122 MANUAL OF V EC, ET A BLE-GARDEN INSECTS 



brown, cylindrical and flattened at each end and on the side 

 of attachment. The eggs hatch in a few days and the young 

 nymphs may be found sucking the juices from the plant. 

 The nymphs are more reddish than the adults and do not 

 acquire the leaf-like expansion on the hind legs until nearly 

 mature. They become full-grown in about three weeks, pass- 

 ing through five stages in the course of their development. 



INIost of the injury to cultivated plants is inflicted by the 

 adults, the nymphs being usually found only on yellow thistle. 

 They puncture the stems of cucumber, melon and asparagus, 

 causing them to wilt and die. The tender growing tips of 

 tomato, potato, pea and bean are injured in a similar way and 

 the bugs sometimes attack the fruit of tomato. In Louisiana 

 the insect has been reported as a serious pest of the globe arti- 

 choke. The bugs also puncture the bolls of cotton and are 

 injurious to pepper. 



Control. 



In the small garden, hand-picking the bugs in the morning 

 while they are sluggish is probably the most practical method 

 of controlling the pest. Since the insect breeds largely on the 

 yellow thistle, this weed should not be allowed to grow in 

 abundance in the vicinity of susceptible crops. In some cases 

 it might be advisable to leave a few thistles as a trap crop on 

 which the adults will congregate and where they may be 

 destroyed. 



The Northern Leaf-Footed Plant-Bug 



Leytoglossus oppositus Say 



From New Jersey to Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and 

 southward, squash, cucumber, melon and tomato are occa- 

 sionally attacked by a leaf-footed i)lant-bug closely related to 

 the species last treated. The northern form is slightly larger 



