THE STUDY OF INSECTS 



Fie. 156. — Belos- 

 toma jluminea. 



Fig. is7 — Eggs on 

 back of Abedus. 



ceding family. Another common rep- 

 resentative of the family is Bendcus 



griseus. This resembles Lethocems 



americanus very closely but can be 



distinguished from it by the absence 



of the femoral groove. 



There are other smaller species of 



this family which belong to the genus 



Belostoma. Our most common species 



is Belostoma fluminea (Fig. 156). 



In this genus and in Abedus the 



eggs are carried by the males on their 

 backs, where they are placed by the females, some- 

 times in spite of vigorous opposition on the part of 

 the male (Fig. 157). 



Family Gelastocorid^ 



The Toad-shaped Bugs 



The Gelastocoridae was formerly known as the Galgulidas. 

 In these insects the body is broad and short, and the eyes are promi- 

 nent and projecting; the form of the body and the protuberant eyes 

 remind one of a toad (Fig. 158). Ocelli are present. The antennae are 

 short and nearly or quite concealed beneath the eyes. The beak is short, 

 stout, and four-segmented. The fore legs are raptorial. 



The toad-shaped bugs live on the muddy margins of 

 streams or other bodies of water. Some of them make holes 

 for themselves, and live for a part of the time beneath 

 the ground. They feed upon other insects, which they cap- 

 ture by leaping suddenly upon them. Their colors are pro- 

 Fig. 158. — Gdas- tective and vary so as to agree with the color of the soil 



tocaris oculalus. Qn ^^ they ^ The ^ ^ buried ^ the ^d. 



The most common and most widely distributed representative of the 

 family found in this country is Gelastocoris oculatus (Fig. 149). 



Family Saldid/E 



The Shore-bugs 



These are certain small bugs, of dark colors with white or yellow 

 markings, which abound in the vicinity of streams and 

 lakes, and upon damp soils, especially of marshes near our 

 coasts. The shape of these shore-bugs is shown by Figure 

 159. The antennas are long and conspicuous. The beak is 



three-segmented and very long. shore^u! 9 " ~~ A 



Some of the shore-bugs dig burrows, and live for a part of the 

 time beneath the ground. They take flight quickly when _ disturbed, but 

 alight after flying a short distance, taking care also to slip quickly into 

 the shade of some projecting tuft of grass or clod where the soil agrees 

 with the color of their bodies. 



Thirty-three species belonging to this family have been found in the 

 United States and Canada; these represent eight genera. 



