160 FAMILY V. — PENTATOMIDjE. 



"Owing 1 to its variable nature and world-wide distribution, it has 

 been redescribed (since the days of Linnaeus) under no less than 21 

 different specific names. . . . There is no reason why it should not 

 be able to establish itself here as it is quite at home in Germany and 

 Russia, where the winters are no warmer than in the United States. It 

 is recorded as feeding on orange, Celtis, mulberry, rice, sugar-cane, cot- 

 ton, maize and potato." 



Morrill (1910, 82) states that at Quincy, Fla., in October 

 and November, 1905, this bug was very abundant, destroying 

 potato vines and occurring commonly on cotton. Late in Octo- 

 ber there were on each potato vine an average of between three 

 and five adults and 15 and 20 nymphs. The attacked vines 

 turned dark and finally wilted. 



XIX. Acrosternum Fieber, 1861, 79. 



This genus is very close to Nezara, the only differential char- 

 acters of importance being those given in the generic key. It 

 is very doubtful whether it should be considered as more than 

 a subgenus of Nesara, though all our recent writers have sep- 

 arated the two. The genus is a large one, nearly 60 species 

 being known from various parts of the world. Only three have 

 been taken in the United States, all of which are known from 

 our territory. 



KEY TO EASTERN* SPECIES OF ACROSTERNUM. 



a. Form short, oval; head distinctly broader across the eyes than long; 

 cheeks slightly exceeding tylus; sides of pronotum broadly curved. 



108. PENNSYLVANICUM. 



aa. Form elongate-oval; breadth of head across the eyes not, or but 

 slightly, exceeding its length; tylus equalling cheeks; sides of pro- 

 notum straight or nearly so. 

 b. Spine of second ventral scarcely reaching middle of hind coxae; 

 apex of male genital plate subtruncate, sinuate and with a slight 

 median notch, its outer apical angles subacute. 109. hilare. 



bb. Spine of second ventral reaching or passing front edge of hind 

 coxae; apex of male genital plate with a broad shallow V-shaped 

 emargination, its outer apical angles obtuse. 110. marginatum. 



108 (179). Acrosternum pennsylvanicum (De Geer), 1773, 330. 



Broadly oval, obtusely rounded behind. Above green, shining; an- 

 tennae green, the apical two-thirds of joints 4 and 5 and the tip of 3 

 fuscous ; membrane brownish ; under surface green or greenish-yellow. 



