igo The Orders of Insects 



preceding families by the presence of a cuneus and an embolium in 

 the forewing, as well as of corium, clavus, and membrane. The 

 face is prolonged forwards in front of the bases of the feelers ; its 

 edges are straight and usually parallel. Ocelli are present except 

 in the best known genus of the family — Cimex (forming the sub- 

 family Cimicina) which includes the common Bed-bug (fig. 104); 

 in this genus, moreover, the forewings are reduced to small pads 

 (fig. 104 f). There are four segments to the feelers and usually 

 three to the feet ; but in one sub-family (^Microphysina), the feet 

 have only two. In the sub-family Ccratocombiiue the feelers are very 

 long and thin, and bear many long hairs ; the two terminal seg- 

 ments are together twice the length of the two basal. In the sub- 

 family Anthocorina, which contains the majority of the genera, the 

 feelers are of the usual form. Tiie Cimicida; occur on plants, in 

 waste material, under bark and in like places, and are universally 

 distributed. 



Capsidae. — The Capsida are an exceedingly large family of rather 

 small-sized bugs, distinguished from tire Cimicida by having no 

 embolium, and from all the other families by having a cuneus in 

 the forewing. The skin is softer than in most other bugs, and the 

 form of the body is usually elongate and the surface slightly convex, 

 though in structural details there is the greatest diversity among 

 the very numerous genera into which the family is divided. The 

 feelers are four-segmented, the two basal segments being almost 

 always stouter than the two terminal ; the feet are three-segmented. 

 The male has genital armature visible on the dorsal aspect of the 

 hindmost abdominal segment ; the female has a distinct ovipositor 

 beneath the last two or three segments. The Capsida; are abund- 

 ant on plants whose juices they suck. They are found in all parts 

 of the world. 



In the four remaining families of Heteroptera, the feelers are 



very small and hidden in cavities beneath the head. They are 



typically aquatic insects, diving and swimming through the 

 water (170). 



Naucoridae. — The Naucorida are a small family of water-bugs, 

 characterised by four-segmented feelers and by the insertion of the 

 fore-legs far forward on the prosternum. The head is deeply sunk 

 in the front edge of the pronotum. The front thighs are fiat and 

 wide ; the front feet either with two segments and clawed, or with 

 one segment and no claws ; and the hind-feet with two segments 

 and two distinct claws. The Naucorids are broadly oval in form, 

 and live in ponds and streams. 



Nepidae. — The Nepidte are a family of large water-bugs with the 

 front legs inserted as in the Naucorids, but with three-segmented 

 feelers. They may be recognised at once by the long tail-processes 

 which serve as a breathing organ (see p. 291). The feet are all 



