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Identification:
Adults are about 1/5 inch long, light in color with small black triangular patches on the wings. The wings are carried folded over the back. The nymphs are from 1/20 to 1/5 inch long and vary in color from a reddish with a white band across the back to black as they near adult size.
Life Cycle and Diagnosis:
The eggs are laid in leaf sheaths or crevices in nodes and other protected places. The young develop into adults in four to six weeks. There are 3-4 generations a year. The bugs insert their slender beak into the grass and suck the plant juices. Typical injury appears as spreading patches of brown, dead grass. St. Augustine grass is the most seriously injured, but other lawn grasses are also subject to attack. Chinch bug infestations and damage are most often first noticed during hot dry periods in sunny areas of the lawn.
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