INJURIOUS TO CABBAGE AND RELATED CROPS 43 



shells till after the first molt. They are about xV i"<^'h in length, 

 with the head and thorax brownish blaek and the abdomen marked 

 with transverse black and light blue bands. In the course of its 

 development the insect passes through five nymphal stages and 

 acquires wings at the fifth molt. In the fifth stage the nymph 

 is nearly ^ inch in length, with the head and thorax blackish 

 marked with orange-yellow ; the abdomen is yellowish green. 

 The nymphs require from seven to ten weeks to reach maturity 

 and adults of the new brood begin to appear the last of July, 

 but some of the nymphs do not reach maturity until the first of 

 October. There is only one generation annually. 



A closely related species, Nezara mridula Linnseus, is some- 

 times injurious to cabbage in the southern states. The plants 

 are injured in much the same way as by the harlequin cab- 

 bage bug. The adults so closely resemble those of A. hilaris 

 that they are distinguished with difficulty. The most striking 

 difference is that in the former there is a distinct, small black 

 spot on the hind outer corner of the exposed part of each ab- 

 dominal segment. In the latter these spots are very small and 

 inconspicuous. The insect ranges from Virginia to Texas and 

 northward to Indiana. It has also been reported as injuring 

 tomato, sweet potato, okra, pepper, cotton and orange. 



No satisfactory method for the control of the green soldier- 

 bugs, other than hand-picking, has been suggested. 



Reference 

 Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 310. 1917. 



The Cabbage Leaf-Miners 



There are three species of flies, the maggots of which develop 

 within the leaves of cruciferous plants, producing large whitish 

 blotched mines. 



