Seasonal History and Rearing of Scaphytopius Acutus (Say) (Homoptera: Cicadellidae)1

Seasonal fluctuations in populations of Scaphytopius acutus (Say), a vector of X-disease virus, were followed for a 5-year period in a peach orchard by means of sticky-board traps. Supplemental records were obtained from traps exposed near other cultivated and wild Prunus species. The first adults were usually found early in June. Two distinct broods were recorded each year, with adult peaks occurring about July 1 and October 1. The greatest numbers of adults were taken in traps hung in, or near, peach, apple, plum, and chokecherry (P. virginiana L.). A laboratory method was developed for hatching overwintered eggs found in apple and stonefruit leaves. High relative humidity and temperatures near 70° F. provided optimum conditions for hatching. Apple and chokecherry seedlings were found to be suitable host plants for the rearing of nymphs and adults. There was evidence of an overwintering diapause: eggs laid by the second-brood adults did not hatch in the fall.