PROCEEDINGS, 1918 77 



feeding punctures of both adults and nymphs. These were 

 most numerous on the flower heads themselves, but were 

 likewise distributed over the plants including the leaf petioles. 

 In severe cases the final result of the injury was the general 

 wilting and final death of the affected plants. 



From the foregoing, it will be seen that Lygus campestris 

 is capable of doing considerable damage under certain condi- 

 tions. It is also evident, from the scant space which has been 

 devoted to it in the literature of economic entomology, that this 

 is very rarely the case. 



Life History. 



The adults first appear about Truro during the latter part 

 of June and throughout July. Dissections of the first appear- 

 ing females show that the eggs are not mature at this time. A 

 week or more after this, however, we find eggs being deposited, 

 the place chosen for this being the small stalks bearing the 

 flower heads. These stalks are ribbed longitudinally and it is 

 in the small grooves between these ribs that the eggs are laid. A 

 slight swelling marks the spot and only the cap is exposed, pro- 

 truding slightly from or just flush with, the surface. 



In a few days the eggs hatch and the small yellowish 

 nymphs move rapidly over the plants, inserting their beaks in 

 the skin and sucking up the juice. The nymph moults five 

 times, the entire duration of the nymphal stage being between 

 four and five weeks. The details for seven individuals reared 

 from the time of hatching until the adult stage was reached, 

 are shown in the accompanying table. 



The adults do not remain active long, but seek a suitable 

 shelter for winter quarters, there to remain until the following 

 spring. 



Description of Life Stages 



Egg. The egg is cylindrical, but curving slightly. Con- 

 stricted near broadened and flattened apex into a broad neck 

 which is surmounted by a narrow collar somewhat wider than 

 the neck. Base rounded, margins at centre, slightly swollen. 

 Chorion, delicate, translucent, shiny, minutely reticulated. 

 Collar, whitish, opaque. General color, yellowish white, trans- 

 lucent. 



First Instar. Body, long, narrow. Narrowest at caudal 

 margin of prothorax. Widest at third abdominal segment. 

 Head, more or less triangular, rounded at apex. Beak, extend- 

 ing the entire length of thorax. Antennae, short and stout, 



