Figure 31. — Walking sticl 



4-H CLUB INSECT MANUAL 1 5 



but those most commonly seen are around the home. In our modern 

 houses, heated the year round, all stages of the roach may be found at 

 any time during the year. These insects are pests, not so much be- 

 cause of the food they destroy as of the filth associated with them. 

 Roaches have a habit of passing their feet and antennae through their 

 mouths in cleaning themselves, so if stomach poisons are distributed in 

 places frequented by roaches, they are taken in during the cleaning 

 process. The roach shown here is Periplaneta americana. It is about 

 iy 8 inches long. 



Walking sticks. — Another insect that belongs in the order Orthop- 

 tera very much resembles a small slender twig. Members of this 



group are called r 



walking sticks, and 

 our common species j ; 

 i s Diapheromera <^ 

 f emorata. They 

 range in length 

 from 2% to 4 inches, ^ 

 are often grayish in 

 color, and frequent- 

 ly feed on the foli- 

 age of trees and shrubs, but seldom become abundant enough to war- 

 rant control measures. The eggs are simply dropped to the ground 

 from where the insect is feeding. In some cases the eggs remain on the 

 ground and do not hatch until the following spring. The young walk- 

 ing sticks crawl to their food plants and complete their development. 



HEMIPTERA (TRUE BUGS) 



The order Hemiptera comprises a large group of insects that vary 

 considerably in general appearance. Many have a rather unpleasant 

 odor, and one smaller group of this order is referred to in many 

 localities as the stinkbugs. 



Stinkbugs. — True stinkbugs vary considerably in size and color, 

 but all present the five-sided appearance with the small triangular 



area in the center of the back. The adults have four 



wings ; the fore pair is half leathery and half clear 

 wing, hence the name of the order Hemiptera, 

 meaning half wings. The adults fly, but the 

 nymphs are limited to crawling. The suggestion 

 in the word "nymph" indicates that this insect, and 

 all insects of the order Hemiptera, have incomplete 

 life changes. The mouth parts are fitted for suck- 

 ing. The stinkbug group feeds on a wide variety 

 of plants. Some, that feed on insect pests, are 

 beneficial. The insect pictured here, known as the 

 figure 32.— stmkbug. sou tl ie rn green stinkbug (Nezara viridula) is about 

 five-eighths of an inch long; it feeds on cotton and many vegetable 

 crops. It hibernates as an adult in rubbish. It is often a serious pest 

 and is very difficult to control, as it does not readily succumb to the 

 usual contact insecticides. 



Harlequin bug. — In the Southern States cabbage and related crops 

 are often severely damaged by a member of the order Hemiptera— 



