194 MANUAL OF VEGETABLE-GARDEN INSECTS 



Fig. 121. — The tar- 

 nished plant-bug, 

 fifth stage nymph 

 (X6). 



are five nymphal stages, the insect becom- 

 ing mature at the fifth molt. The life cycle 

 requires from twenty-five to thirty days, 

 and there are probably four or five genera- 

 tions annually. 



Most of the injury to cultivated plants 

 is caused by the feeding punctures of the 

 adults, since most of the nymphs are to be 

 found on weeds. In feeding, the bug 

 punctures the plant with the sharp needle- 

 like bristles of its beak and sucks out the 

 juices, at the same time apparently inject- 

 ing some substance poisonous to the tissue. 

 The character of the injury varies with the 

 nature 



of the 

 plant attacked. In the 

 case of potatoes, the in- 

 jury is similar to that 

 produced by several other 

 insects and is known as 

 tip-burn. This is most 

 serious in years of 

 drought. The bugs 

 sometimes puncture bean 

 pods, arresting growth at 

 the point of injury. In 

 the case of beets the 

 punctures cause a curling 

 or kinking of the leaves 

 (Fig. 122) and in severe 

 cases a stunting of the 

 plants. The bugs often 

 attack celery plants that 



Fig. 122. 



Beet leaf kinked by the tarnished 

 plant-bug. 



