74 FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



leaves. The abdomen and the hind part of the thorax are 

 light green ; the legs and feelers or antennae are a beauti- 

 ful crimson; the head and front part of the thorax are a' 

 light crimson ; while the margins of the eyes are darker. 

 This brilliancy, however, lasts for a short time only. An 

 hour after hatching, the crimson is noticeably darker, and 

 in a few hours the insect is nearly black. 



The young Squash Bugs soon begin their attacks upon 

 the plant by inserting their tiny beaks into the succulent 

 tissues of the leaves. In their general habits they resem- 

 ble the adults. After about three days of this feeding, the 

 abdomen becomes noticeably swollen and the color some- 

 what lighter. This- is an indication that the period of 

 molting has arrived. These young bugs are often called 

 larva or nymphs. They now assume a quiet, stationary 

 attitude. The process of molting begins by the splitting 

 of the skin lengthwise along the middle of the back, the 

 split extending along the thorax and the front of the abdo- 

 men. -The time required to complete this molting opera- 

 tion varies greatly, but generally is not longer than an hour 

 or two. 



A few hours after the first molt, when the bugs have 

 taken on their normal color, they are considerably lighter 

 than before. They are also more alert. They feed again 

 upon the sap of the leaves for about nine days, when they 

 undergo their second molt. After this has taken place, so 

 that the nymph is in its third larval stage, the body is 

 larger and flatter, with the margins more sharply defined 

 and the color somewhat darker than in the second stage. 



The most notable difference shown by the insect in the 

 fourth stage, which is entered upon by the third molt about 

 eight days after the second, is the noticeable development 

 of the wing pads. These become more conspicuous than 



