4-H CLUB INSECT MANUAL 15 
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. 
To control roaches, spray or dust residual? insecticides or stomach 
poisons into cracks and crevices where the insects hide and into places 
where they develop. ‘Thorough applhcation is necessary to obtain satis- 
factory control. The roach shown here is Periplaneta americana. It 
is about 114 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 
walking sticks, and 
our common species 
is Diapheromera 
femorata. They 
range in length 
from 25% to 4 inches, 
are often grayish in 
color, and frequent- 
ly feed on the foli- 
age of trees and 
shrubs, but seldom Fieure 31.—Walking stick. 
become abundant 
enough to warrant control measures. ‘The eggs are simply dropped to 
the ground from where the insect is feeding. Ordinarily, they do not 
hatch until the following spring. Sometimes they remain dormant an 
additional year before hatching. The young walking 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 
southern green stinkbug (Nezara viridula) is 
about five-eighths of an inch long; it feeds on cotton and many vege- 
table crops. It hibernates as an adult inrubbish. It is often a serious 
pest and is very difficult to control, as it does not readily succumb to 
the usual insecticides. If obtainable, sabadilla dust gives good control. 
FIGURE 32.—Stinkbug. 
1 For more on the use of residual sprays, see page 57. 
