STRAWBERRY INSECTS 377 



fruit. Among florists it is recognized as a serious enemy of 

 asters, chrysanthemums and (hihUas. 



The adult tarnished phint-})Ug (Fig. 329) is about J inch in 

 length, inconspicuously colored, dull yellowish or greenish 

 mottled with reddish-ljrown. Tlie males are generally much 

 darker than the females. In the North the insect hibernates 

 in the adult state under trash, in stone piles, and along fences ; 

 farther south the older nymphs are said to survive the winter. 

 About the time the buds burst, the adults appear on tender 

 foliage of all sorts, where they feed on the sap. They are very 

 active, taking flight at the shghtest 

 alarm. The female inserts her eggs 

 (Fig. 330) the full length singly or in 

 small groups in punctures in the 

 tender growing tips or in the petioles 

 and veins of the leaves. In late sum- 

 mer eggs are laid in the flower heads t. oo^ ^ . , 



, r^^ , ,, -x 1 X ^^«- 330. — Eggs of the 



ot aster and other composite plants, tarnished plant-bug in posi- 



The egg is a little less than 2V inch Jion in a tender peach tip 



in length, flask-shaped, truncate at the 



outer end, which is provided with a cap. The time required for 



the hatching of the egg is about ten days. 



The yellowish-green nymphs pass through five stages before 

 attaining wings : the first and second stages are unspotted ; the 

 third to fifth are marked with distinct black spots on the thorax 

 and abdomen. The time spent in the nymph state is about 

 one month. There are probably several generations each 

 year, as adults and nymphs of all stages are found from May 

 till heavy frost in the fall. 



The tarnished plant-bug has been found a very difficult 

 insect to control, owing to its wide range of food-plants, which 

 includes such common weeds as golden rod, wild carrot, wild 

 asters and mullein, and to the fact that a large part of the injury 

 is done by the adults which are so shy and active that it is 



