THE THREAD-LEGGED BUGS. 531 



It flies at twilight;" and Smith (1910, 153) mentions it as 

 occurring in New Jersey "on bushes at the edges of fields and 

 about barns and is said to prey on spiders." Wickham (1909; 

 1910) has given interesting and full accounts of its feeding 

 and mating habits. 



McAtee & Malloch (1925, 78) recognize three subspecies 

 of brevipennis, two from our territory. Their key separating 

 these is as follows : 



KEY TO EASTERN SUBSPECIES OF EMESAYA BREVIPEXXIS. 



a. Pale annuli on mid and hind legs tending to obsolescence, especially 



in males, often the knees only pale. 506a. australis. 



aa. Full complement of pale leg-markings usually evident in both sexes. 



506. BREVIPENNIS. 



506a ( — ). Emesaya brevipennis australis McAtee & Malloch, 1925, 

 79. 

 General color paler than in typical brevij)ennis, the mesonotum, 

 elytra and front femora usually grayish-white ; middle and hind legs pale 

 to dark brown with only the knees broadly pale in male ; the femora with 

 a vague reddish ring at apical third in female. 



Dunedin, Lake Wales, Istokpoga and Utopia, Fla., Feb. 23 — 

 April 18. Recorded in our territory from Spring Creek and 

 Bainbridge, Ga., and Gainesville, Fla. Ranges south to Cen- 

 tral America and Panama. Of this form its authors (loc. cit.) 

 say: 



"From the Gulf States southward to Panama occurs what seems 

 to be a geographical race characterized by a strong tendency, which is 

 almost universal among the males, to lack all pale leg markings except 

 at knees. We have not been able to correlate this character with any 

 structural differences, whether of genitalia or otherwise, although it is 

 noticeable that in this form the processes of the eighth tergite often are 

 shorter than in northern specimens." 



VI. Metapterus Costa, 1860, 10. 



Slender bodied species of medium size having the head longer 

 than wide, suberect, declivent behind; eyes small; beak as in 

 fig. 23 ; pronotum subcylindrical, longer than the mesonotum, 

 the latter, in winged form, with sides sinuate and disk more 

 or less carinate ; scutellum very small, unarmed ; elytra of 

 adults often absent, when present narrow, their sides parallel, 

 tips narrowly rounded, reaching apical fourth of abdomen; 

 front legs with coxae usually shorter than head and pronotum 

 united ; femora with first spine long and stout, in our eastern 



