9 
AMERICAN SPECIES OF ARADUS (IIEMIPTERa) 
paper devoted iiriniarily to the Russian fauna, which I was un- 
alile to obtain until this essay was nearing completion; but per- 
haps this independence of treatment will not be without suffi- 
cient advantages to outweigh whatever lack of coordination may 
be noted. I am very greatly indelited to Professor A. Petrunke- 
vitch, of Yale University, for providing me with a scholarly 
translation of certain jicrtions of Kiritshenko’s work, which, 
except for f^atin diagnoses, is in the Russian language. 
Fabricius, in 1803, established the genus Arudus,^ as follows: 
“Os rostro inflexo, sub capitis apice inserto. Labium breve 
membranaceum, setaceuni. Antennae cylindricae, ciuadriarticu- 
latae. 
“Aradi corpus medium oblongum, depressum, planum, immar- 
ginatum, tardum, capUe exserto ovato, antice compresso, sub- 
emarginato, margineque postico prominente, acuto, ocidis glo- 
bosis, proniinulis, lateralibus, antennis brevilius articulis distinct i- 
oribus, ante oculos insertis, thorace piano, transverse, acuto, 
clytris coriaceis, apice membranaceis hand inflexis vix longitudine 
alxlominis, pedibus brevibus femoribus longiusculis, clavatis.” 
The jialaearctic betulae Linnaeus was indirectly indicated as 
the type species by a special statement of characters, chiefly 
generic. T.ater the genus was restricted to its iiresent limits 
by the elimination of various discordant elements, such as Aneurus 
C'urtis (1827), Mezira Amyot and Serville (1843), etc., ami it 
has been held to constitute a distinct sulifaniily by all authors 
since 1843, until Reuter (1912), in his comprehensive treatment 
of the Heteropterous families, advocateil its elevation to family 
i-ank. This most recent view has not met with universal accept- 
ance, l)ut my own inclination has been to accept Reuter’s sub- 
division of the old families Coreidae, Aradidae, and Tingidae, on 
the ground that conclusions arrived at in a comprehensive and 
well-reasoned investigation should not be set aside or ignored 
without corres])ondingly complete refutation, based on new e\ i- 
dence oi' bettei' logic. In the case of the Aradidae such new 
evidence is afforded by i-ecent discoveries in the anatomy of 
the trophi. Spooner (l‘)2()) has shown that in Xeuractenus (of 
the Alezirinae) the greatly enlarged 1-ylus serves as a sheath for 
* Aradus, ;ui aiicic'ijt cily of Syria (A' radus). 
