SUBFAMILY V. — PIRATING. 



559 



II. Rasahus Amyot & Serville, 1843, 325. 



This genus is very close to Melanolestes. The eyes are larger 

 and more convex ; ocelli larger, more oval and set diagonally on 

 a bilobed tubercle ; scutellar spine compressed, longer and more 

 slender ; spongy pads of front tibiae oblong and more projecting. 

 Other differences as in generic key. A half dozen or more 

 species are known from tropical America, two of which occur 

 in our territory. 



KEY TO EASTERN SPECIES OF RASAHUS. 



a. Inner portion of basal half of corium as far as tip of clavus, yellow; 

 clavus black at base, its apical half or more yellow; body of male 

 narrow, the connexivum narrowly or not at all exposed. 



533. HAMATUS. 

 aa. Basal half of corium and the clavus both in great part yellow; 

 body broad, the connexivum widely exposed in both sexes. 



534. BIGUTTATUS. 



533 (749). Rasahus hamatus (Fabricius), 1781, 381. 



Elongate, subparallel, male; suboval, female. Head, 

 pronotum and scutellum usually black; apical third or 

 more of clavus and an oblique stripe on inner side of 

 basal half of corium dull yellow; remainder of corium 

 and membrane dark brown, the latter with a large oval 

 yellow spot on base; connexivum, both above and beneath, 

 with alternate wide black and yellow bars, female, the 

 dark ones narrow or sometimes wanting, male; legs 

 reddish-yellow, the front and middle femora paler at 

 base with lower face and upper half of outer one some- 

 times fuscous-brown; sterna black, ventrals fuscous- 

 brown. Joints 1, 3 and 4 of antennae fuscous, 2 dull yel- 

 low; 1 shorter than head; 2 — 4 subequal in length, each 

 two and half times as long as 1. Head and pronotum 

 with long scattered hairs. Front lobe of pronotum with 

 seven more or less distinct shallow grooves, the two on 



x Fl 2 S " 13 ( Affe'? each side oblique. Length, 17—20 mm. (Fig. 138). 



Champion). 



Dunedin and R. P. Park, Fla., Feb. 25— April 

 22 ; a dozen or more specimens taken beneath boards in damp 

 places or by sweeping along the borders of wet hammocks ; two 

 at electric porch light. Everglade, Fla., July (Davis) . Browns- 

 ville, Tex., June (Barber). Recorded also from Silver Springs, 

 Punta Gorda and Ft. Myers, Fla. A neotropical species known 

 in this country only from Florida and Texas, and ranging south 

 to Argentina. 



