42 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [Feb., '22 



of pi. 21 probably represents the southern form of Thy ant a 

 ciistator, another variable species, and not T. pcrditor, which is 

 a species of the tropical zone. Barber (in Jiff.) calls my atten- 

 tion to this point. 



Pages 199-200. In Hart's treatment of Apateticus the spe- 

 cies crocatus and bracteatus are confused. The facts will be 

 correctly expressed if the names are transposed, except that 

 Van Duzee is misquoted. 



Pages 218-219. The editor contributes a supplement in 

 which Stal's subgenera of Apateticus are elevated to generic 

 rank. I am firmly convinced that a great deal of the modern 

 multiplication of genera (by subdivision rather than by the 

 discovery of new groups) is a detriment rather than an advan- 

 tage to science, but aside from this general question it should 

 be noted that in this particular case nothing can be settled 

 properly without a study of the neotropical species. For in- 

 stance, the type species of Apateticus Ball, is A. halys Ball. 

 ( lincolatns H.-S.), a species which, as I have identified it, 

 lacks the one character ascribed by Malloch to his Apateticus. 

 This character, the presence of small pronotal spines near the 

 basal angles of the scutellum, is not mentioned by Ballas 3 nor 

 by Stal, 4 but it is found in A. marginiventris, to which refer- 

 ence is made below. In other words it seems unlikely that 

 Apateticus Mall, is precisely equivalent to Apateticus Ball. 



I think moreover that it is even very doubtful whether the 

 generic separation of Apateticus and Podisus advocated by 

 Van Buzee r> is well founded, since the chief distinction between 

 the groups lies in a secondary sexual character, the abdominal 

 stridulatory areas which are more or less clearly developed in 

 the males of Apateticus, s. str. I believe that the arrange- 

 ment of Stal and of Schouteden" will be ultimately adopted, 

 with possibly one modification, namely the foundation of a 

 new subgenus for A. marginiventris Stal, a species which, is 

 unique in this group by virtue of its posterior pronotal spines 

 and its very peculiar facies. 



3 List Hem. Brit. Mus. 1 : 105, 1851. 



*Bidr. Hem. Syst., Ofv. Vet.-Ak. Forh., XXIV, No. 7:498, 1867. 



5 Can. Ent, XLI : 370, 1909. 



G Wyts. Gen. Ins., Fasc. 52:68, 1907. 



