THE SMALLER WATER STRIDERS. 



997 



Fig. 199. Rhagovelia obesa Uhl. a, Male; h, female X 10 ; c, cleft terminal 

 joint of middle tarsus with enclosed tuft of fringed hairs. (After Hungerford). 



hind the pronotum (fig. 199, b) . Middle femora in both sexes distinctly 

 longer than hind ones, the latter armed beneath at apical third with a 

 rather stout curved spine, this followed toward apex by several minute 

 teeth. Female with appressed connexiva contiguous above fourth dorsal, 

 then divergent and again contiguous over the last one or two dorsals 

 (this character not well shown in the figure) ; first dorsal genital seg- 

 ment less than twice as wide as second. Length, 3.5 — 4 mm. (Fig. 199). 



Staten Island, N. Y. ; Cranford and Lakehurst, N. Jer., July — 

 August (Doris). Cornwall, Conn., July 7 (Frost). Its recorded 

 range extends from Ontario and New England west to Michi- 

 gan and southwest in the coastwise states to Florida ; also Utah 

 and California. Not definitely known from Indiana but per- 

 haps occurs in the northern counties. The only Florida record 

 is that of Uhler (1876, 334) under the name of R. col/or is Burm. 

 and probably should be referred to choreutes. It is probable that 

 many of the inland and western records should be referred to 

 oriander. Of the habits of R. obesa Bueno states : "This species 

 is found in the rapid parts of streams throughout the Atlantic 

 States. In such places they congregate in schools, swimming 

 powerfully in zigzags against the current, or at times sheltered 

 behind some outjutting rock, placidly paddling in the eddies 

 that swirl about it. It is sometimes found winged about New 

 York, but so rarely that my 15 years collecting have yielded 

 only seven." 



1134 ( — ). Rhagovelia choreutes Hussey, 1925, 67. 



Form and size of obesa. Dull black; hind portion of pronotum, meta- 

 notum and basal dorsals of abdomen thickly clothed with very short yel- 

 lowish hairs; two spots near front margin of pronotum, basal third of 



