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Chinch Bugs
Latin Name: Blissus leucopterus
Common Name: Chinch Bug
Latin Family Name: Lygaeidae
Other Names: Cinch bug, Hairy chinch bug (B. hirtus), Southern chinch bug (B. insularis), True chinch bug (B. leucopterus)
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to North America, and identified as a pest of crops as early as 1780. They may have originated in southern, more tropical climates and migrated northward as crops were planted.
Biology:
There are 3 species of very similar chinch bugs in the U.S., all in the genus Blissus. Using their straw-like proboscis they feed on the plant fluids of grasses, including turf, corn, wheat, and other crops. In turf they hide within the thatch and feed most often on the crown of the plant and base of the blades. They undergo simple metamorphosis, with 5 nymph stages. As it feeds the chinch bug injects a chemical into the plant that begins to clog the vascular system of the plant,