COTTON FLEAHOPPER 
(Psallus seriatus (Reut.)) 
Life History and Injury 
The cotton fleahopper infests cotton throughout the Cotton Belt. It 
causes the greatest damage in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, but in 
some years losses are also serious in other States. This pest often be- 
comes sufficiently numerous on cotton to cause almost complete loss 
of the crop. 
The cotton fleahopper lays eggs in the stems of croton (goatweed), 
other weeds, and to some extent in cotton, where they remain during 
the winter. The eggs hatch early in the spring, and the population 
builds up rapidly on certain tender weeds, such as horsemint, croton, 
and evening primrose. There is some movement to cotton, and this 
migration increases as the weed hosts become tough. Rainfall is favor- 
able to the breeding on cotton,. which continues as long as the plants are 
succulent. When the squaring season is over, the leafhoppers return 
to weeds to feed and to lay their eggs. A generation of fleahoppers re- 
quires from 2 to 3 weeks. 
Both the winged adults and the wingless nymphs, or young fleahop- 
pers, are very active and are difficult to see until one becomes accustomed 
to looking for them. Both stages feed on the juices of the tender parts 
of the cotton plants, especially the terminal buds and small squares. 
The leaves become deformed and somewhat ragged in appearance, but 
the greatest damage is caused to the small squares. Many of the squares 
are killed when they are no larger than a pinhead, and they turn brown 
or black and fall from the plants. Because they are so small they are 
frequently overlooked, and the failure of the plants to bloom is some- 
times attributed to weather or other unfavorable conditions. The in- 
fested plants grow taller and more whiplike, with fewer large branches 
than normal plants, and usually produce oidy a few bolls near the tops. 
Control 
If cotton is not squaring properly, or if young cotton fails to set small 
squares, the terminal buds should be examined for fleahoppers. Dust- 
ing should be started when 15 to 25 fleahoppers are found per 100 termi- 
nal buds. 
The following dusts have proved effective: Toxaphene 10 percent, 
DDT 5 percent plus sulfur 75 percent, benzene hexachloride containing 
1 percent of the gamma isomer, and chlordane 2 percent. Less effective 
control may be obtained with sulfur alone or with a 2-to-l mixture of 
sulfur and calcium arsenate. When spider mites are likely to be a 
serious problem, 40 percent of sulfur should be added to organic insecti- 
cides. Two or three applications at intervals of 5 to 7 days will ordi- 
narily give control, but where infestations are heavy, or large numbers 
of fleahoppers are continually moving into cotton, from four to six dust- 
ings may be needed. Experimental work to date indicates that two 
applications of the organic dust mixtures will control fleahoppers 
throughout the season. 
Caution. — Insecticides are poisonous and should be handled with 
care. Store in a dry place where children and animals will not have 
access to them. 
Revised April 1949 U. S. Government Printing Office 
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 5 cents 
832652°— 49 
