THE THREAD-LEGGED BUGS. 525 



states. The P. simplicipes (Uhl.) listed by Van Duzee (1917, 

 235) is a species of Metapterus. 



KEY TO EASTERN SPECIES OF PLOIARIA. 



a. Hind lobe of head armed with an acute median backward projecting 

 spine and two tubercles; male with joints 1 and 2 of antenna? fur- 

 nished with numerous long erect hairs ; pro- and mesonota sub- 

 equal in length. 501. hirticornis. 

 aa. Hind lobe of head unarmed; antenna? without long hairs. 



b. Outer margin of under surface of front femora with 4 to 7 long 



spines arising from conical tubercles, these with much shorter 



ones intervening (fig. 16) ; general color dark brown; length, 



6 — 7 mm. 



c. Pro- and mesonota subequal in length, the latter without a wide 



median yellow stripe; front tarsus fully two-thirds as long as 



the tibia?; last ventral of male as in fig. 19. 502. Carolina. 



cc. Mesonotum longer than pronotum and with wide median stripe 



and lateral carina? yellowish; front tarsus less than two-thirds 



as long as the tibia?; last ventral of male as in fig. 20. 



503. floridana. 

 bb. Front femora armed beneath with numerous slender bristles of un- 

 equal length, the larger ones not arising from elevated bases 

 (fig. 17) ; general color dull yellow; length, 8 or more mm. 



504. SETULIFERA. 



501 (706). Ploiaria hirticornis (Banks), 1909, 44. 



Elongate, slender. General color dark brown; head pale, mottled 

 with brown; elytra dull yellow, the smaller nervures and a few small 

 spots fuscous-brown ; beak and front legs yellow, annulate or dotted with 

 dark brown; tibia? wholly dark; antenna? and middle and hind legs dull 

 yellow. Head suberect, as wide across eyes as long, its declivity armed 

 with a small tubercle each side just behind the eyes and a larger median 

 spine. Pronotum subcylindrical, slightly narrower at base, its disk mi- 

 nutely granulated ; mesonotum with disk feebly convex, sides slightly con- 

 verging from base to apex. Elytra surpassing abdomen. Front legs 

 with coxa? longer than head ; trochanters armed with two long spines 

 and several bristles ; femora armed beneath on outer side with five or 

 six long spines arising from conical tubercles, these with much shorter 

 and finer spines intervening. Genital plate of male furnished with a 

 pair of rather stout curved claspers (fig. 18). Length, 5 — 7 mm. 



Dunedin, Fla., Dec. 3 — April 23; two taken from beneath a 

 board on the site of an old house ; others beaten from dead 

 leaves of cabbage palmetto or sifted from roots of tufts of 

 grass. Southern Pines, N. Car., Nov. 20 — Dec. 14 {Gerhard) ; 

 Dec. 20, type (Banks) . In all the Dunedin specimens the wings 

 are represented by minute pads while those received from 

 Gerhard and Banks are fully winged. Described from Southern 



