Insects in the Garden 



325 



sucking insects; with it, they puncture plants and 

 suck juices from within. 



FIG. 179. Life history of the common squash bug : a, nymph soon after hatch- 

 ing from egg; b, second stage of nymph; c, third stage of nymph; d, fourth 

 stage of nymph ; e, fifth stage of nymph ; /, adult ; g, egg mass on the under 

 side of a squash leaf. All the figures are about one and a half times natural size. 



The adult insects live over winter, hidden in and 

 protected by rubbish of various sorts. The small, cop- 

 pery-colored eggs are laid mostly on the under sides of 

 leaves of squash plants and usually in groups of thirty 

 or more. Young bugs or " nymphs " appear in about 10 

 days, and immediately begin to feed on the host plant. 

 After molting five times, which covers about 35 days 

 of feeding, the nymphs become adults. They thus 

 pass from egg to adult without the resting or chrysalis 

 stage. 



