714 REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST OF THE 
which the tissue of the host is punctured and the liquid on which 
they feed is sucked from beneath. Fig. 6, Plate I, is a side view 
of the head and beak of a squash-bug. When at rest the beak is 
- drawn up and lies along the under side of the head and thorax. 
Although usually preferring squash vines this insect is not 
infrequently found attacking melon and pumpkin vines. The bugs 
puncture the tissue with their stout beaks, inject a drop of poison- 
ous saliva and suck the sap. The poison causes the tissue in the 
vicinity of the puncture to wilt and finally die, thus causing 
much more harm than the mere loss of sap. Nearly all parts of 
the plant are liable to attack. Even the fruit does not escape, 
and the bugs are frequently found, on young vines especially, 
attacking the roots just below the surface of the ground. 
Life-History. 
Although the life-history and habits of the squash-bug are 
generally well known a few words on the subjects, both descrip- 
tive and otherwise, will not be out of place here. In the fall the 
bugs leave the vines and seek shelter under any rubbish at hand 
or between the boards of barns, sheds or other outbuildings. 
Here they remain during the winter. In the spring the survivors 
come forth usually about the middle or last of June. The females. 
deposit their eggs usually on the under side of the leaf, but 
occasionally on the upper surface as well. They are as a rule 
deposited in groups of from three or four to many times that 
number, and are securely stuck to the leaf by a gummy substance. 
The eggs are not very large, being only about .04 of an inch in 
length. ‘They are dull red incolor and to the unaided eye appear 
smooth and shiny. When viewed from above they are seen to be 
oblong and slightly flattened on two sides. Fig. 1, Plate I, shows. 
different views of these eggs as they appear when detached from 
the leaf. In about 10 days the eggs hatch. 
The young bugs resemble the parents in general appearance: 
except that their wings are not yet developed. They are also 
somewhat broader in proportion and the antennz, which are very 
dark brown in color, are comparatively large. The thorax and 
wing scales are dark while the abdomen is of a pale ash color. 
As they grow older they increase in size, shedding their skins, or 
molting, from time to time and becoming more oval and of a dull 
