The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1912-08-08
FEET Oh MISjf0. 4 GRAIN
~ " r'''<s CAUSES MUCH DAM.
AGE THROUGHOUT SEASON..
Department of Entomology, College OF
Agriculture, University
of Missouri.

AS soon as the grass begins TO grow
In the spring, the adult chirch bugs
that have lived through ene winter
come out OF their hiding and fly about
in search OF suitable food
In some springs the insects are so
numerous at this time that they at
tract great deal of attention by
alighting on people by the dozens 1t
appears that spring is the great mi
grating season in Missouri when the
chinch bugs cover great distances and
large areas. Many OF these bugs crawl
instead of flying, although most of
these spring bugs fly. In the fall.
however, most of the travelling is done
by crawling instead of flying.
After the insects have found suita-
BILE plants for food, they insert their
beaks through the tissues of the plant
and suck the sap. In this search for
the proper food plants, immense num-
bers of the insects alght in the wheat
fields of Missouri. If the field hap
pens to be near a wood or Usage
orange hedge, or a wind break where
there is plenty of shelter in which
they hibernated in winter, the field is
likely to be badly infested. In such
instances they are usually found
massed together on the plants nearest
the alternating quarters. Their pres
e:ce can soon be detected by their
effect on the plants.
1t seems that chinch bugs inject
poison into the plant which causes a
stronger flow of sap to the place
where the beak has punctured. This
may do more injury than the loss Of
the sap which the insect actually ex-
tracts.
A wheat field attacked by the bugs
will appear bleached in the area in
tested. II they are left undisturbed,
the bugs will spread from plant to
plant, and IN short time will take
possession of the entire field.
While a great number of chinch
bugs mate in the fall, the vast major
ity of them mate in the spring soon
after leaving their winter quarters.
Quite soon afterward the females be-
Gin laying their eggs under little
clods of earth about the base and
roots of the plants. In about sixteen
days these eggs will begin to hatch
and the farmer will detect the little
reddish or yellowish bugs in his
wheat In about six weeks these will
have reached the adult stage and the
wheat field is overrun with cLinch
bugs.
Meantime the young bugs have been
drawing their nourishment from the
wheat plants by sucking the sap, and
have done more or less damage ac-
cording to the number Of bugs in the |
field. Since each female lays upwards |
of 500 eggs, one can form an idea of
the extent and multiplication of these
insects after leaving their winter
quarters.
When the wheat has ripened so that
1t is no longer suitable for their food,
the bugs usually migrate all at once
to some green crop. Some are crawl
ing and some flying. Mostly, however,
even those that are perfectly able to
ny Will struggle along with the imma.
ture ones that can not.
The corn field is usually the natura.
place for them to 60, and as they are
usually almost starved by their travel,
he first corn is covered, sometimes
until it Is black with them
Soon after this migration the Sec
md brood appears, and the whole
number attack the growing corn and
cause very great destruction. This
second brood is the one most to be
cared because of its vast numbers
md the time at which 1t appears.
BY the time the bulk of this second
BROOD of chinch bugs have reached
he adult condition, the time has ap-
preached for them to seek winter
quarters, and the fall migrations be-
lin. II the proper winter quarters are
lear at hand, the most of the insects
vill migrate on foot to them. Other
vise the winged forms will take to
light and travel considerable dis
ances to ind the suitable places.
II oorn d cut At this time and