m 



HEMIPTERA. 1 45 



fact and leave such bugs alone. But it is to members of 

 this family that the expressive name given above is com- 

 monly applied. 



This nauseous odor is caused by a fluid which is excreted 

 through two openings, one on each side of the lower side of 

 the body near the middle coxae. 



In this family the antennae are five-jointed ; the scu- 

 tellum, although large, is less than half as long as the abdo. 

 men ; and the front legs are not fitted for digging 

 (Fig. 178). 



Some species of this family feed upon other 

 insects, and so are very helpful to the farmer, one 

 species especially being a gallant fighter against 

 the potato-beetle. Other species feed entirely 

 upon vegetables, while others live upon both F'|- in ^ 7 ^~ A 

 vegetable and animal matter. 



The Harlequin Cabbage-bug or Calico-back, Murgantia 

 kistronica (Mur-gan'ti-a his-tron'i-ca), is very destructive to 

 cabbages, radishes, and turnips in the Southern States and 

 on the Pacific coast. It is black with bands, stripes, and 

 margins of red or orange or yellow. The full-grown bugs 

 live through the winter, and in the early spring each female 

 lays on the under surface of the young leaves about twelve 

 eggs in two parallel rows. The young bugs are pale green, 

 with black spots. They mature in a few days, so there are 

 many generations in one season. It is difficult to find a 

 remedy for this pest, but much can be done by placing 

 cabbage and turnip leaves on the ground in early spring, 

 and thus trapping them when they first come out of their 

 winter quarters. 



Family CVDNID^: (Cyd'ni-dae). 

 The Bur rower-bugs. 



These are oval, rounded, or elliptical bugs, with five- 

 jointed antennae ; with the scutellum large, but less than 



