vin AEPOPHILIDAE CERATOCOMBIDAE CIMICIDAE 559 



the Benchucha, 1 a bug an inch long, which in South America 

 attacks human beings after the fashion of the common bed-bug. 

 In this case no ill-effects follow the attack, but in the case of 

 Conorhinus sanguisuga in Arizona, great pain and inflammation 

 ensue and may end in the gathering and discharge of pus. 



Not the least remarkable of characters of Reduviidae is the 

 form of the eggs of some of the species (Fig. 272, and Vol. Y. 

 Fig. 78, C) ; the egg bearing a peculiar operculum, the purpose of 

 which is at present quite mysterious. 



Fam. 13. Aepophilidae. A single species forms this family. 

 It is of considerable interest, as it is incapable of flight, passing a 

 large part of its life covered by the sea. Aepophilus bonnairei 

 is a small Insect with quite short head, without ocelli, and with 

 the organs of flight represented by a pair of very short elytra, 

 with rounded hind-margins. It is found on the shores of 

 Western France, and, as a great rarity, on our own south coast. 

 It no doubt sucks small soft animals. In the Channel Islands 

 it occurs in spots where it is nearly always covered by a con- 

 siderable depth of water. 



Fam. 14. Ceratocombidae. Minute lugs with ocelli and 

 elytra. Rostrum free. Head not broad, somewhat prolonged in 

 Jront ; eyes close to the thorax. Elytra usually without a dis- 

 tinctly separated membrane. Tarsi three-jointed. This family 

 includes at present only a few, minute, fragile bugs, that have 

 often been classified with Cimicidae or Anthocoridae. We have 

 only two British species, one of which, Dipsocoris alienus, is 

 common amongst the damp shingle at the margins of the burns 

 and waters of Scotland. 



Fam. 15. Cimicidae. Ocelli absent; elytra very short and 

 broad, so that the broad abdomen is left uncovered. Head short 

 and broad. Rostrum received in a groove beneath the head. Tarsi 

 three-jointed. Although this family consists of only a dozen 

 species, it is the most notorious of all the Order, as it includes 

 the detestable Cimex lectularius or common Bed-bug. This Insect 

 is now r peculiar to the habitations of man, and is said not to 

 trouble savage races ; or rather it is supposed to be present only 

 when the habitations have a certain degree of comfort and per- 

 manence. It has no fixed period of the year for its development, 

 but the generations succeed one another so long as the temperature 



1 Naturalist's Voyage, ed. 1884, p. S30 ; chap. xv. 



