HEMIPTERA 



105 



yellowish color. The colonies of red nymphs may be brushed off into pans 

 of kerosene or the bugs may be trapped in the fall under and on heaps 

 of cotton seeds placed here and there in the field and then destroyed. 



The bordered plant-bug, Enryophthal- 

 rnus succinctus, is probably the most widely 

 distributed species of this family. It is 

 found from New Jersey to Mexico. It is 

 brownish-black with the sides of the pro- 

 thorax margined with orange or red. It has, 

 under certain conditions, become injurious 

 to cotton. 



Fig. 171. — Hemelytron of Euryophthalmus suc- 

 cinctus. 



Fig. 172. — Dysdercus su- 



lurellus. 



Family Lyg.^eid^ 

 The Chinch-bug Family 



This, too, is a large family, about two hundred species being known to 

 occur in the United States. Here the membrane of the wing-covers is 

 furnished with four or five simple 

 veins, which arise from the base of 

 the membrane; sometimes the two 

 inner veins are joined to a cell near 

 the base (Fig. 173). 



This family contains the chinch- 

 bug, BllSSUS leucopterus, the most FiG.173— Hemelytron of Ly S *«s. 



destructive member of the family occurring in the United States. Al- 

 though quite widely distributed, its injuries have attracted 

 most attention in the Mississippi Valley, where it has de- 

 stroyed many million dollars' worth of grain. It is a small 

 bug, measuring less than one-sixth of an inch in length. 

 It is blackish in color, with snowy-white wing-covers, each 

 marked with a dark spot and Y-shaped line, as shown in 

 the Figure 174. The species is dimorphic, there being a 

 short-winged form. 



There are two generations of the chinch-bug each year; they winter 

 as full-grown insects and hide in stools of grasses. In the early spring 

 they come forth and lay their eggs in fields of grain upon the roots or 

 stems beneath the ground. The eggs hatch in about two weeks. The 

 nymphs are red, and feed at first upon roots; afterwards they attack the 

 stalks of the plants they infest. In about 45 days they get their growth. 

 About this time the whole brood starts out to find new pastures, and 

 they all march on foot in one direction, like an army. Although they are 

 tiny insects they number millions, and so attract much attention. As 

 soon as they find a new field of grain they lay their eggs for another brood. 



