CRASPEDOLEPTA EAS - DISTRIBUTION, HOSTS, AND HABITS OF A PHLOX SPECIALIST (HOMOPTERA, PSYLLOIDEA, APHALARIDAE)

Craspedolepta eas (McAtee), a psyllid known previously from Maryland a nd unrecorded since its description in 1918, is newly reported from Il linois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, and an ad ditional Maryland record is given. Phlox divaricata, P. stolonifera, a nd P. subulata are cited as the first host plant records of C. eas and the first members of the Polemoniaceae to serve as hosts of a Nearcti c psylloid. This early-season, univoltine species is sometimes common on P. subulata in shale barrens and on shale outcrops, developing on h ost stems at or near ground level. Nymphs overwinter at the base of ph lox plants, adults begin to appear by early to mid-April, and they usu ally are present only until mid- to late May. Recognition features and a photograph of the adult are presented.