8 MISCELLANEOUS KESULTS OF WOKK OF BUREAU— IX. 



the seed or fruit, thus accomplishing a maxiimiin of damage. Under 

 another heading the ^Yriter has referred to the destruction of peas 

 and beans in Western Texas, not far from Barstow, by the grain 

 bug. Among other cases on record which give further evidence of 

 the losses pentatomid bugs ma}^ cause by their attacks on vegetables 

 is one quoted by H. G. Hubbard " from the report of a Florida 

 correspondent on his experience with a species commonly called the 

 green tree bug {Nezara liilaris Say). According to the report, this 

 species . attacked cowpea vines before any seed was developed and 

 completel}' ruined 35 acres of this crop, so that no good seed was 

 obtained. A garden crop of tomatoes was also reported to have been 

 entirely destroyed, the ground under the vines being almost covered 

 by the fallen fruit. The injured fruit was described as reddish- 

 3'ellow in color at the point punctured, and when cut was found to 

 be '* full of lumps and totall}' devoid of flavor." These records of 

 the damage by other pentatomid bugs to general garden crops show 

 the extent to which the conchuela is capable of allecting these crops 

 Avhen they are grown on a more extensive scale than Avas the case at 

 Barstow at the time the observations recorded in this paper were 

 made. 



OTHER FOOD PLANTS.' 



The principal natural food j^lants of the conchuela are the mesquite 

 and related leguminous plants, the beans being the object of attack. 

 It would require more than one season's observations to determine 

 how important is the connection between the abundance of mesquite 

 beans and the abundance of the insects on cultivated plants. It is 

 presumable that during the period when the insects are multij)l3ang 

 most rapidly the abundance of rich food such as the mesquite bean 

 provides is an important factor in determining the amount of subse- 

 quent injury to crops. At Barstow, in addition to the mesquite and 

 the crops which have been separately discussed, the conchuela has 

 been found feeding on the fruit of peppers, on squash vines, and on 

 the leaves of yucca. It has also been reported on good authority to 

 have been observed in considerable numbers on corn, and the writer 

 has in Mexico found egg batches of this species attached to the green 

 leaves of corn. In general, the species may be said to be almost 

 omnivorous, showing a preference, however, for fruits and seeds. 



SEASONAL HISTORY. 



The multiplication of the conchuela in western Texas seems to fol- 

 low the same course as has been observed in northern Mexico; in 

 other words, the maximum number is reached between the middle and 



a Report on Insects Affecting ^ the Orange. Div. Eut., U. S. Dept. Agric, p. 

 IGO, 1885. 



