Hungp:hfori): Nepid.e in America. 449 



Notes. I have examined the type at the United States National 

 Museum, the single example from which Doctor Montandon drew 

 his description. It is a female. There is also a male with same data, 

 that probably was taken with the type, and in addition there are 

 two females from Eldorado county, California. One of them bears 

 this note: "Fife of this insects were seen feeding on one grass- 

 hopper which got into the water." Another specimen, a female, 

 from Lindscy, Cal., taken by C. Pemberton, is also in the National 

 Museum. I have in my collection some specimens from Laguna 

 Beach, Cal., taken by C. T. Dodds. To me the most striking char- 

 acter of Ranatra brevicollis is the apparently truncate head; the 

 head does not appear broader than anterior part of pronotum, which 

 is thick and short. The anterior lateral prolongation of the penulti- 

 mate segment of the antenna is short, but little more than half the 

 ultimate. 



The salient characters, as assigned to this species by Doctor Mon- 

 tandon, are: Body thick-set, pronotum short, appendages shorter 

 than abdomen, the legs not very slender, a little shorter proportion- 

 ally than those of R. quadridentata Stal; metasternal plate with a 

 middle prolongation between the posterior coxae, more elevated than 

 in R. fusca P. B. (= R. buenoi, sp. new), and R. quadridentata Stal, 

 but less, however, than in R. fabricii Guer. = annulipes Stal. He 

 says also that the genital opercule extends a little under the base of 

 the appendages and the ventral segment which precedes the genital 

 opercule almost straight on its longitudinal summit, very little con- 

 vex before the extremity. I find, however, that the male operculum 

 does not extend under the base of the appendages. 



All of the insects of this species which I have seen came from 

 California. (See fig. 2, pi. XLVIII;'fig. 3, pi. XLV; fig. 14, pi. 

 XLVH;fig. 3,pl. L.I 



Ranatra australis, sp. new. 



Size. Smallest specimen in our series measures 32 mm. from tip of beak 

 to tip of abdomen with a respiratory tube 27 mm. long. The largest specimen 

 is 37 mm. long with a tube 30 mm. long. 



Shape. On the whole a slender species with a long prothorax and long 

 hind femora. 



Structural peculiarities. Eyes normal; juga; very prominent, more ele- 

 vated than tylus, a characteri.stic that distinguishes this species; antennae 

 with lateral prolongation of penultimate .segment nearly as long as ultimate. 

 Prothorax slender, sides fairly straight, the anterior portion measured on the 

 median dorsal line two more or less times the posterior swollen part. Respira- 

 tory filaments quite long, a little less than length of the insect. The dasper 



