INSECT PESTS OF CIGAR-TYPE TOBACCOS 47 
tance on tobacco. The closely related brown stinkbug (/uschistus 
servus (Say) ) also attacks tobacco to a hmited extent. 
The adults of the southern green stinkbug (fig. 52) are about one- 
half inch long and are usually hight green. The young are bluish 
with reddish markings. The eggs are deposited in clusters, usually 
on the under surfaces of leaves. The insect attacks nearly all truck 
crops, corn, sugarcane, citrus fruits, pecans, cowpeas, beggarweed, 
and a great variety of other wild and cultivated plants. The bugs 
obtain their food by puncturing the tissues of plants with their beaks 
and then extracting the plant juices. In the case of tobacco they 
usually feed on the midveins of the leaves from the under surfaces. 
If attacked severely, the leaves wither and turn brown. 
FIgurE 52.—Adult of the southern green stinkbug, about X 4. 
Attempts to control this pest on tobacco with insecticides have been 
unsuccessful. For the periodic attacks of this insect, hand-picking 
_has proved effective in protecting the crop. 
WIREWORMS 
Wireworms attack newly set tobacco and when present in con- 
siderable numbers are very destructive to the young plants. In this 
region wireworm attacks are usually confined to only occasional 
plants, but in rare instances the insects destroy a considerable portion 
of the stand. Of the species of wireworms attacking tobacco in this 
region, the Gulf wireworm (Heteroderes laurentii (Guer.)) is com- 
monly found, and two other species (Aeolus dorsalis (Say) and 
Monocrepidius sp.) are known. 
