Lygaeidae 301 



this species have also been found on a seed pod of velvet leaf, Abutilon 

 theophrasti, and the young have been reared through to the 5th instar 

 on this plant. Two successive generations have been reared in the 

 summer. The insect has been reared from adult to adult in 17 days. 

 The adult life is comparatively long, one adult female having been kept 

 in confinement for 50 days. 



The writer has had difficulty in getting Corizus sidae to thrive on 

 Sida, though it has been seen to feed on this plant when confined. It 

 has been found as nymph and adult on the seed pods of velvet leaf, 

 Abutilon theophrasti. Furthermore, the eggs have been laid on this 

 plant in the laboratory and the nymphs reared through two instars before 

 the cold weather put an end to the food supply. C. sidae has not been 

 reared through its complete life cycle. Eggs were obtained from con- 

 fined adults kept in a warm room during late October and early Novem- 

 ber. These eggs hatched in from 10 to n days, but probably would 

 have hatched in a shorter time out-of-doors in the summer. 



These rearings were conducted at Lawrence, Kansas, during late 

 August and early September when the temperature was high, reaching 

 the high eighties and nineties during the middle of the day. The insects 

 were reared in an outdoor insectary, confined in glass stender dishes, 

 and fed daily with pieces of the food plant.* 



M. E. D. 



Family 



LYGAEIDAE 



LYGAEIDAE 



F. M. Wadley, U. S. Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine 



THE chinch bug, Blissus leucopterus, has given considerable difficulty 

 in rearing. Cages must be tight because of the insect's habit of 

 crowding itself into any possible crack. Humidity seems important 

 with younger stages; very dry conditions are unfavorable, and free 

 water causes bugs to stick to the cage. The species thrives at ordinary 

 summer temperatures, but not under cool conditions. The chinch bug 

 may be reared on bits of fresh food-plant put in daily, growing plants 

 not being absolutely necessary. Seedlings of corn, wheat, and sorghum 

 have been used with success ; corn has a greater tendency than the others 

 to cause free water in the cages. Bits of crab-grass stalks have also been 

 used, but are less desirable. 



♦Editor's Note: J. C. Hambleton, U. S. Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine. 

 reported in Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 2:272, 1909, that several broods of Corizus lateralis 

 were reared to maturity on blossoms and young seed of Polygonum persicaria and on P. 

 pennsylvanicum. Eggs were deposited on the latter. The adult forms fed freely on these 

 plants in captivity. M. E. D. 



