THE CHINCH BUG. 
11 
the Heiniptera of the region west of the Mississippi River (Bull. Hayden 
Surv. I, 306), of California as one of the States which it inhabits, but 
this record has been overlooked by Californians. Its advent upon the 
Pacific slope has been expected and dreaded. Matthew Cooke in his 
book, published in 1883, upon injurious insects of the Orchard, Vine- 
yard, etc., figured and described it, and under the head of u Remedies ” 
wrote, “ Should the pest appear in this State it can be prevented,” etc. 
In June, 1885, there were several newspaper reports on the occurrence 
of this insect in great numbers in California. The San Francisco Even- 
ing Post for June 23, 1885, quoting from the Woodland Democrat, pub- 
lished the statement: 
Messrs. Frazee and Henderson, who live southwest of Woodland, brought to this 
office a bottle of this pestiferous insect (chinch bug) on Tuesday. Mr. Henderson 
says that he recognized them as the same eastern variety that frequently does so 
much injury to wheat in Missouri. These gentlemen say they discovered the bugs 
traveling between the lands of Day and Clanton. There are millions of them, but as 
to the extent of country covered they are unable to say. The bugs are nearly grown 
and are just beginning to have wings. As soon as the wings develop they fly and 
scatter everywhere. Mr. Frazee says there is no danger from them this year as the 
grain is too far advanced. 
So far this item seems very plausible, but it goes on to state u that 
another gentleman had noticed them injuring grape-vines” which of 
course introduces a probability of wrong identification. 
There is no question, however, but that the Chinch Bug is to be found at 
present in California, but there is no assurance of its existence in injuri- 
ous numbers. Our certainty as to its presence arises from the fact that 
a single specimen of a short- winged variety of this insect is among a lot 
collected in the vicinity of San Francisco in 1885 by Mr. Koebele. It 
is unquestionably a true Chinch Bug. Another specimen of the same 
variety was collected in 1884 by some students of Johns Hopkins Uni- 
versity who summered in California and was given to Mr. Lugger, of 
this Division, who was at that time connected with the University. 
Recent communications from California in answer to inquiries on this 
point show that the insect is not known to the entomologists in that 
State. The False Chinch Bug ( Nysius angustatus) has been, we learn 
from Mr. Koebele, very destructive to grapes in that State the past sea- 
son, and it is more than likely that this is the insect referred to in the 
newspaper article just quoted. Mr. Koebele writes that the False Chinch 
was so abundant around Alameda in July that in an old road at least 
50 specimens could be counted under each plant of Polygonum aviculare. 
He made, in 1887, a most careful search of the locality in which he found 
the 1885 specimen, but could not find a single additional individual. 
He also examined the large collection of Heiniptera in the California 
Academy of Sciences without success. The following paragraph is from 
Mr. CoquilletUs answer to our inquiries: 
I have never met with the Chinch Bug in any part of California that I have visited — 
neither in Merced County, around the city of Sacramento, nor on the southern part of 
