78 SQUASH-BUG FAMILY. 
Say), illustrated on Plate II.Fig.70. It was described in a former 
report which is now entirely out of print, and as there is a con- 
stant demand for information about this insect, the article is 
repeated. = 
Leptocorisa trivittata Say. (The Box elder Bug). 
There are few insects that have created such a sensation, 
such a fear, as the above bug during the last four years in Minne- 
sota. Early in September, and all through October and the 
early part of November, the letter carrier never failed to bring 
his daily ration of letters asking for information in regard to it. 
Packages of all kinds arrived at the office of the entomologist 
and almost invariably contained specimens of this brightly colored 
insect. Some writers feared that these bugs might be an im- 
proved breed, an enlarged edition of the chinch-bugs; others 
complained by stating that bed-bugs were bad enough, and that 
they did not care for an addition of domestic insects so much 
larger than those cultivated before. This fall such inquiries were 
so numerous that it was deemed best to publish articles about 
this insect in most of the daily papers and thus to allay to some 
extent all exaggerated fears. The insect is not as bad as its 
long scientific name would indicate; in fact such long names are 
only of a threatening aspect to people who have not studied any 
branch of natural history. It is frequently asserted that the 
smallest animals have the longest names; this is not so, how- 
ever, as some larger ones are distinguished by names that are 
long in proportion to their size. Scientific names are a necessity, 
though they may appear an evil to some persons. 
The Box elder Bug has indeed so suddenly increased in 
numbers in our state that most people claim that they were only 
recently introduced. This is not the case, however, as they are 
old settlers, older than any member of the “Early Settlers’ Asso- 
ciation.” But they have not forced themselves upon the atten- 
tion of our citizens until during the last few years. Their rapid 
increase, or rather the reason that they are at present noticed 
so much more frequently, is owing to the fact that the box elder 
is now grown more commonly along our streets in cities and 
towns than formerly. Being a very hardy tree, one of the best 
adapted for villages in the open prairies, they are there most 
