown out to form 

 the " spittle " mass, which is often so abundant as to fall to the ground 

 in drops of clear liquid when the imprisoned air has escaped from it. 



How the Spittle-mass is Produced. 

 There seems to be a question as to the manner in which the frothy 

 matter is produced. Mr. Uhler, our authority in the Hemiptera, in 

 Cassino's Standard Natural History has stated : " The larvae live covered 

 by masses of white froth, which the insect produces by expelling 

 from its beak the juices drawn out of the tree." DeGeer, the dis- 



