Arizona republican., 1903-05-18
CROPS BADLY DAMAGED
Insect Pest That May Give Al na
 Farmers Serious Trouble.

The Solomonville correspondent of The Republican called attention a day or two ago to the ravages of an insect pest in the barley and wheat fields Of the upper Gila river. The Solomonville Bulletin. which arrived yesterday, gives further detcils showing the matter to be very serious one. While it is hard ly likely the bugs can or will reach this valley the present season, until after the crops are made, so little seems to be known of the insect that it leaves , fear for what may occur in subsequent years. At any rate, it will be in the line of wise prevention for Salt River valley farmers to read the following which is taken from the Bulletin:
 A serious pest has invaded the Gila valley and already the work of the ter rible bug is in evidence. A scientific introduction to this obnoxious little stranger shows that he belongs to the family Pentatomidae, a very malodor- ous branch of the insect tribe He is oval in shape and about the size of a Mexican bean. He has a small bill which he inserts into the kernel of the grain through which he sucks the juice of the berry, leaving the shell hollow and barren. In movement he is in clined to be somewhat sluggish and seldom uses his wings to move about prefering rather to use his long legs which are very agile members of his anatomy.
 Three weeks ago these bugs were noticed in the chaparral brush near rI until they began to invade the wheat fields adjoining that community. Seri- Ous damage has resulted from their attack on wheat that is in the milk, or nearly half grown.
 In three weeks these destructive lit tie pests have invaded all the wheat fields between Eden and San Jose. In the immediate vicinity of Solomon vile the damage is nominal as the grain is tco far advanced to admit of serious injury.
 A representative of the Bulletin made a close inspection of the wheat field of I. E. Solomon, adjoining town, Wednesday morning and found many bugs. but little or no damage has been doGe. It seems that the bugs only work on the half grown berry. A mi croscopic examination of a full grown wheat head. upon which five of the bugs were found. revealed no damage. A half-grown head was then examined and it was found that the milk of the berry was entirely consumed and only the shell remained.
 From R. M. Tyler of Thatcher it is learned that a wheat field, containing se ly ruined as a wheat product, and it will be cut for hay. Some of our farm CTS ere 10th to cut their grain for hay. saying that they now have more hay than there is a demand for. Some of them arc also trusting that the bugs will disappear as mysteriously as they came.
 MT. Tyler received the following letter, after he had written and sent specimens of the bugs to the agricui- tural experiment station at Tucson:
 New Mexico Normal University.
 Las Vegas, May 8, 1903. R. M. Tyler.
 Thatcher, Arizona.
 Dear Sir: I have received your let ctr of May and accompanying bugs forwarded from Tucson. These bugs injuring grain are the Western Green Stink Bug" They are common over New Mexico and Arizona. but they have not attracted general atten- ton as pests until lately. They injure the kernel in the milk, and when ex- tremely numerous will totally destroy the grain crop. If they are so abun- dant that there is, say. one to every stalk of grain or even one to two or three stalks. it will no doubt pay to cut the grain for feed before it ripens. In fact, this is what I must advice un- der existing circumstances.
 The bugs live on all sorts of native