34 SUPERFAMILY SCUTELLEROIDE^E. 



ee. Front legs more or less raptorial (fig. 6, m) ; head cylin- 

 drical; pronotum with a transverse groove; prosternum 

 often with a longitudinal median, transversely striated or 

 granulated stridulatory groove between the front coxae; 

 beak 3-jointed (or 4-jointed with joint 1 very short), its 

 basal joint stout, usually curved; form variable, often very 

 slender. Predaceous species. 



Superfamily REDUVIOIDE^E, p. 501. 



dd. Elytra with a cuneus and embolium 1 "' (fig. 6, h) ; veins of 



membrane few, rarely free, when present usually forming 



one or two cells; texture usually delicate and form more 



or less flattened. Superfamily MIROIDE^, 1 " p. 620. 



'•'•. Head as long as entire thorax; body linear, legs and antennae 



very long, filiform; ocelli absent; beak 3-jointed, shorter than 



head; scutellum and elytra usually wanting; length, 8 — 11 



mm. Semi-aquatic; predaceous. 



Family XXX. Hydrometrid^e, p. 964. 

 bb. Claws of at least the front tarsi distinctly anteapical, the apex of 

 the last tarsal joint more or less cleft or bifid (fig. 6, n) . Semi- 

 aquatic or hygrophilous; predaceous. 



Superfamily GERROIDE^E, p. 967. 



Superfamily SCUTELLEROIDE/E (Burmeister) , 1835, 343. 



The members of this superfamily all agree in possessing 

 5-jointed antennae which are inserted beneath a ridge on the 

 side of the head ; ocelli present ; beak 4-jointed, inserted beneath 

 or near apex of tylus ; meso- and metanotum concealed ; scutel- 

 lum large or very large, reaching middle of abdomen, some- 

 times covering almost its entire dorsal surface ; clavus nar- 

 rowed toward apex, not forming a commissure, corium wholly 

 coriaceous, membrane usually with numerous veins; con- 

 nexivum horizontal or slightly declivent inward; tarsi 3- 

 jointed, rarely (subfamily Acanthosominse) 2-jointed. The 

 superfamily is represented in our territory by five families. 



KEY TO EASTERN FAMILIES OF SCUTELLEROIDE.E. 



a. Scutellum very large, U-shaped, longer than corium, covering the 

 greater part of abdomen, its apex broadly rounded (figs. 7, 11 



1B Except in the very small species (less than 1.8 mm.) of the subfamily Schizop- 

 terinpe of the family Cryptostemmatidse. McAtee & Malloch (1925a, top of page 2) 

 state that the costa of the elytra of the family "are thickened and provided with a 

 fracture (forming what are called embolium and cuneus)." In the second section of 

 their key on page 3, leading up to the Schizopterinae. they say : "Costa of fore wing 

 without a fracture" — which is true as far as the bugs are concerned. 



16 I have given to this group of families whose members possess a cuneus the 

 superfamily name proposed by Kirkaldy (1906a), as the one used by Reuter and Van 

 Duzee is based on the generic name of the "bedbug," the first Heteropteron probably 

 known to man, both physically and scientifically. It and its close allies are so dif- 

 ferent from all other Cimlcoidete of recent literature, that that name should be ap- 

 plied to them alone. 



