210 
Psyche 
[December 
west and north with a red maple - alder swamp which follows along 
the ditches towards the northwest and in part joins the swamp on 
the northeast. South and west of the dense young red maple growth 
and west of our house lie relatively large and open fields with some 
scattered clumps of alders and highbush blueberries. Along the 
west-northwest, private homes in a single row buffer this tract from 
a busy city thoroughfare (Kingsbury Avenue). Their back yards 
are hedged by wild shrubs and trees of species already noted. These 
bound the extensive fields just mentioned. 
This is obviously a city area, presently (and for an extended 
period) much influenced by impinging humanity in a diversity of 
ways. Grass fires have been occasional and to reduce this hazard, 
the college has had the more open areas cut over with a heavy 
tractor-drawn rotary mower at irregular intervals. This has been 
frequent enough to maintain the fields and to set back the establish- 
ment of highbush blueberries and other woody plants. The normal 
ecological sequence is more or less continually interrupted tending 
to maintain conditions of constant change within rather narrow 
limits. Several mowing operations took place during the period of 
these studies without any apparent influence on the Tingid populations 
under observation. Thamnophilous species may actually benefit from 
the mowing since it slows the establishment of trees which would 
otherwise ultimately crowd out their host plants. 
The negative results of two methods of collecting not previously 
recorded for Tingids deserve brief mention. 
A light trap using a 60 watt incandescent bulb was hung about 
9 feet high in an Ash-leaved Maple ( Acer negundo L.) which grows 
on the edge of the lace bug study area and nearly ioo feet behind 
(N.E., i.e.) the garage. Lower limbs were trimmed from the tree 
and the light was visible for a considerable distance in all but the 
S.W. direction, which was unimportant because of the garage and 
grounds around the house. Several species of lace bugs (at least six) 
occur nearby. Alders, host of Corythucha pergandei Heidemann, 
grow under the branch tips of the maple and Alnus Station I was 
only about ioo' to the east. The light was operated one or two full 
nights each week. Usually an evening that promised to be season- 
ably warm was intentionally chosen. The insects captured were 
mostly moths, beetles, and Homoptera (mainly leaf hoppers). As 
anticipated, no lace bugs were attracted. The most spectacular catch 
was a young catbird that was released unharmed. 
In another maple a few yards to the north, three Japanese beetle- 
type traps were hung about 6-8 feet from the ground. These traps, 
