64 THE BLATTIDAE OF PANAMA 



Porto Bello, Panama, IV, 21, 1912, (Busck), i 9. 

 Gatun, Canal Zone, Pan., IV, 7, 1911, (Jennings), i d". 



Neoblattella nahua (Saussure ) (Plate III, figure 15.) 



1868. Blatta nahua Saussure, Rev. et Mag. de Zool., 2e ser., xx, p. 355. [cf , 9 , 



Mexico.] 



1893. Blatta nahua Saussure and Zehntner, Biol. Cent. -Am., Orth., i, p. 42, pi. 



iv, figs. 19, 20 and 21. [d^, 9 ; Atoyac, Vera Cruz and Tabasco, Mexico.] 



The present species bears a very close general resemblance to 

 N. adspersicollis (Stal), genotype of Neoblattella, these being the 

 largest known species of the genus. The unusual specialization 

 of the dorsal surface of the male abdomen leads us to assign it to 

 a different group, here designated as the Nahua Group, of which 

 the smaller but similarly specialized and broad A^. fraterna (Saus- 

 sure and Zehntner) is the only other member known to us.^^ 



This abdominal specialization may be described as follows. ^^ 

 Fifth dorsal abdominal segment with lateral portions produced, 

 lateral surface concave with outer margin folded up and over the 

 outer portion of the concave area, thus forming a partially inclosed 

 pocket on each side; sixth segment with surface subchitinous meso- 

 caudad, there, in a small area, with caudal margin concave, leaving 

 exposed only a brief area of the similarly subchitinous and elsewhere 

 concealed seventh segment; eighth segment with narrow distal 

 portion alone visible, margin showing a small indentation opposite 

 either cereal base, also weakly chitinous mesad; the brief median 

 portion of this segment, minute exposed portion of seventh and all 

 but the lateral margins of the sixth segments supplied with scat- 

 tered hairs. 



Porto Bello, Panama, II, 15 to III, 15, 191 1, (Busck), i o", i juv. d", i juv. 9. 



Rio Boqueron, Pan., V, 1907, (Busck), i 9. 



Alhajuela, Pan., IV, 17, 191 1, (Busck), i cT, i juv. 9. 



Taboga Island, Pan,, VI, 9, 1911, (Busck), i 9. 



The male from Alhajuela is unusually small: length of body, 

 15.5; length of pronotum, 3.8; width of pronotum, 5; length of 

 tegmen, 16.8; width of tegmen, 5 mm. A considerable series of 

 the species from tropical North America at hand is decidedly con- 



9* In adspersicollis the dorsal surface of the male abdomen is unspecialized ; that si^ecics 

 is found in tropical South America, while nahua ranges from tropical Mexico to Panama. 



9^ Saussure and Zehntner's figure, in the Biologia, Orthoptera i, pi. iv, fig. 19, shows 

 this feature, but only in a superficial manner. 



