300 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



They shun to a great extent the low places that are liable to become 

 flooded or become excessively damp. 



During the winter these insects remain in a dormant condition in 

 these sheltered, protected and more or less dry places, and may be readily 

 found during the winter in great numbers by the ordinary farmer, if he 

 will take the trouble to turn over the rubbish near the groun'I in the 

 places I have mentioned. These insects, however, will become more or 

 less active and sometimes crawl about during warm days that ojour at 

 frequent intervals during our winters here in Missouri. No amount of 

 cold seems to affect the insects whatever; at least 30 degrees below zero 

 has no terror for them, that temperature having been reached in Mis- 

 souri. In some of the northern states they have been known to withstand 

 40 degrees below zero without any apparent inconvenience. They seem 

 to stand continuous cold weather better than they can the rapid changes 

 in temperature, from extreme cold to comparative warm, spring-like 

 weather and then suddenly turning cold again, as usually happens during 

 our Missouri winters. Those immature chinch bugs that go into winter 

 quarters probably perish from the alternate cold and warm weather as 

 well as from dampness. It appears that the immature insects especially 

 cannot endure any great amount of moisture. They seem to have an in- 

 stinct that teaches them to seek dry places, and the shocks of corn that 

 are so common in this State afford the very best places for these insects 

 to collect in the fall and hibernate during the winter. It is no uncommon 

 thing to see thousands of these chinch bugs under a single shock. 



THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE CHINCH BUG. 



In the spring, as soon as settled warm weather appears and the 

 grass begins to grow, the adult chinch bugs that have passed the winter 

 come forth from their hiding places and fly about in search of suitable 

 food. In some springs the insects at this time are so numerous that they 

 attract a great deal of attention from people in the towns by alighting 

 upon them, sometimes by the dozens, especially is this the case if they 

 chance to drive out into the country a little ways. It appears that, in Mis- 

 souri at least, this is the great migrating season, a season in which the 

 chinch bugs seems to scatter over vast areas and cover greater distances 

 than is the case with the fall migration just previous to their seeking winter 

 quarters. Of course, a great many of these chinch bugs do a great deal 

 of crawling instead of flying, but it has been my observation that the 

 vast majority of chinch bugs coming out in the spring from their winter 

 quarters fly instead of crawl : while the migration in the fall is, to a very 

 large extent, confined to crawling instead of flying. After the insects 



