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162 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 
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* CLARKE COUNTY.—Potatoes damaged by a long striped bug. 
CLINTON CountTy.—Flying potato-bugs threaten late potatoes. The Spanish | 
is very destructive to the potato crop. 
Henry County.—Potatoes have been badly eaten by the long striped bug. 
J meses CountTy.—A new species of potato-bug has appeared, but as yet no dam- 
age done. J 
ae OHNSON CountTy.—We have Colorado and two kinds of long bug, the latter — i 
headed off by Paris green. Army bugs are very bad on potatoes and corn. Colo- 
rado beetles appeared in small numbers and needed no attention, but the flying — s 
variety are extremely numerous and doing great damage to potato crop. bs Ale 
MonTGOMERY CouNnTY.—A new variety of potato-bugs has appeared, doing great ar 
damage. They made their appearance June 8. and are equally destructive as the 
Colorado and far more difficult to destroy. : are 
Many complaints have come to me that these Blister Beetles can not be killed 
’ with Paris green or London purple. This, I think, must be due to the insects travel- ps 
ing about so much, and thus leaving places that have been poisoned for their benefit. 
If care is taken to spray the whole patch, and especially parts not invaded by the 
pest, the result would, 1 think, be much more satisfactory. ' It should be remembered, 
too, that especially with London purple effects are not to be noted for from twenty- 
four to forty-eight hours after application. It should of course be remembered 
that in the larval stage these insects are beneficial, so that where they become de- 
structive to some valuable crop, should they be destroyed ? 
THE FALSE CHINCH-BUG. 
(Nysius angustatus, Ubler.) 
The life history of this species, so far as I can find and as I have been informed 
by Professor Riley, who desired especial observations on the unknown points, has 
never been fully stated in that no record of the eggs or their place of deposition has 
been published. 
_ As the species has been quite abundant here I undertook to determine this point, 
and in July, when adults were plenty and copulating, 1 made careful search in the 
eround around roots and among tbe leaves and blossoms of the common trailing 
Amaranth (Amarantus blitoides) where the insects were most abundant. My search 
was rewarded July 19 by the finding among blossoms of an egg which seemed reason- 
ably certain to be the one sought, and careful comparison with eggs dissected from 
gravid females proved them to be identical. 
The egg is slender, cylindrical, yellow, irregularly wrinkled, and tapering slightly 
at both ends. The smaller end is orangered. Evidently this is the head end and 
the orange-red color due to the eyes in process of formation. In eggs from dissected 
females this color is more diffused and less conspicuous. While eggs may doubtless 
be deposited elsewhere than upon the Amaranth this may with certainty be stated 
as one of the places of deposition, and in this locality this weed appears to be the 
chief food plant of the species. The cases recorded by Professor Riley, however 
(Mo. Rept., V, pp. 111-113), show that it may at times prove a serious pest. Where 
their destruction is desired it is evident that collecting and destroying the Amaranth 
during and after the time of egg deposition would be a preventive measure easy to 
apply. 
a few pupeze and numerous adults,some of them copulating, were observed No- 
vember 15. Probably these adults winter over to deposit eggs in the spring. I have 
not, however, seen the adult in the early spring. As the spring brood does not ma- 
ture till July, and as observations have failed tp show any brood maturing between 
this and late in fall we may consider that for this locality only two broods are 
produced annualiy. 
On July 14 (evening) I took a number of examples and noted many others that 
had flown to lights in my house, passing through the mosquito netting that covered 
the windows. 
be NOTES ON MISCELLANEOUS INSECTS. 
Crepidodera helxines was quite abundant in May and caused considerable damage 
to the leaves of Poplar and Laurel-leaf Willow. Disonycha abbreviata was found 
upon seedling plants of Hleagnus, and I was informed that it was seen eating the 
leaves. The plants were considerably damaged and no other insect likely to do the 
damage was present. None were seen after May 20, and no further damage to 
the plants was observed. Haltica ch dlybea was observed here for the first time on 
grapes. Adults were seen May 18 and larvee appeared in June, but no serious dam- 
age resulted here. Farther south in the State they caused serious injury. 
