THYANTA CUSTATOR FAB. 



85 



FOOD PLANTS. 



Sanderson** has noted injury by this species to oats, corn, and 

 sorghum, and its occurrence upon milo maize, cowpeas, and cotton. 

 It has been observed by the writer feeding in considerable numbers 

 on mesquite beans and records of the specimens in the collection of 

 the Bureau of Entomology indicate the wide range of plants upon 

 which the insect has been collected. 



LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS. 



Observations on life history were made upon 6 female specimens. 

 Three specimens captured at Dallas, Tex., in early September pro- 

 duced a total of 377 eggs 

 in 130 days, the average 

 per specimen being 4 

 more than that of 14 

 females of the con- 

 chuela collected on Sep- 

 tember 12. The maxi- 

 mum longevity of the 

 specimens under obser- 

 vation was 39 days ex- 

 cept for one specimen, 

 which matured on Oc- 

 tobers, and hibernated, 

 being alive on Decem- 

 ber 19. 



The incubation pe- 

 riod of the eggs of this 

 species agrees closely 

 with the species dis- 

 cussed in the preced- 

 ing pages. At an aver- 

 age daily mean tem- 

 perature of 79.3° F., the 

 average incubation pe- 

 riod of 4 batches was 4 

 days and 15 hours. 

 The duration of the 

 nymphal stages seerris 

 to be considerably more brief for TJiyanta custator than for the con- 

 chuela and other Pentatomids heretofore discussed. The writer's 

 records show that the nymphs of Thyanta custator develop as rapMly 

 at an average daily mean temperature of 64.7° F. as do the nymphs 

 of the conchuela at an average daily mean temperature of 82 ° F. 



Fig. 18. — TJiyanta custator: Nymph, fifth instar; light and dark 

 types. Enlarged 10 diameters. (Original.) 



o Bul. 46, Div. Ent., U. S. Dept. Agr., p. 94, 1904. 



