THE KANSAS UNIVERSITY 



SCIENCE BULLETIN 



Vol. XIV.] October, 1922. [No. 18. 



I 



The Nepida3 of North America. 



(Further Studies in Aquatic Hemiptera.) 



BY H. B. HUNGERFORD. 



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 



WISH herewith to acknowledge my indebtedness to those who 

 have rendered assistance in the preparation of this paper, which 

 had its beginning several years ago. I am under especial obligation 

 to Dr. L. O. Howard, Dr. J. M. Aldrich, and Mr. W. L. McAtee for 

 the opportunity they gave me to study in the United States National 

 Museum, where are located some of the types of Doctor Montandon 

 and the Kirkaldy and Uhler collections of these insects. In addi- 

 tion to the material at the United States National Museum, I have 

 been permitted to examine the collections of Mr. J. R. de la Torre 

 Bueno, of Dr. Carl J. Drake and have had, beside our own Univer- 

 sity collections, abundant material so generously supplied by Mr. 

 W. E. Hoffmann and Doctor Knight, of the University of Minne- 

 sota, and by Mrs. Grace Wiley from collections in Texas. Profes- 

 sor Brimley, of Raleigh, N. C, also supplied me with two species 

 for study. Miss Kathleen Doering made most of the drawings and 

 Mr. P. A. Readio and Mr. Raymond Beamer helped me with the 

 photographs. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The subtle characters and elusive specific differences between the 

 various species of the cryptocerate groups of the Hemiptera have 

 made it difficult to fix specific limits. The students of these groups 

 have resorted, therefore, to comparisons that are beyond the compre- 

 hension of the general systematist endeavoring to identify his col- 

 lection. Such comparative notes become intelligible only after a 

 prolonged study of the insect group concerned, and this condition 



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