TARNISHED PLANT-BUG 



one-fifth of an inch long. It varies somewhat in color from a dark- 

 brown to a greenish- or yellowish-brown, the male being generally 

 darker than the female. The head is yellowish, with three narrow, 

 reddish stripes on top. The beak is about one-third as long as the 

 body, folded underneath the insect when not in use. The thorax 

 is yellow, margined with several yellowish lines running length- 

 wise. Upon the thorax is a yellow V-shaped mark. The wings are 

 a dusky brown; and the legs are a dull yellow (Fig. 107). The 

 young bugs or nymphs resemble their parents, but they lack wings 

 and are more or less greenish in color. 



The female deposits her eggs on leaves in the early spring, and 

 later both young and old bugs are found together. The winter is 



FIG. 106. Apple leaf hopper: 1, 2, 

 3, nymphs; 4, adult. 



FIG. 107. The tarnished 

 plant bug. (Lugger.) 



passed in the adult stage among rubbish, etc. There may be two 

 or three generations of this insect. 



Injury. This destructive bug attacks most garden plants, 

 small fruits, tender shoots of fruit trees, nearly all of the flowering 

 plants, and many weeds. It also punctures the young fruit of 

 strawberries. Development is arrested when the bug sucks the sap. 



Control. Contact insecticides, such as tobacco extracts, soap 

 solutions, etc., are used for the young nymphs. The adults are too 

 active for effective treatment and, being sucking insects, are not 

 affected by arsenical poisons. Clean cultivation and complete 

 cleaning up of all rubbish and crop remnants are suggested. 

 When the adults are plentiful they may be collected from the 



