ATHYSANUS CURTISII FITCH. 
91 
unable to escape from the fire. The method suggested by Prof. 
Comstock, of utilizing lights to which they are attracted, may prove 
of considerable advantage, but there has been no careful experimental 
test of the effect of this kind of treatment. 
Athysanus curtisii Fitch. 
The species Athysanus curtisii Fitch is one that is quite widely 
distributed throughout the northern part of the United States and, 
while not occurring in such enormous numbers as some of the related 
species, is a very constant factor, breeding especially in woodland 
pastures and living upon several different species of grasses. It was 
described by Dr. Fitch in 1851 and evidently recognized by him as 
having economic importance al- 
though he gives no details of its life 
history. It was discussed, among 
other species of grass-feeding leaf- 
hoppers, in the bulletins of the Iowa 
Agricultural Experiment Station is- 
sued in 1891 and 1892 and the brief 
description of the nymphal form by 
Osborn and Ball was published in 
the Proceedings of the Iowa Academy 
of Sciences in 1897. 
The adult insect is 3.5 mm. in 
length, in body rather short and 
robust, the wings extending slightly 
beyond the tip of the abdomen. In 
color the head is yellow above, with 
two large, round, black spots above 
the middle, and the tip of the head 
is also black. The face is yellow, 
with an oblique black band passing 
from the e}^e to the base of the clypeus, from which it extends to the 
tip, forming for the whole face a Y-shaped mark. Above, the thorax 
is yellowish-green, with a black crescentic mark in front and the 
wings are dark, with distinct yellowish-green stripes. In the nymphal 
stage this species is stout, with a convexly conical head. The color 
is rather dark yellow and the eyes and antenna? are black. There is 
a rather dense covering of rather long hairs. (See fig. 22.) 
The adults of this species appear in June and the nymphs are found 
during July, apparently completing their growth by the latter part of 
this month, and the adults are found in abundance during midsummer. 
Another brood of nymphs appears during September and adults from 
these may be found during the autumn months, becoming abundant 
Ck cw.A\i^v 
Fig. 22. 
A tliysa nus curiisii: a, Adult; 6, face; c, 
female genitalia; d, male genitalia; e, elytron; 
/, nymph. (After Osborn and Ball.) 
