and chinch bugs of all ages, sizes, and colors are found intermingled. 

 By August the majority of the first generation have reached the adult 

 stage, at which time the eggs are deposited for the second generation, 

 which hatches and matures like tlie previous one, nearly all indi- 

 viduals reaching their full development by late fall or early winter. 



In the eastern portion of the country, where the short-winged form 

 prevails, it is doubtfid if there is more than a single generation annu- 

 ally. This short-winged form differs very much in its habits from the 

 long-winged form, the first passing the winter in the meadows, which 

 it usually attacks in preference to grain crops, while with the long- 

 winged form, during the period known as the Indian summer, the 

 developed bugs may be observed flying about, evidently searching 

 for winter quarters. With the short-winged form these migrations 

 to and from the places of hibernation are impossible, the insects being 

 totally incapable of flying because of their short wings. A hint of 

 this characteristic may be witnessed in the case of the exclusively 

 long-winged form, for in migrating from one field to another, even 

 though fully half of the individuals may have fully developed wings, 

 ample for flight, they often travel on foot with the young, even going 

 considerable distances from one field to another. 



Throughout the Middle West, then, where this insect does its great- 

 est injury, the crops suffer from two attacks annually, although the 

 later one is seldom noticed. It must be remembered, however, that, 

 although attracting little or no attention, this later attack is of the 

 utmost importance, for, if there are but few of the second generation 

 developing to adults, there can be no serious outbreak the following 

 spring. If, on the other hand, there are enormous numbers of adults 

 developing in the fall and going into winter quarters, there is a proba- 

 bility that, with weather during April and May favorable for their 

 development, there will be an excessive abundance the following 3'ear. 



It must be remembered that each female of the species is capable 

 of laying from 1 to 500 eggs, and she will scatter them during a period 

 of from two to three weeks. The time required for the eggs to hatch 

 is from about ten days to three weeks, and it requires about forty days 

 for the young to become fully developed after hatching from the egg. 



HIBERNATION. 



"WTiile the matter of winter quarters has been previously mentioned 

 in a general way, the winter habit of the pest is of such importance 

 that this phase of its life history is deserving of full explanation. 

 Again and again serious and destructive outbreaks of the pest in wheat 

 fields have been traced directly to the influence of shocks of corn 

 fodder allowed to stand in the fields throughout the winter. The 

 chinch bugs which flocked to these corn shocks the previous autumn 



[Cir. 11.3] 



