568 FAMILY XIX. — REDUVIID^E. 



i. Front femora but little if at all thickened, not spinous, but slightly 

 granulated ; pronotum produced backward over the scutellum and 

 with a high median tuberculate ridge; form very robust. 



IX. Arilus, p. 581. 



it, Front femora much thickened, armed with numerous spines and 



densely granulated; pronotum not prolonged over the scutellum 



and without a high median ridge; form slender. 



;'. Front tibiae unarmed; front femora without a subapical spine 



above. X. Acholla, p. 583. 



jj. Front tibia? with long spines on the lower side; front femora 



armed above with a stout, preapical spine (fig. 145, a). 



XI. Sinea, p. 584. 



I. Zelus Fabricius, 1803, 281. 



A large genus of elongate, slender species having the head 

 nearly as long as pronotum, subcylindrical ; eyes small, not 

 prominent; ocelli small, not elevated on a tubercle; antennas 

 very slender, inserted on the ends of their basal tubercles, 

 joints 1 and 3 elongate, usually subequal, 2 usually shortest, 

 about one-third the length of 3, 4 shorter than 3 ; pronotum 

 about as wide at base as long, narrowed in front, its hind lobe 

 often spinose ; scutellum with an obtuse V-shaped ridge on 

 basal half; elytra entire; abdomen with sides subparallel ; front 

 legs long and slender, their tibiae beset with numerous fine stiff 

 hairs. Genital plate of male scoop-shaped, the protruding 

 claspers usually prominent. Other characters as in key. 



More than 70 species of Zelus have been described, mostly 

 from tropical America, many of them based on color char- 

 acters alone. Ten have been recorded from North America, 

 six of which are known from the eastern states. Our species, 

 when first captured, usually have the front legs thickly covered 

 with pollen grains, bits of petals, small seeds and other minute 

 parts of plants; also adherent to the hairs between the front 

 tibiae and femora, numerous dead bodies of plant lice, rove 

 beetles and other small insects, the juices of which have served 

 them as food. It is probable, therefore, that they explore the 

 heads of flowers with their fore legs in search of such prey and 

 that the particles of the plants and insects become attached by 

 a viscid secretion exuded by the hairs. 



KEY TO EASTERN SPECIES OF ZELUS. 



a. Hind lobe and lateral angles of pronotum without spines. (Sub- 

 genus Zelus). 

 b. Femora, basal joints of antenna?, and elytra in great part, black; 

 hind portion of head with two black stripes. 540. bilobus. 



