The Leaf- Bug 



tender new growth of leaves for from two to three weeks, 

 undergoing five molts. The adult bugs appear early in June, and 

 often spread to the different surrounding plants. Egg-laying 

 begins in the latter part of June ; the adults disappear in July, 

 and, as above stated, the insect hibernates in the egg stage. 

 There is only one generation each year in New York, but in the 

 southern states there are more. The young insect when 

 first hatched from the egg is of a shining vermilion color, marked 

 with large blackish spots on the thorax. The antennoe and legs 



Fig. 194. — Poecilocapsus lineatus Fab. : a, adult ; 6, c, immature. (After Lugger.) 

 Eggs. (After Slingerland.) 



are of a greenish-black color. The red color is retained until the 

 last stage before the adult is reached, then the large black spots on 

 the thorax seem to mark the beginning of wing pads, which have 

 gradually become more and more apparent after each molt, in 

 the adult insect a radical change in color is found. The general 

 color is bright orange-yellow; the legs and the wing covers are 

 of dark apple-green, but the wing covers and the thorax are' 

 marked with four black stripes. 



This life history was first worked out by Professor Slinger- 

 land, of Cornell University. 



303 



