THE CHINCH BUG. 
43 
[Fig. 8.J 
False Chinch Bug:— b, pupa; c, 
mature bug. [After Riley.] 
to Professor Riley. It is found all over the country and occasionally dam- 
ages certain crops quite seriously — grapevines, strawberries, potatoes, 
young apple grafts , and all cruciferous plants. 
It is also very fond of Purslane and, as men- 
tioned elsewhere in this report, it is found 
in California congregating uuder Polygonum. 
It is the insect which caused the alarm in Cal- 
ifornia in 1885. It was originally described 
by Uhler under the name above given, but 
was subsequently redescribed by Mr. Wil- 
liam R. Howard as Nysius raphani and by 
Professor Riley as Nysius destructor. Profes- 
sor Riley 1 *s description was, however, drawn 
up with Mr. Uhler’s sanction, as the latter 
author at that time considered that the form described by Professor 
Riley might be distinct. 
The Insidious Flower- bug (Triphleps insidiosus Say, Fig. 6) is another 
of these bogus Chinch Bugs. It is also a very wide-spread insect, and 
so far from being injurious it is one of the comparatively few insects 
which prey upon the Chinch Bug. 
The Ash-gray Leaf-bug (Piesma cinerea Say, Fig. 9) is another wide- 
spread species which occasionally damages grape blossoms in early 
spring, but lives principally upon forest trees and 
shrubs. This species is also often mistaken for our 
insect. 
The Flea-like Negro bug ( Cormelcena pulicaria 
Germ., Fig, 10) is the fourth. 
Its appearance is more different from the Chinch 
Bug than any of the insects mentioned uuder this 
head, as is plainly shown by the figure. It feeds 
abundantly upon the fruit of the Raspberry and punc- 
tures also the stem of the Strawberry and the blos- 
soms, leaves, and fruit stems of the Cherry and Quince. 
It is also injurious to certain garden flowers and to cer- 
tain weeds, among which Professor Riley mentions 
Ceanothus americanus and Veronica per egrina. 
We may mention under this head the rather 
curious fact that the Striped Flea-beetle — Systena 
elongata Fab. — was found the past season in great 
abundance in company with Chinch Bugs in fields 
infested by the latter in Nebraska by Mr. Bruner. 
They appeared to be working upon grass and upon 
the wild Buckwheat. Their appearance accompa- 
nying the Chinch Bug had, of course, no especial 
significance, but at the same time occurring iu such a way they were 
liable to be mistaken for another form of the Chinch Bug. 
[Fig. 9. 
Ash-gray Leaf-rug 
[After Riley.] 
Flea-like Negro-rug. 
[After Riley.] 
