4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 112 



Tingitides Puton, 1875, p. 28; 1899, p. 38. 

 Tingidides Vollenhoven, 1878, p. 9. 



Type genus: Tingis Fabricius (1803, p. 224). 



The family Tingidae comprises a moderately large assemblage of 

 insects ranging rarely more than 2-5 mm. in length. The spe- 

 cies are entirely plant-feeders, and both adults and nymphs 

 obtain food by sucking out the juices from the cells of the tissues 

 within the living plants. At times they occur in sufficient numbers 

 to constitute an important plant-pest. 



Adults and offspring live on the underside of the leaves of the host 

 plants. Their presence soon betrays itself by the appearance of 

 whitish and discolored spots on the upperside of the leaves just above 

 the place of feeding. Many species are gregarious and both adults 

 and nymphs cluster near the spot where the eggs were laid. The 

 life-cycle is relatively short, two or more generations usually being 

 passed during the growing season. Metamorphosis, called hemi- 

 metabola, is gradual. 



Many different kinds of wild and cultivated plants serve as feeding 

 and breeding hosts. Among the common economic hosts might be 

 mentioned such plants as cotton, sugarcane, eggplant, cassava, rubber, 

 pear, apple, cherry, avocado, almond, tea, coffee, banana, cacao, 

 coconut, camphor, black pepper, and olive. Shade and forest trees, 

 shrubs, herbs, grasses, and decorative plants also serve as primary 

 hosts. Mosses, too, are inhabited. Members of three genera found 

 in Africa, Australia, Asia, and southern Europe are typical gall- 

 forming insects. Distribution, except for the lands of the Arctic and 

 Antarctic Zones, is practically worldwide. 



As a familial group, tingids are separated from almost all other 

 families 3 of the order Hemiptera by the intricate pattern of delicate 

 lacework occurring all over the processes of the pronotum and of the 

 fore pair of wings. On account of their lacy appearance, tingids are 

 known globally by the same colloquial name, "lace-bugs," and once 

 seen they are thus easily recognized. The immature stages are often 

 adorned with long, plain or modified spines, only the adults being 

 clothed with lacework in different specific patterns. 



The question is frequently asked, "What is the use or function, if 

 any, of the lacy dorsal covering of tingids?" Perhaps it is for pro- 

 tective concealment. For similar reasons man himself makes use of 

 "nets" or "screens" of various kinds to conceal or camouflage stra- 

 tegic objects from the eyes of enemies, especially from the air. Color 

 and markings also enter into the picture. 



• Members of the hemipterous families Piesmatidae and Peloridiidae also have the dorsal surface of their 

 bodies composed of lacework, but phylogenetically neither is very closely allied to Tingidae or to each other. 



