THE MONTHIjY bulletin. 



149 



Life History. — The winter is passed in hibernation by the adult 

 insects. The eggs are laid into the grass sheaths or upon the stems 

 above or below the ground in the early spring, several hundred being 

 laid by each female. They hatch in a very short 

 time and the young begin work immediately, 

 collecting in dense colonies and doing great 

 damage. They moult four times before full 

 grown, there being two generations each year. 

 The insects migrate very quickly when food 

 becomes scarce in any locality. 



Distribution. — The writer has been informed 

 by Mr. John Isaacs, former secretary of the 

 State Commission of Horticulture, that the 

 chinch bug has been present in the central part 

 of the State for over twenty years, but during 

 all that time it has not become a serious pest in 

 a single locality. 



Food Plants. — This insect feeds upon grains, 

 grasses and corn. The destruction by it has been exceedingly great in 

 the Middle States. 



Natural Enemies. — A fungous disease works upon the chinch bug 

 during wet w^eather and while it does great execution, it is not au 

 important controlling factor. 



Fig. 131. — Adult fe- 

 male of the chinch 

 bug, Blissiis leucopte- 

 rus Say. (After Ri- 

 ley.) 



THE FALSE CHINCH BUG. 



JS'i/siiis aiujiistatus Uhl. (Family Lygseidse). 

 (Fig. 132.) 



General Appearance. — The adults are very small grayish-brown 

 bugs, about one eighth of an inch long. The young are somewhat lighter 

 in color, having reddish-brown abdomens and lacking wings. The legs 

 and antennse appear very long and are dark. 



Life History. — The eggs are deposited in the spring and early sum- 

 mer by the adults which have 

 hibernated during the win- 

 ter. The young are dull 

 gray or brownish-red, and 

 collect in great numbers 

 upon the host plants. The 

 life cycle is short, there 

 being many successive broods 



Fig. 132. — The false chinch bug (Nysius an- each year. 

 gustatus). a, potato leaf showing work; ta, 



nymph; c, adult. (After Riley.) Distribution.— Throughout 



the entire State. One of the commonest destructive insects. 



Food Plants. — Many plants are seriously attacked, particular dam- 

 age being done to grapevines, lettuce, potatoes, strawberries, grasses. 



