The Apache cicada, Diceroprocta apache (Davis), prior to 1961 was not an economically important pest of dates. Loss of a high percentage of the date crop during 1961 in one area of southern California was directly attributed to the oviposition habits of this cicada. Date strands are used as one of the types of sites for egg laying, and under certain conditions oviposition punctures girdle and obstruct the flow of sap in the strand, causing the dates to shrivel, dry up, and fall to the ground. Paper bunch covers, normally used by growers to protect ripening dates from rain and birds, were placed over the bunches prior to initial oviposition in a series of tests. These covers gave complete protection from cicada-induced fruit loss.