Part 50

These upper wings, that are half wing cover and half flying wing, are characteristic of the bug order.

Not all the bugs have them, but a great many have.

The name of the bug order is HEM-IP-TERA, meaning half-wing. You see why.

Yes, John, the word "hemiptera" comes from two Greek words, hemi, meaning half, and, as you know, pteron, meaning a wing.

The young red bugs are like the old ones, excepting in color.

What do we call the young of insects, little Nell?

Yes, we call them larvae. These red bug larvae are bright red with black legs.

They pierce the cotton plants in the South, and suck out the juices.

Of course, they grow and moult until they arrive at the adult form.

What, John? You do not know what "adult" means? Adult means "grown-up."

It is a short way of saying grown-up; and after this, when we mean a grown-up insect, let us say an adult insect.

To return to the red bug. When it reaches the adult state, it is not such a bright red, but rather of a reddish color with brownish wings striped with light yellow.

Beside eating the juices of the cotton plants and thus injuring or even killing them, the red bugs stain the white cotton and spoil it.

They are also troublesome in some parts of Florida, where they pierce the skins of the oranges, and cause the fruit to decay.

THE RAVENOUS CHINCH BUGS

There are a great many bugs injurious to vegetation, among them the little chinch bugs.

They are so small, each one no larger than a plant louse, that you would not think they could do much harm.

One of them could not, but when they appear in millions, then they are terrible.

Here is one magnified to show the white wing covers with black markings.

Would you believe that this tiny insect has destroyed millions of dollars' worth of grain in the United States?

What, Charlie? you should think they could be killed out? That is a very difficult task. You see they are so small, and they breed so fast. There are two broods of them in one year, and when they have eaten one grain field they start off, millions strong, to another.

Of course a great many methods have been tried for getting rid of them, and one very curious method you will like to hear about.

You know insects are subject to diseases.

What, Nell, you never heard of a sick bug?

Yet it seems they are sick sometimes, and certain diseases kill them. Chinch bugs are not as healthy in some places as in others.

There is a contagious disease that kills them off in very great numbers.

Ned says he can guess what remedy the people apply to the healthy chinch bugs that are eating their grain.

Yes, they introduce diseased chinch bugs into the grain fields with the healthy ones. The contagion spreads and the bugs die!