About the Hairy Chinch Bug
Blissus leucopterus, also known as the true chinch bug, is a small North American insect in the order Hemiptera and family Blissidae. 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.
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.
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 and grain crops.
B. leucopterus is about 4 mm (0.16 in) long when fully developed. 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... Wikipedia →