42 limnobatina. 



Family 2.— VELIIDtE. 



Stout, oval, broadest across the proiiotum ; usually apterous. 

 Head short, 5-sided, convex, vertical in front ; Face short. An- 

 tennce 5 or 6-jointed, the third (or third and fifth) minute. Eyes 

 large, close to the pronotum. Ocelli 2 or 0. Rostrum 3-jointed, 

 lying on the sternum. Pronotum 5-sided, short, subrhomboidal ; 

 scutellar process triangular. Elytra flat ; nerves strong, forming 

 4 — 6 closed cells. Sternum not so wide as the pronotum ; sheaths 

 of the second and third pairs of coxcb oblique or vertical, each 

 pair nearly the same distance apart transversely. Legs not very 

 long ; first pair shortest, second pair slightly longest ; tibice thin ; 

 tarsi trimerous, or 2-jointed on the first pair, on second and third 

 pairs the second joint longer or shorter than the first. 



Abdomen very convex beneath ; Connexivum broad, reflexed, on the sixth 

 segment produced posteriorly or rounded. Gen. 1, Velia ; 2, Mlcrovelia. 



Section ^—LIMNOBATIISA. 

 Limnobatidse, Fieb. 



Structure hard. Form elongate, very narrow and sublinear. Head 

 very long, subcylindrical, widened to the front behind the face, 

 which is very short. Antennce very long, filiform, 4-jointed. Eyes 

 large, hemispherical, deeply inserted near the middle of the sides of 

 the head. OcelU 0. Rostrum 3-jointed. Thorax very long : Pro- 

 notum and Mesonotum united into one piece, produced posteriorly ;* 

 Metanotum depressed, as long as the /jro- and mesonotum together ; 

 Elytra very narrow, rarely as long as the abdomen, generally only 

 as long as the metanotum. Sternum : coxal sheaths progressively 

 longer and more prominent at the sides ; first pair vertical, second 

 and third pairs hindwardly oblique. Legs thin, filiform ; first and 

 second pairs subequal, third pair longest ; tarsi long, cylindrical, 

 on all legs subequal, the last joint with two fine, short claws inserted 

 at the end. 



Abdomen in both sexes with six abdominal segments visible ; Con- 

 nexivum not produced posteriorly ; Genital segments extending beyond the 

 sixth abdominal segment. 



* As in the foregoing section, for the sake of brevity, and for want of a 

 better iunn, we call this plate '■' protiolttiii.''^ 



