Pest Profile

Adult chinch bugs are black with whitish wings. Overall body length is slightly less than 1/8 inch. Immature bugs are reddish to blackish with a white band across the middle of the back. As nearby small grain fields mature and dry down, immense numbers of chinch bugs may migrate to adjacent corn fields. Migration takes place on the soil surface because the majority of the insects do not yet have functional wings. The bugs congregate in large numbers near the plant bases and withdraw plant juices. Stressed plants wilt and die from prolonged feeding. Damage is usually confined to the outside few rows. When chinch bugs are abundant, field-wide infestations may develop.