The principal crop plants damaged are wheat, corn, sorghum, oats, etc. The chinch bug pierces the plant with its moth parts and sucks out the plant sap. This feeding prevents normal growth and results in dwarfing, lodging, and yield reduction. Severe infestations during early development may cause plants to wilt and die prematurely.
Most injury is caused by the six nymphal instars.
Adults emerge in the spring and deposit eggs singly behind the leaf sheath or in the soil at the base of the small grain crop plant. In a few days, the eggs hatch and the nymphs begin feeding on all parts of the host plant from the roots to the uppermost leaves. The nymphs undergo six developmental stages, the last being the adult stage. Two to three generations occur per year, the later generations migrating to corn and sorghum when small grain crops become dry. The adult chinch bug is about 4 mm long and black with opaque wings.