32 LEAEHOPPEES AFFECTING CEREALS, ETC. 
given by Mr. A. H. Kirkland, 1 no record is given of leafhoppers 
having been eaten, but it is not stated whether the specimens 
exa min ed came from meadows or gra in fields where such insects were 
most likely to be taken. It is stated, however, that toads eat only 
active insects, and therefore they may not pay attention to the 
leafhoppers. which, except when disturbed, are very quiet. Moreover, 
as these animals feed mainly at night, the opportunity for them to 
capture leafhoppers would perhaps be much less than if they were 
feeding during the daytime. A special study of toads from meadows 
and pastures where leafhoppers are common would be an interesting 
addition to our knowledge in this line. 
Insect Enemies. 
The insect enemies for the leafhoppers are not so numerous as for 
some other groups of insects, but there are several which may be 
considered as of sufficient importance for notice. 
Among the predaceous forms we have as the most abundant and 
efficient perhaps the little bugs of the family Nabidae, some of which 
occur in great abundance in the meadows and pastures where the 
leafhoppers occur. The most abundant of the species is Reduviolus 
ferns L.. which occurs throughout the entire range of the United 
States and may be found in almost every kind of grassy land. That 
it is a frequent predator upon the leafhoppers is in cheated by its 
attack upon them when they are taken in the net. although it must 
be said that they are very seldom found with the insects actually 
impaled upon their beaks in the field. It is probable that this comes 
from their puncturing and sucking the blood of the insect very quickly 
and discarding the dead bodies so promptly as not to be found with 
them actually impaled. I have no question that they feed upon 
the leafhoppers as one source of then food supply, and believe them 
to be one of the principal agencies in keeping the leafhoppers in 
check. 
Another group which is less notable is the genus Geocoris in the 
family Lygaeidse. These are minute nattish bugs with prominent eyes, 
and they occur as widely distributed common insects on the ground 
among the grasses and other low-growing vegetation. Their attack 
upon leafhoppers has been reported to me by various observers, and 
during the season of 1910 a definite record was furnished by Herbert 
T. Osborn of the Bureau of Entomology, for the species Geocoris 
dtcoraius Oil. This, he states, was found at Wellington, Kans., 
in a number of instances with small leafhoppers impaled on its beak, 
and numbers of dead leafhoppers were found in the vicinity. The 
specimens submitted were Empoasca flavescens Fab. As this species 
of Geocoris is common over a wide range, it is doubtless serviceable in 
this manner in connection with many other species of leafhoppers. 
i Bui. 46, Mass. Hatch Experiment Station. 18 
