Rural School Leaflet 



1067 



The squash bug: a, adult; n, nymph 



side of the head is a long, slender beak, which is carried close to the body 

 between the first two pairs of legs. This beak constitutes the mouth 

 parts of the bug, and makes it, there- 

 fore, a sucking insect. 



The beak has a deep groove on the 

 upper side. Lying in this groove are 

 four tiny, threadlike bodies. These 

 have fine, sawlike teeth at their free 

 ends, and are used by the insect to 

 puncture a leaf or a stem. The juice 

 of the plant is then drawn into the 

 mouth of the insect. 



Story of its life. — The full-grown 

 bugs hide in the fall beneath stones, 

 boards, leaves, and any rubbish that 



they may find. In spring they come from their hiding places and begin 

 their search for squash vines. When they find the plants, they soon 

 commence to lay their brown eggs on the underside of the leaves, and 

 sometimes on the upper side also. Occasionally the eggs are laid in 

 regular rows, as shown in the illustration. In from eight to twelve days 

 small green and black bugs hatch from the eggs. They are somewhat like 

 the full-grown bugs, but without wings and with long legs. They are 

 called nymphs, and each one has a beak with which it punctures the leaf 

 and sucks out the juices. The nymphs grow and shed their skins five 

 times before they become adults. More than a month is usually required 

 for the bug to reach full size. 



Injury and control. — The squash bug punctures the leaf, sucks 



out the juice, and injects into the leaf a 

 poison that kills the cells and causes the 

 leaf to turn brown and wilt. It also 

 carries a disease from one vine to an- 

 other that may cause the death of the 

 plants. 



Poisons will not kill the bugs, but early in 

 the spring one shoiild keep a sharp lookout 

 for the adult bugs and catch them by hand 

 before they lay their eggs. A little later the 

 eggs may also be destroyed. 



The bugs may be trapped under pieces of 

 boards, bark, or shingles laid on the ground. 

 The bugs will crawl under these for shelter, and there they may be caught 

 and killed. 



~ir-: 



-Egg-S of a squash bug on a leaf 



