32 SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OF 



met with among the plant-feeders, there are a few of the true Canni- 

 bals that possess it to perfection. Among these I may mention the 

 Spined Soldier-bug (Arma spinosa, Dallas) whose portrait I here re- 

 [Fig. 7.] produce from my First Keport (Fig. 7 h) ; for, as the bit- 

 terest enemy of the Colorado Potato Bug, and conse- 

 quently one of our best friends, he cannot too often be 

 'presented, or become too well known. We can well 

 afford to endure his unpleasant odor, when we duly 

 ^ £ reflect on his kind services. Just think of it, you bit- 



ter bug-haters — this little soldier has, beyond all doubt, saved thou- 

 sands of dollars to the State of Missouri in the last few years, by 

 heroically stabbing and slaying countless hosts of one of your worst 

 enemies! That he should have the bed-buggy odor is not very sur- 

 prising, since he appertains to a large and extensive group, (the Scu- 

 tflhra family) most of the other species belonging to which are plant- 

 feeders. Indeed it is a very general rule, to which I know of but one 

 exception* that the insect in the great Reduvius family among the 

 Half- winged Bugs, every one of which is of carnivorous propensities, 

 never have this peculiarly nauseous aroma; and that it is bestowed 

 only upon certain plant-feeding bugs, to protect them no doubt from 

 their insect foes, in the same manner as the skunk is protected from 

 the eagle by his odoriferous tail. Yet while many of the plant-feed- 

 ing Bugs do have this odor, a good many of them are entirely free 

 from it, and some few of them really smell so agreeably that the fact 

 has been thought worthy to be recorded by entomological writers. 

 Even that detestable pest, already referred to, the common Squash 

 Bug, sometimes emits a pleasant aroma, altogether different from that 

 which it normally gives out; for I have kept this winter, in a separate 

 box, one which emits a most pungent but agreeable smell, very much 

 resembling that of a very ripe, rich pear. But perhaps the most sug- 

 gestive fact of all is that, notwithstanding the close alliance between 

 the two Orders of Half- winged and Whole- winged Bugs, there is not 

 a single known species of the latter that has ever been known to ex- 

 hale the bedbuggy effluvium, which is met with in so many species 

 belonging to the former. 



The Insidious Flower-bug. — First among the insects frequently 

 mistaken for the Chinch Bug, may be mentioned the Insidious Flower- 

 bug {Anthocoris insidious, Say) already referred to under the head of 

 "Cannibal Foes of the Chinch Bug." This little Flower-bug has been 

 usually referred by entomologists to the same extensive group 

 (Lyceus family) as the true Chinch Bug, though more recent authors 

 have placed it in a distinct group on account of its short three-jointed 

 beak. 



The Ash-gray Leaf-Bug. — Second among the Bogus Chinch Bugs 

 may be mentioned the Ash-gray Leaf-bug (Piesma cinerea, Say) a 

 j % f •<— — 



* A shiny black species of Nabis (Sabis marginatu*, Uhler, MS) smells as much like a Bed 

 Bag as the most peaceable Plant-feeder. 



