XXxiii, '22 | ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 41 



Hemipterological Notices. II. 1 



By H. M. PARSHLEY. 

 THE PENTATOMOIDEA OF ILI.IXOI-.- 



For many years C. A. Hart devoted a great deal of attention 

 to the Pentatomoid Hemiptera and had nearly completed his 

 manuscript when death overtook him in the midst of his labors. 

 His work has not been lost, however, for Professor J. R. 

 Malloch, the dipterist, saw to its final preparation and publi- 

 cation, thus putting greatly in his debt all who take an interest 

 in the group, and as editor he added a considerable amount of 

 supplementary matter (always carefully indicated as such), 

 which in the main possesses distinct value. The paper as a 

 whole contains a great deal of new and important material, 

 especially some excellent pioneer work in the neglected study 

 of the nymphal stages, an introductory discussion of phylogeny, 

 and generic keys which are not confined to the Illinois fauna, 

 but embrace most of the North American groups. In going 

 over the work I have noted a few matters which call for com- 

 ment. 



Page 180. The editor remarks on the curious results achieved 

 by Hart in his effort to arrange his keys so as to indicate 

 natural sequence. Such a plan usually results in defeating the 

 prime purpose of a key, i. c., ready identification, since obscure 

 characters often have to be used. I think that the arrange- 

 ment both of genera and higher groups should be ignored, in 

 favor of that given in Van Duzee's ''Catalogue." 



Page 192. I am unable to accept Malloch's splitting of 

 Huschistus tristif/unis into two (or three?) species. Like some 

 other Pentatomids, this species is variable in the form of the 

 lateral pronotal angles and no line can be drawn distinctly sep- 

 arating the acutely angled forms (var. pyrrhoccrus H.-S.>, 

 which become more frequent in the southern states. Possibly a 

 tendency toward racial development may be found here when 

 sufficient distributional data are made known. Similarly, fig. 79 



1 Contributions from the Department of Zoology, Smith Colic 

 Xo. 83. 

 -111. Xat. Hist. Survey, Bull, xiii, 157-2J3, pis. 16-21, 1919. 



