686 FAMILY XXIX. — MIRIDjE. 



from Ontario and New England west to Colorado and south 

 to Florida. Easily known by its large size and wholly pale 

 pronotum and scutellum. Uhler (1884, 286) states that the 

 head is sometimes yellow and that the "young occur upon wild 

 blackberry and other bushes in the alleys of oak woods where 

 the soil is damp and rich." Knight (1923, 556) has described 

 from Maine a var. angusticollis, a small form (6.9 — 8 mm.) with 

 width of pronotal collar less than width of head. 



665 ( — ). Platytylellus nigroscutellatus Knight, 1923, 557. 



Slightly larger than insitivus, color the same except that scutellum 

 is black and sternum blackish with pleura orange-yellow. Genital of 

 male with a prominent tubercle at base of left clasper and a smaller one 

 at base of right clasper. Length, 9.2 — 9.7 mm. 



Recorded only from New York and Pennsylvania. 



666 ( — ). Platytylellus fraternus Knight, 1923, 557. 



Head usually, except tylus, all or part of pronotum, and under sur- 

 face crimson or orange-red ; pronotum often with a large blackish blotch 

 covering the median portion of hind lobe and sometimes with a small 

 transverse median dark spot on collar; elytra either wholly sooty-black 

 or with the margins paler; legs usually sooty-black, thickly clothed with 

 long blackish-bristle-like hairs, coxae paler. Antennae sooty-black, joint 

 1, one-fifth longer than width of vertex, thickly clothed with inclined 

 bristle-like hairs, 2 three times as long as 1, male, twice as long, female, 

 clothed with short stiff dark hairs, 3 about one-third longer than 4. Beak 

 reaching middle of hind coxae. Length, 9 — 11 mm. 



Ranges as a species from New England west to Minnesota 

 and south and southwest to South Carolina and Florida. 

 Knight (loc. cit) described three color varieties, separating 

 them from the typical form as follows : 



key to color varieties of platytylellus fraterxus. 



(i. Elytra uniformly black; pronotum red, median line of disk, includ- 

 ing calli, black, thus leaving lateral margins of disk broadly red; 

 head with front and vertex chiefly black. 666. fraternus. 



mi. Elytra with lateral margins pale or red. 



(/).) Pronotal disk with broad median ray extending from black scu- 

 tellum to anterior margin black; calli and spot on dorsal surface 

 of collar black. 666a. var. rubromarginatus. 



(c). Pi'onotum and scutellum uniformly bright red, head, except tylus 

 and the calli red. 666b. var. regalis. 



(d). Head, except tylus, and the calli red; scutellum black; central 

 area of pronotal disk black, in dark specimens spreading to 

 involve all but lateral margins and the calli. 666c. var. discifer. 



