4-H CLUB INSECT MANUAL 



17 



Figure 37. — Plant bug. 



Plant bugs. — Certain other members of the order Hemiptera that 

 rather closely resemble the true stinkbug, except that they 

 usually are smaller and a little more elon- 

 gated, are the plant bugs. These insects 

 have incomplete life changes. They have 

 sucking mouth parts and four wings. The 

 adult can fly readily, and both the adults 

 and nymphs crawl. This group feeds on 

 the leaves and small stems of weeds and on 

 many crops. Plant bugs spend the winter 

 as adults beneath rubbish. Most of them 

 are pests and are controlled by cultural 

 practices. However, some can be killed by 

 contact sprays. The common tarnished 

 plant bug (Lygus pratensis) shown here is 

 brownish yellow in color, marked with black, 

 and is about three-sixteenths of an inch 

 long. 



Chinch bug. — In the grain belt, when the chinch bug is mentioned, 

 farmers' thoughts at once go to the bug that destroys their grain crops. 

 There are several species of chinch bug, but the 

 most destructive one is Blissus leucopterus. 

 This hemipteron has incomplete life changes. 

 It is about three-sixteenths of an inch long. 

 The adults have four white wings and are 

 black with silvery-gray hairs. The nymphs 

 are reddish in color. They suck the juices 

 from stems of grain, and, although small, quite 

 often build up such enormous numbers that 

 they cause complete destruction of large por- 

 tions of grainfields. They overwinter prefer- 

 ably in bunch grass and other grasses, but will 

 survive under leaves on the ground in wood- 

 land, under loose bark of trees, and in similar 

 protected places. Control measures are me- 

 chanical barriers, cultural practices, and the 

 planting of less favored hosts. 



Bedbug. — Another one of the Hemiptera which is a notorious pest 

 is the bedbug (Gimex lectularius) . This insect has incomplete life 

 changes. In the adult stage it is about three-sixteenths ___ 



of an inch long. It is reddish brown, has sucking- 

 mouth parts, and is wingless. This means that its only 

 mode of travel is to crawl or be carried by man or mov- 

 ing objects. The bedbug feeds on man, chickens, and 

 many other warm-blooded animals. In the South or in 

 well-heated homes in the North these bugs continue to 

 feed throughout the winter. All stages of the insect 

 may be found the year round. These insects are pests 

 and can be controlled by applying sanitary measures. 

 Under certain conditions fumigation would be preferred. 



HOMOPTERA (BUGS) 



The order Homoptera consists of a group of insects closely related 

 to the Hemiptera. In fact some entomologists consider them a sub- 

 order of the Hemiptera. 



Figure 38. — Chinch bug. 



Figure 39. — Bed- 

 bug. 



