KEY TO FAMILIES OF MIRIOIDE^E. 621 



1, 9 and 13) ; head usually strongly declivent; macropterous 



forms only known; osteola absent; length (in our species) less 



than 1.8 mm. Terrestrial, usually hygrophilous; food habits 



unknown. Family XXV. Cryptostemmatid^e, p. 646. 



cc. Beak 4-jointed; joints 3 and 4 of antennae without long hairs, joint 



2 longer than the others united (pi. VIII, fig. 4) ; membrane 



with one or two closed cells (pi. VIII, fig. 10) ; head either 



porrect or vertical; length less than 2.8 mm. Arboreal, living 



among lichens on the bark. Family XXVI. Isometopid^e, p. 652. 



bb. Tarsi 2-jointed ; beak 4-jointed, the third joint very small, or 3- 



jointed; venation of elytra as in pi. VIII, fig. 2; length less than 



1.5 mm. Habits unknown. 



Family XXVII. Microphysid^e, p. 658. 

 aa. Ocelli absent; beak 4-jointed; tarsi (except in Peritropis) 3-jointed. 

 e. Joint 1 of beak scarcely longer than broad, not extending backward 

 beyond middle of eyes; membrane with a single large semicir- 

 cular cell; length, 4 mm. Habits unknown. 



Family XXVIII. Termatophylid^e, p. 659. 

 ee. Joint 1 of beak longer than broad, generally surpassing hind mar- 

 gin of head; membrane with two, sometimes only one, small cells 

 near base. Terrestrial, thamnophilous or arboreal ; usually phy- 

 tophagous, rarely predaceous. Family XXIX. Mirid^e, p. 660. 



Family XXIV. ANTHOCORID^ Amyot & Serville, 1843, 262. 



The Flower-bugs. 



Very small oval or oblong-oval sub-depressed bugs having the 

 head long, porrect, inserted in thorax to or almost to eyes ; 

 tylus stout, prominent, protruding between and in front of 

 bases of antennae, its apex blunt ; ocelli present ; bucculae want- 

 ing; beak 3-jointed, its apex acuminate, the first joint usually 

 shorter than head ; antennas 4-jointed ; pronotum short, more 

 or less trapezoidal; scutellum small, triangular; mesoscutum 

 in part or wholly visible ; elytra usually present, covering the 

 abdomen and with a distinct cuneus and embolium ; membrane 

 without closed cells, its veins few or wanting; legs short, sub- 

 equal in length, the front ones not raptorial, tarsi 3-jointed ; 

 metasternum with a more or less distinct osteolar channel con- 

 necting with the scent glands. Males with a single asym- 

 metrical genital plate ; genitals of females with a narrow 

 median sheath flanked on each side with two large triangular 

 plates. 



About 200 species are known, distributed in all parts of the 

 world. They occur beneath loose bark, between the culms and 

 leaf-stems of plants, under piles of decaying weeds and dead 



