SHIELD AND OTHER BUGS 



The Shield Bugs arc so-called because they have a 

 shield, or plate, covering the wings, and our British 

 species are of small size. Then there are their cousins, 

 the Pentagonal Shield Bugs, which have been thus 

 named because the wing-shield does not wholly cover 

 the flight-appendages, and is so placed that it forms a 

 triangle, which is sometimes incomplete at the sides, 

 so that it forms a five-sided plate situate above the bases 

 of the wings. These Bugs haunt plants of various 

 kinds for the purpose of extracting the juices, but they 

 also feed upon soft-bodied insects. In colour they 

 are brown or green, and measure about half an inch 

 long. Other species are much smaller and narrower. 

 Others again, possess almost transparent wings (such as 

 the Lace-Winged Bug), and whilst all are enemies of 

 plants, the worst offender as regards human beings is 

 the Bed Bug {Cimex lectularius). It is reddish-brown 

 in colour, flattish in form, and emits a most offensive 

 odour, in addition to forcing its distasteful presence 

 upon a household or, worse still, upon one's person. 

 As with the Crickets, there seems some doubt as to the 

 original home of this insect, but it is thought to have 

 come from Africa. One rather wishes that it had 

 stayed there I Cleanliness is essential to combat the 

 attention of this detestable household pest, but even 

 this is not always successful as I have known more than 

 one house, the tenants of which were scrupulously 

 clean, to be troubled with them. Incidentally, it may 

 be stated that the Cockroach is an enemy of the Bug 

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