Blissidae

Heteroptera (plantsucking) • Hemiptera • insects (plant pests) • pests-diseases-weeds

Blissus leucopterus life cycle (click on image to enlarge it)
Author(s): Art Cushman, USDA; Property of the Smithsonian Institution, Department of Entomology
Source: IPM Images

Blissidae - (chinch bugs)

This family of bugs contains more than 400 species and is widely distributed. A number of species are pests of cereals and grasses in North America. Economically important species are, for example, Blissus insularis, B. leucopterus and B. occiduus.

The Blissidae have been previously treated as a subfamily of the Lygaeidae. However, they are not seed feeders, are often more elongated and the cuticle is covered with many hairs and projections.

The following genera and individual species are currently entered in the system:

• Blissus (genus)
• Ischnodemus falicus