1056 FAMILY XXXIX. — NOTONECTID^. 



II. Buenoa Kirkaldy, 1904a, 120. 



This genus, formerly included under . Inisops Spin., comprises 

 small, slender bodied back-swimmers, which differ from Noto- 

 necta mainly by the characters given in the generic key. In 

 addition they have the antennae and beak only 3-jointed; front 

 margin of pronotum strongly sinuate, its middle projected for- 

 ward between base of eyes ; middle femora received in long deep 

 grooves on the mesosternum ; tarsi 2-jointed in both sexes; 

 ventral carina of females projected in a point slightly beyond 

 the tip of abdomen. The hind tarsi are, as in Notonecta, without 

 claws, though stated otherwise by Fieber and Bueno. The 

 texture of the upper surface is subhyaline, allowing the trans- 

 mission of the hues of the underlying parts, and just behind 

 the tip of scutellum there is an oval space known as the "claval 

 orifice." The inner side of front femora of males bears a small, 

 well defined stridular area which varies much in shape and in 

 the number of its cross ridges (fig. 213, g and //). Hunger- 

 ford (1924a) has given an interesting account of the courting 

 of the male as follows : 



"He singles out a female, maneuvers for a position some little dis- 

 tance beneath and behind her and begins a ticking sound as he slowly 

 cruises nearer the object of his desire, his body aquiver with emotion. 

 When within a half inch or so of the female, the ticking changes to a 

 hum and is followed by a sudden dash to embrace her. If she eludes 

 him, he begins all over again or transfers his affection to another. Some- 

 times when a female, aware of the attentions bestowed upon her, moves 

 away from the chirping male, the latter will turn to follow another 

 female that may pass nearby, and resume his mating call. In a few 

 cases one male has been observed to follow and chirp to another male. 

 The sound produced by these insects is a ringing chick-chick-chick like 

 the ticking of a watch that can be heard fifteen or twenty feet away. 

 This may continue for a minute or two, and then if the male has suc- 

 ceeded in drawing near the female, the note changes to a rapid twir-r-r 

 made by a very rapid continuous series of chicks. The sound is made 

 by the shuffling back and forth of the front femora and tibia* along 

 the beak, both legs in unison. The roughened structures near the inner 

 base of the tibiae and on the inner faces of the femora rub against a 

 scraper-like device on the base of the beak (fig. 213, 6). A comparison 

 of the fore limbs and beaks of the two sexes will show the modifications 

 in the male for stridulation. They sing their courting songs at all hours 

 of the day or night — on cloudy days or clear days, in sunshine or 

 shadow." 



The genus, as defined, is restricted to America and about 15 

 species have been described, several of which appear to be 

 synonyms. Six are known from the eastern states. 



