THYANTA CUSTATOR FAB. 
85 
FOOD PLANTS. 
Sanderson 3 has noted injury by this species to oats, corn, and 
sorghum, and its occurrence upon milo maize, cowpeas, and cotton. 
It has been observed by the writer feeding in considerable numbers 
on mesquite beans and records or the specimens in the collection of 
the Bureau of Entomology indicate the wide range of plants upon 
which the insect has been collected. 
LIFE HISTORY AXD HABITS. 
Observations on life history were made upon 6 female specimens. 
Three specimens captured at Dallas, Tex., in early September pro- 
duced a total of 3 77 eggs 
in 130 days, the average 
per specimen being 4 
more than that of 14 
females of the con- 
chuela collected on Sep- 
tember 12. The maxi- 
mum longevity of the 
specimens under obser- 
vation was 39 days ex- 
cept for one specimen, 
which matured on Oc- 
tobers, and hibernated, 
being alive on Decem- 
ber 19. 
The incubation pe- 
riod of the eggs of this 
species agrees closely 
with the species dis- 
cussed in the preced- 
ing pages. At an aver- 
age daily mean tem- 
perature of 79.3° F., the 
average incubation pe- 
riod of 4 batches was \ 
days and 15 hours. 
The duration of the 
nymphal stages seems 
to be considerably more brief for ThyarUa custator than for the con- 
chuela and other Pentatomids heretofore discussed. The writer's 
records show that the nymphs of ThyarUa custator develop as rapidly 
at an average daily mean temperature of 64.7° F. as do the nymphs 
of the conchuela at an average daily mean temperature of 82 c F. 
Fig. 1^. 
Thyanta custator: Nymph, fifth in^t:ir: light and dark 
types. Enlarged 10 diameters. 
<* Bui. 46, Div. Ent.. I . s. Dept. Agr., p. 94, 1904. 
