392 AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY 



Subfamily CYDNIN^ 



The Burrower-Bugs 



The subfamily Cydninaa includes the greater niunber of the mem- 

 bers of the Cydnidag found in the United States and Canada ; of these 

 there are twenty-nine species now listed, representing 

 nine genera ; most of these are restricted to the South 

 and the Far West. 



In this subfamily the scutellum is either broad 



and bluntly rounded, or triangular with the apex 



pressed down. The species are generally black or 



very dark brown. They are found burrowing in 



sandy places, or on the surface of the ground beneath 



sticks and stones, or at the roots of grass and other 



herbage. A European species is said to suck the sap 



from various plants near the ground. It is desirable 



that further observations be made upon the habits of this subfamily. 



Figure 456 represents Cyrtomenus mirabilis, a species found in the 



South and the Southwest. 



Subfamily THYREOCORIN^ 

 The Negro-Bugs 



The subfamily Thyreocorinaj is represented in our fauna by a 

 single genus, Thyreocoris, of which sixteen species have been found 

 in this country. They are mostly black and beetle-like 

 in appearance, some have a bluish or greenish tinge, 

 and all are very convex. The body is short, broad, 

 and very convex, in fact almost hemispherical. The 

 scutellum is very convex and covers nearly the whole 

 of the abdomen. 



These insects infest various plants, and often in- 

 jure raspberries and other fruits by imparting a dis- 

 agreeable, bedbug-lilce odor to them. A common and 

 widely distributed species is Thyreocoris ater (Fig. 457). Another 

 species often found on berries is T. pulicarins; this species is some- 

 times a serious celery pest. It is shiny black and has a white stripe 

 on each side of the body; it measures 3 mm. in length. 



Family SCUTELLERID^ 

 The Shield-hacked Bugs 

 The members of this family are turtle-shaped bugs; that is, the 



