INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY 423 



Parsnip, mint, sage, rose, deutzia, dahlia, and others are often 

 badly injured. The species has been observed from Canada to 

 Georgia and westward to the Dakotas, so that it is probably 

 generally distributed east of the Rockies. 



Life History. The nymphs hatch from the overwintering eggs 

 in late May and early June and are very largely responsible 

 for the injury to the foliage. The newly hatched nymph is only 

 about one-twentieth 

 inch long, but is easily 

 recognized by the shin- 

 ino: vermilion-red color 

 of the body, marked 

 with large blackish 

 spots on the thorax and 

 with greenish-black 

 antennae and legs. The 

 nymphs grow rapidly, 

 becoming full grown in 

 seventeen to twenty 

 days after hatching, 

 during which time they 

 have molted five times. 

 The full-grown nymph 

 is about one-fifth inch 

 long, bright orange 

 yellow, and the black 

 wing-pads extend half 

 way to the end of the FIG. 356. Currant leaf spotted by the nymphs 



of the four-lined leaf-bug. (After Slingerland.) 

 abdomen and bear a 



yellowish green stripe near the outer margin. The nymphs feed 

 on the tenderest young leaves, sucking out the juices and soft 

 tissue through their tiny beaks, and thus causing the spots 

 mentioned. "As the nymphs increase in size the spots are a little 

 larger and more numerous, until not only hundreds occur on a 

 single leaf, but often nearly all the parenchyma is taken from 

 the leaf." The nymphs are very active and dart from one side 

 of the leaf to the other when disturbed. The adult bugs appear 

 about the middle of June and are active for a month or more, when 

 they disappear. They mate and the females commence to lay 



