180 



FAMILY V. — PENTATOMID.-E. 



X) IS 



P-af 



America ; some of these, however, are mere color varieties. 

 Two species occur in the eastern states. 



KEY TO EASTERN SPECIES OP STIRETRUS. 



a. Color black and red or black and orange-yellow, sometimes a uniform 



blue; length, 10.5 or more mm. 125. ANCHORAGO. 



hi. Color brown-bronzed and dull yellow, without trace of black, red, 



orange or blue; length, not more than 10 mm. 126. fimbriatus. 



125 (207). Stiretrus anchorago (Fabricius) , 1781,341. 



Broadly oval, convex above and beneath. Above blue-black, shining; 

 front and side margins of pronotum as far as the humeri, and sometimes 

 the posterior side mai-gins, broadly edged with orange; scutellum with a 

 broad basal spot, angulate at sides, usually a narrow median line and 



the extreme apex, red or orange— yellow ; 

 antennae blue-black, the incisures paler; 

 connexivum with segments blue-black at 

 each end, the middle red or orange; un- 

 der surface blue-black; sides of abdomen 

 red or orange with a row of round spots, 

 and also a large triangular one on the 

 end of each incisure, blue-black; middle 

 of second and third ventrals and the 

 ventral spine orange or red ; front and 

 side margins of the prothoracic pleurites 

 and often a small spot or two on each 

 of the others, reddish or orange. Head 

 coarsely and confluently punctate, the 

 occiput smoother; antennae with joints 

 2, 4 and 5 subequal, 3 one-third shorter. 

 Pronotum with front portion in great 

 part smooth, the coarse punctures very unevenly placed; hind portion 

 more evenly and coarsely punctate, its side margins concave, their inner 

 angle acute. Scutellum with basal pale portion very sparsely and 

 coarsely punctate, the apical half more closely and quite evenly so. 

 Elytra finely, evenly, shallowly punctate. Abdomen rather finely, evenly 

 not closely punctate; thoracic pleura coarsely, sparsely and deeply so. 

 Other structural characters as above given. Length, 10 — 11.5 mm.; 

 width, 6—7 mm. (Fig. 36). 



Ormond, Bassenger, Istokpoga, R. P. Park, Sarasota and 

 Dunedin, Fla., Nov. 21 — April 4. About Dunedin it occurs 

 sparingly in late fall and early spring on flowers of thistle and 

 Xolisma and the foliage of other plants along the margins of 

 hammocks and swales. Van Duzee records it from Crescent 

 City and Ft. Myers, and Barber from Lakeland and the Indian 

 River District. It is a very striking insect, variable in the ex- 



