CYDNIDAE OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE FROESCHNER 351 



in England and an abstract of their "Notes" may indicate what can 

 be expected of Sehirus cinctus in North America. 



Adults hibernate under soil. In spring they become active, mate, and lay some 

 40 eggs in a cluster in the soil or under protective leaves or stones. The female 

 remains close above the ball of eggs, apparently ready to defend it. The incuba- 

 tion period varies from 18 to 24 days. The nymphs and adults usually remain 

 together for about 48 hours after hatching. They feed on the above-ground 

 parts of plants, chiefly those of the family Labiatae, with most nymphal feeding 

 apparently concentrated on the floral or fruiting parts of the plants. Adults of 

 bicolor also have been collected from plants other than Labiatae. About seven weeks 

 are required to reach maturity. Since there is only one generation each year 

 the adults must live about nine months. 



The hfe history of another European Sehirus, S. sexmaculatus 

 Rambur, was reportetl by Boselh (1932); except for minor details the 

 two life histories are very similar. 



Scattered notes on life histories of cydnid genera other than Sehirus 

 indicate that they are chiefly root-feeders in nymphal and adult 

 stages. They apparently hibernate as adults and begin reproduction 

 in spring. Some forms have been reported (see Carvalho, 1952, p. 

 1) as feeding on roots "two meters below the surface of the soil" 

 where they were associated with root galls some 4 inches in diameter. 

 Such subterranean activities are an effective shield against observa- 

 tion, and unless some of these insects become of major economic 

 importance there is little likelihood that anyone will attempt to make 

 a detailed study of the life history of even one of them. 



In the classification of the Cydnidae, the first subdivision into supra- 

 generic segments appeared in Amyot and Serville (1843) where the 

 two "groupes" "Cydnides" and "Sehirides" were established chiefly 

 on the shape of the anterior tibiae. "Cydnides" were described as 

 having the anterior tibia broader and flatter with strong spines on 

 the outer margin in all included genera except Scaptocoris; "Sehirides," 

 in contrast, were said to have the anterior tibiae only slightly flattened 

 and to be without strong spines on the outer margin. 



This division on the same characters was accepted by Stal (1864), 

 who latinized the names and added the narrow filiform shape of the 

 tarsus of the Cydnida and the more slender second tarsal segment of 

 Sehirida. This separation was used by StM and subsequent authors 

 until Signoret (1881b) proposed that these two groups be separated 

 on the basis of the presence or absence of certain setigerous punctures 

 on the head and thorax. Signoret's characterization kept most of 

 the genera in the same groups in which earlier workers had placed 

 them, but did require the shifting of Lobonotus Uhler to the Sehirides. 

 This shift is not supported by findings in the present study. These 

 two taxa have long been considered the primary categories in the 



