382 AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY 



There are two marked peculiarities of this species that have caused 

 it to attract much attention: first, in its immature instars the body 

 is covered with a viscid substance which causes particles of dust and 

 fibers to adhere to it; not only the body, but the legs and antennae 

 also, are masked in this way ; in fact the nymph resembles a mass of 

 lint, and attracts attention only when it moves; second, this species 

 infests houses for the sake of preying upon the bedbug. It feeds also 

 upon flies and other insects. 



The big bedbug, Tridioma sanguisuga. — Closely allied to the 

 masked bedbug-hunter is a large bug which insinuates itself into beds 

 for a less commendable purpose than that of its ally, for it seeks 

 human blood at first hand. This insect measures 25 mm. in length; 

 it is black marked with red; there are six red spots on each side of 

 the abdomen, both above and below. It inflicts a most painful wound. 

 This is one of several species of the Reduviidse that received the 

 name of "kissing-bug" as a result of sensational newspaper accounts 

 which were widely published in the summer of i8gg and which stated 

 that a new and deadly bug had made its appearance, which had the 

 habit of choosing the lips or cheeks for its point of attack on man. 

 It is found from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Illinois 

 and Texas. 



The genus Triatonia was renamed Conorhinus and most of the 

 references to this species are under this generic name. 



The thread-legged bug, Emesa brevipennis. — This is our most 



common representative of one 

 of the subfamilies of the Redu- 

 viidas in which the body is slen- 

 der and the middle and hind 

 legs are thread-like (Fig. 440). 

 The front legs are less thread- 

 like, and are fitted for grasp- 

 ing ; they suggest by their form 

 the front legs of the Mantidas; 

 the coxa is greatly elongated, 

 more than four times as long as 

 Yi^. ^^o— Emesa brevipennis. thick; the femur is spined; 



and the tibia shuts back upon 

 the femur. In Figure 440 they are represented beneath the thread- 

 like antennae. Emesa brevipennis measures about 33 mm. in length; 

 it is found upon trees, or sometimes swinging by its long legs from the 

 roofs of sheds or barns. 



A monograph of the Reduviidae of North America has been 

 published by Fracker ('12). 



Family PHYMATID^ 

 The Ambush-Bugs 



The Phymatidae is poorly represented in this country but some of 

 the species are very common. Here we find the body extended 



