Insects in the Garden 325 
sucking insects; with it, they puncture plants and 
suck juices from within. 
U.S. D. A. 
Fic. 179. Life history of the common squash bug: a, nymph soon after hatch- 
ing from egg; 6, 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 
ormore. 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. 
