280 



INSECTS INFESTING WHEAT. 



CHAPTER CLXXXV. 



The Chinch Bug. 



( Mirraptis leucopttrvs. — Say. ) 



Order, Hemii'tera ; / ,, ., , 

 oil ir c rami V, Ly(;.kid.e. 



[Livinj: upon tlu' stalks of wheat, corn, oats, etc.; a small 

 black bug with white wiiig.s, which lie fiat upon the back and 

 have a black spot on the outer edge of each ; or a yellow, red 

 or gray bug entirely destitute of wings.] 



The female deposits her eggs (Fig. 2()5, a and />,) in the 



ground at the roots of the plants upon which her progeny are 



to feed. These eggs are of a pale amber-white color, elongate 



oval, and one end appears~as if ithad been cut scjuarely off 



and is surmounted by four small rounded tubercles. 



^. „,.^ Fig. 265.— Chinch 



Fis- 265. ° 



Bug Larva, Pupa and 



Eggs; (J, the pupa 

 enlarged — c o 1 o r s ' 

 l)rownish-black and 

 gray ; c, <• and j\ the 

 larva' in di iTere n t 

 stages of t li e i r 

 growth — colors, yel- 

 low or red ; d, one of 

 their feet, enlarged; h and (i. two eggs, highly magnified — 

 color, Avhitish or pale brown ; //, a leg of the adult, enlarged ; 

 j, the foot of the same, still more enlarged; ?', the beak of the 

 adult, highly magnified. 



The young l)Ugs (Fig. '1(\^>, c and (\) are variously marked; 

 some arc yellow, willi an orange stain ui)on each of the three 

 larger abdominal segments; others are reddish, with the two 

 basal abdominal segments ])ale or with a j)ale band across the 

 middle; and still others are of a dingy gray. These insects 

 obtain their nourishment by puncturing the jdants with their 

 beaks and imbiliing the sap; they hibernate in the perfect or 

 winged stage (Fig. 2(>()). 



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