Blissus leucopterus

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Blissus leucopterus
Hairy Chinch Bug - Blissus leucopteru (50594763067).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Family: Blissidae
Genus: Blissus
Species:
B. leucopterus
Binomial name
Blissus leucopterus
(Say, 1832) [1]
Synonyms
  • Lygaeus leucopterusSay, 1832

Blissus leucopterus, also known as the true[ clarification needed ]chinch bug, is a small North American insect in the order Hemiptera and family Blissidae. [2] It is the most commonly encountered species of the genus Blissus , which are all known as chinch bugs. A closely related species is B. insularis, the southern chinch bug.

Contents

The name of the chinch bug is derived from the Spanish chinche, which refers to the bed bug and is in turn derived from the Latin cimex. The chinch bug is not related to the bed bug, but took this name on account of producing a similar smell to that of bed bugs when crushed. [3]

These bugs tend to gather on sunny, open patches of turfgrass. Due to their small size, chinch bugs are hardly noticeable, so they become problems, since they are considered pests that feed on stems of turfgrass [4] [5] and grain crops. [6]

Identification

B. leucopterus is about 4 mm (0.16 in) long when fully developed. [4] The adults' bodies vary in colour from dark red to brown with white wings and red legs. Young nymphs are usually bright red and half the size of adults. A distinguishable feature is the white band found on the nymph's abdomen. This band will be covered with wings and changes colour to black during development. [5]

Distribution

B. leucopterus is native to the Americas. The species is found throughout the US, southern Canada, Mexico, and Central America. [7]

Diet

Chinch bugs feed on plants, both wild and cultivated, belonging to the grass family, such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, and corn. They suck the sap out of the growing plants. When the plants ripen or become dry, they travel to other growing plants to feed.

Lifecycle

The lifespan of the B. leucopterus is a typically less than one year. The eggs of two generations are laid down from spring to summer, when they develop into adults. During the fall, the adults from the first generation die off, while the adults from the second generation retreat from the crops to look for overwinter shelters. The adults overwinter in any type of shelters they can find, including in hedgerows, road sides, bushy fence rows, edges of woodlands, and soybean stubble, under tree barks and bunch grass, and inside field mice nests. Once they emerge from their hibernation, they return to the crop fields to feed and breed before their death.

B. leucopterus prefers hot, dry, and sunny conditions, while moist, warm, and humid conditions are detrimental for their population; [6] these conditions promote the growth of a fungus that is fatal to them. Another element that reduces their population is heavy rain. Developing nymphs that are hit with rain become trapped in the soil, killing them. Their natural predators include the big-eye bug (Geocoris bullatis), and the tiny wasp (Eumicrosoma beneficum), which feed on or parasitize them. [8]

Time line

Human impact

The chinch bug, a native to the United States and common in Midwestern states, has had a great effect on agriculture. It naturally feeds on wild prairie grasses. As the Midwestern states were settled in the 19th century, and crops of wheat, corn, sorghum, and other grain grasses were planted, they adapted well to these new species as habitat and food species. Throughout the 20th century, the chinch bug was a major pest to farmers, as it quickly decimated corn or wheat fields. To deal with this problem, many farmers in the area changed their crops to soybeans, which were not a host to the chinch bug. This led to a huge decrease in the chinch bug population in this area. Today, they are mostly a common lawn pest[ citation needed ] and are commonly treated with pesticides and pest-resistant grasses.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Geocoris</i> Genus of true bugs

Geocoris is a genus of insects in the family Geocoridae. Commonly known as big-eyed bugs, the species in Geocoris are beneficial predators, but are often confused with the true chinch bug, which is a pest. There are more than 140 described species in Geocoris.

The term chinch bug can refer to a few different North American insects:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarnished plant bug</span> Species of true bug

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green stink bug</span> Species of true bug

The green stink bug or green soldier bug is a stink bug of the family Pentatomidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown marmorated stink bug</span> Species of Pentatomid insect

The brown marmorated stink bug is an insect in the family Pentatomidae, native to China, Japan, Korea and other Asian regions. In September 1998 it was collected in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where it is believed to have been accidentally introduced. The nymphs and adults of the brown marmorated stink bug feed on over 100 species of plants, including many agricultural crops, and by 2010–11 had become a season-long pest in orchards in the Eastern United States. In 2010, in the Mid-Atlantic United States, $37 million in apple crops were lost, and some stone fruit growers lost more than 90% of their crops. Since the 2010s, the bug has spread to the nation of Georgia and Turkey and caused extensive damage to hazelnut production. It is now established in many parts of North America, and has recently become established in Europe and South America.

<i>Adelphocoris lineolatus</i> Species of true bug

Adelphocoris lineolatus, is commonly known as the Lucerne bug or the alfalfa plant bug, and belongs to the family Miridae. It is an agricultural pest causing vast amounts of damage to numerous crops, but primarily to alfalfa crops around the globe.

<i>Stenotus binotatus</i> Species of true bug

Stenotus binotatus is a species of plant bug, originally from Europe, but now also established across North America and New Zealand. It is 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) long, yellowish, with darker markings on the pronotum and forewings. It feeds on various grasses, and can be a pest of crops such as wheat.

<i>Orius insidiosus</i> Species of true bug

Orius insidiosus, common name the insidious flower bug, is a species of minute pirate bug, a predatory insect in the order Hemiptera. They are considered beneficial, as they feed on small pest arthropods and their eggs. They are mass-reared for use in the biological control of thrips.

<i>Eurygaster integriceps</i> Species of true bug

Eurygaster integriceps is a species of shield bug in the family Scutelleridae, commonly known as the sunn pest or corn bug. It is native to much of northern Africa, the Balkans and western and central Asia. It is a major pest of cereal crops especially wheat, barley and oats.

<i>Eurygaster maura</i> Species of insect (tortoise bug)

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<i>Ischnodemus sabuleti</i> Species of true bug

Ischnodemus sabuleti, also known as the European chinch bug, is a species of swarming true bug from the family Blissidae, which family also includes the American Chinch Bug Blissus leucopterus. It was first described by Carl Fredrik Fallén in 1826.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blissidae</span> Family of true bugs

The Blissidae are a family in the Hemiptera, comprising nearly 50 genera and 400 species. The group has often been treated as a subfamily of the Lygaeidae but was resurrected as a full family by Thomas Henry (1997).

<i>Blissus</i> Genus of true bugs

Blissus is a genus in the true bug family Blissidae, commonly called chinch bugs in North America. The review by Slater (1979) listed 27 species. The species B. leucopterus, B. occiduus and B. insularis are important pests of cereal crops and turf grasses in their different ranges in the United States.

<i>Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominale</i> Species of aphid

Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominale, the rice root aphid or red rice root aphid, is a sap-sucking insect pest with a wide host range and a global distribution. As a member of the superfamily Aphidoidea, it is one of 16 species of the genus Rhopalosiphum. Adults and nymphs are soft-bodied and usually dark green with brown, red, or yellow tones. Like all aphids, reproduction is sexual and asexual, depending on the environmental conditions and host plant. Rice root aphids cause injury to external plant parts, namely the roots or stem, by feeding on plant sap and vector several important plant viruses. The hosts of this pest extend across multiple plant families with most belonging to Rosaceae, Poaceae, and Solanaceae. R. rufiabdominale is universally associated with Prunus species but also infests various field crops, greenhouse vegetables, cannabis, and other ornamental plants. While this aphid originates from east Asia, it spans nearly every continent. Dispersal is particularly widespread across the United States, India, and Australia, with crop damage documented in multiple instances, although economic losses are primarily associated with Japanese rice crops. Nonetheless, it remains a pest of serious concern due to its high mobility, discrete habitat, and adaptive plasticity, giving it the rightful reputation as a successful invader.

<i>Schizaphis graminum</i> Species of true bug

The greenbug, or wheat aphid, is an aphid in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and feeds on the leaves of Gramineae (grass) family members.

<i>Dysdercus koenigii</i> Species of true bug

Dysdercus koenigii is a species of true bug in the family Pyrrhocoridae, commonly known as the red cotton stainer. It is a serious pest of cotton crops, the adults and older nymphs feeding on the emerging bolls and the cotton seeds as they mature, transmitting cotton staining fungi as they do so.

<i>Sphenophorus parvulus</i> Species of beetle

Sphenophorus parvulus, commonly known as the bluegrass billbug, is a species of beetle in the family Curculionidae. It is found in North America, especially in the eastern United States. It is a pest of Kentucky bluegrass, other grasses, corn and grain crops.

Cavelerius saccharivorus, also known as the oriental chinch bug, is a small Asian true bug in the order Hemiptera and family Blissidae. It feeds by sucking the sap out of the stems of grasses and grass-like plants, including rice plants and sugarcane. Cavelerius saccharivorus is notorious for the damage it wrought to sugarcane plantations in Japan, China, and Taiwan in the early 20th century, from which it derives its Latin name saccharivorus, meaning "sugar-eater". Even today, the insect is still listed as one of the 100 most economically-devastating invasive species to Japan by the Ecological Society of Japan.

References

  1. Thomas Say (1831). "Descriptions of new species of Heteropterous Hemiptera of North America". In John L. le Conte (ed.). The complete writings of Thomas Say on the entomology of North America. Vol. 1. p. 329.
  2. Henry, T.J. (1997). "Phylogenetic analysis of family groups within the infraorder Pentatomomorpha (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), with emphasis on the Lygaeoidea". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 90 (3): 275–301. doi:10.1093/aesa/90.3.275.
  3. "chinch, n.1". Oxford English Dictionary on-line. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Hairy Chinch Bugs in Lawns". Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Chinch Bugs in Home Lawns". PennState College of Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  6. 1 2 "IPM: Field Crops: Chinch Bug". Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  7. Metcalf, C. L., & W. P. Flint (1962). Destructive and Useful Insects (4th ed.). United States of America: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
  8. "Effective Control of Chinch Bug". Government of Canada. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2014.

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