LYGAEID BUG

any insect of the family Lygaeidae (order Heteroptera), which includes, among its more than 3,000 species, many important crop pests. Lygaeid bugs range from 3 to 15 millimetres (0.1 to 0.6 inch) in length, although they are usually less than 10 mm. They vary from brown to brightly patterned with red, white, or black spots and bands. The large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) is distinguished by its broad red and black bands. The family is sometimes called the chinch bug family because one species, the destructive chinch bug (q.v.), feeds on the sap of plants. Other important members of the family include the Old World, or Egyptian, cotton stainer (Oxycarenus hyalinipennis) and the Australian Nysius vinitor, both of which are destructive to fruit trees, and Geocoris punctipes, which preys on mites, termites, and other small plant-feeding insects.