THE SHIELD-BACKED BUGS. 



47 



spot behind front angles of pronotum bronzed, shining; the fuscous 

 usually showing as narrow interrupted transverse lines on pronotum and 



, Sehirus ductus (P. B.) : b, Homct'mus oeneifrons (Say) 

 (After Drake, Tech. Pub. 16, X. Y. St. Coll. For.). 



X S. 



scutellum, though sometimes forming irregular blotches on each or both ; 

 beneath brighter yellow, thickly marked along the sides with blackish 

 punctures; antennae fuscous, the basal joint paler; legs yellow with 

 black dots. Head densely, finely rugosely punctate. Pronotum rather 

 sparsely and irregularly punctate and with a broad shallow impression 

 near each side margin. Scutellum more closely and regularly punctate. 

 Osteolar canal gradually curved forward near its outer extremity. 

 Middle portion of sixth ventral shorter and broader than in bijugis, its 

 apex subtruncate. Length, 7 — 9 mm.; width, 5 — 6 mm. (Fig. 9, b) . 



Lake Co., Ind., July 14, (W.S.B.). Havana, 111., June 29— 

 Aug. 15 (Hart). In both states it is scarce and usually taken 

 in sweeping or beneath cover in grassy, sandy areas. Ranges 

 from Quebec and New England across the continent to Van- 

 couver and California, and southwest to New and Old Mexico, 

 but not as yet recorded from south of Maryland in the Atlantic 

 States. Uhler (1876, 272) states that in Maryland it "occurs 

 but rarely and seems to affect the colder parts of the State, 

 where the vegetation is from a week to ten days later in de- 

 veloping than in the lowlands of the warm areas." In Colo- 

 rado he states (1877, 365) that it was "swept from the rank 

 growing weeds skirting or not remote from the water courses." 

 Van Duzee (1905, 548) mentions it as being "generally dis- 



