22 HETEROPTERA OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 



in the upper parts of trees, others chiefly on the lower limbs; 

 still others prefer the protection of roots, stones, or rubbish 

 on the ground ; a large number of species select a home beneath 

 the surface of the earth, often in the holes of ants or other 

 insects ; a conspicuous assemblage of dull-colored forms occurs 

 only in the crevices or under the bark of trees and shrubs ; 

 while a host of others skim over the surface of placid waters, 

 and a few are found remote from land upon the rarely disturbed 

 waves of the tropical and sub-tropical oceans." 



In this work the general habitat and food habits of each 

 group are briefly treated in the notes under the family or 

 generic heading, and those of the species in the notes following 

 the description. Those species which are plant feeders occur 

 on or near their host plant. Some are to be found on the 

 ground hidden beneath dead leaves and other debris about or 

 between its roots ; others on the lower leaves or, if it be a tree 

 or shrub, in the crevices of or beneath the bark ; still others 

 higher up on the flowers or leaves of the upper branches. The 

 predaceous species, which feed upon caterpillars and other 

 larvae, are liable to be found anywhere that their prey occurs, 

 while the subaquatic and aquatic forms are usually found only 

 near, within, or upon the surface of water. However, the 

 adults of some aquatic species, especially during the mating 

 season, fly freely to light. 



In the keys to families and elsewhere in this work certain 

 terms are used to signify in one word the general or local habitat 

 of the group or species, and also the character of its food. 

 Thus, aquatic means living /'// the water; semiaquatic, on the sur- 

 face of water; subaquatic, or hygrophilous, close to the water, 

 along the margins of ponds, streams, marshes, etc. ; littoral, liv- 

 ing on the sandy or mucky shores of oceans, lakes or streams ; 

 maritime, on the waters of the ocean ; submaritimc, along its 

 shores ; subterrestrial, living beneath the ground ; terrestrial, living 

 on the surface of the ground or on herbs or low shrubs close 

 thereto (sometimes, in a more general sense, the opposite of 

 aquatic); thamnophilous, living on shrubs; arboreal, on trees. 

 Terms relating to food habits are phytophagous, leaf-eating or 

 vegetable feeders; predaceous or predatory, searching for and 

 feeding upon other forms of insect or lower form of animal life ; 

 parasitic, living and preying upon man or other animals. 



As with the Coleoptera, it will be found that the best collect- 

 ing grounds are along the sides of lanes, roads and cultivated 



