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REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. OL 
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‘and in other ways. The experiments of the year have been continued 
ou the lines suggested in my last report, ae the agent in charge sub- 
mits in his report the results of his investigations of two important 
_ bee diseases, and continues his account of experiments on the control 
_ of reproduction. 
+ The colored plates accompanying the report were drawn and col. 
- ored by Miss Sullivan, under Mr. Howard’s supervision. 
Respectfully submitted, January 30, 1888. 
. C. V. RIuey, 
Entomologist. 
‘Hon. Norman J. Coumay, 
Commessioner. 
THE CHINCH-BUG. 
(Blissus leucopterus, Say.) 
Order HemiptERA; family LyG#IpA, 
[Plates I and III.] 
By L. O. HOWARD, Assistant. 
INTRODUCTORY. 
The present treatment of the Chinch Bug offers little scope for 
anything new or original. It is an extremely destructive species, 
which has been exhaustively treated by former writers, and which, 
after several years of comparative scarcity, has again become very 
injurious, so much so as to occasion the loss of millions of dollars 
during the present season and to cali forth the greatest variety of 
comment from the press of the country, agricultural or otherwise. 
In this emergency it happens that there are no public documents for 
distribution and even no books which can be purchased which treat 
of the life history of and remedies for this pest. The State reports 
of Riley and LeBaron are out of print; the small edition of Bulletin 
5 of the U.8. Entomological Commission, by Dr. Thomas, was long 
since exhausted, and the recent bulletin and circular by Forbes treat 
almost solely of remedies. 
It becomes necessary, therefore, to bring out once more a complete 
review of the subject; and in the accessible form of this report, 
375,000 copies of which are printed, it will undoubtedly receive wide 
distribution. Previous writings, particularly those of Riley, are 
freely used, and in many instances the well-known Missouri reports 
of my chief are quoted at length. Professor Riley’s scraps and notes, 
as also the notes in the Division of Entomology, have been at my 
disposal. 
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PAST HISTORY. 
It has been quite generally accepted,that the Chinch Bug is, com- 
paratively speaking, a Southern rather than a Northern insect, and 
_in so far as the matter of destructive appearances goes this idea is 
_ well upheld by its past history. In our section upon geographical 
, distribution, however, we have shown that the species is by no means 
confined to the more Southern States, but that it is often found north 
