332 INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



they had been swept by fire; hence the name " fire-bug." A 

 half-dozen of the adult bugs will destroy a small plant in a day 

 or two, and as they frequently appear in enormous numbers and 

 as they multiply rapidly, unless they are fought vigorously they 

 will soon destroy a large patch of cabbage. 



Life History. The adults hibernate over winter in old cabbage 

 stumps and under the leaves and other rubbish left on the field, 

 and emerge early the next spring. In South Texas they may 

 be found at work nearly all winter, being common in February 

 and March; in North Carolina they appear about April 1st, and in 

 Maryland about May 1st. The eggs of the first generation are 

 deposited mostly on kale, wild mustard or other wild cruciferse, 

 each female laying about 100. They are placed in a double 

 row of about a dozen and are white, marked with two black bands 

 and a small spot, which makes them look like small white barrels 

 with black hoops. The eggs of the spring generation hatch in 

 about ten days, and the nymphs feed upon the cabbage for from 

 six to nine weeks before becoming full grown in North Carolina 

 and the District of Columbia, while in the Gulf States the eggs 

 hatch in four to eight days and the nymphs become full grown 

 in three or four weeks, the development of these stages being 

 determined by the temperature. The nymphs are much like 

 the adults in coloration, though differently marked and lacking 

 wings. They molt five times, some of the different stages being 

 shown in the figure. From North Carolina northward there 

 seem to be but three generations of the insect. The summer 

 generation develops more rapidly, the eggs hatching in four or 

 five days, but the fall generation requires about the same time as 

 in spring. In midsummer the whole life cycle may be passed in 

 about two weeks in the Gulf States, according to various author- 

 ities, so that there may be a half dozen generations, though the 

 exact life history does not seem to have been observed there. 



Control. This is an exceedingly difficult pest to combat after 

 it has become numerous in the cabbage patch, so that every effort 

 should be made to prevent its appearance. As it hibernates under 

 old stalks and leaves it is obvious that they should be cleaned up 

 and the field plowed as soon as the crop is harvested. By leaving 

 a few piles of stalks, leaves and rubbish, the bugs might be concen- 

 trated and then destroyed. 



