100 Journal Xew York Entomological Society. [Vol. XIX. 



water, clinging together." When raked out of the water together 

 with the mud and partially decayed vegetation, these insects usually 

 feign death, in which condition they readily escape detection, as their 

 flat bodies are ef¥ectively concealed by the black mud and decaying 

 plant tissue. It is only when the insects come out of the death feint 

 and move al)out that they are usually seen, but even then one must 

 watch closely, for their protective resemblance is remarkably good. 



Fear. — A sudden approach towards an aquarium containing Belos- 

 tomas recently brought into the laboratory sets them off from their 

 resting places, fleeing in all directions. A large number of these 

 hemiptera were placed in an aquarium containing bits of wood, such 

 as pieces of shingles. Many of the water-bugs would crawl out of 

 the water upon these floats, and upon our approach the insects would 

 sometimes hurry to the edge of the board and plunge into the water 

 with all the appearance of violent alarm. Specimens, which had not 

 been disturbed over night, exhibited the same hurried movements to 

 get to the bottom of the aquarium the next morning when approached 

 by a large object, such as a black hat. Undoubtedly w^e may say 

 from these outward appearances that Bclostoma manifests fear. 



Ncpa apiailata. Raiiatra amcricana' and Raiiatra kirkaldyi show 

 no sign of fear in its more usual manifestations. 



Thigmotactic Response. — It was often noticed that Bclostoma will 

 crawl below objects lying on the bottom of the aquarium whenever 

 possible. Large flat corks, four inches in diameter, were thrown into 



' Mr. J. R. de la Torre Bueno has kindly called our attention to the fact 

 that A. L. Montandon makes a new species of what we know as Ranatra 

 qtiadridcntata, viz., Ranatra amcricana, and sj^nonymizes Ranatra kirkaldyi 

 Bueno with Ranatra fusca P. B. Regarding these changes in nomenclature, 

 Bueno wrote us as follows : " Montandon in his ' Notes sur quelques formes 

 Nord-Americains du genre Ranatra,' Bull, de la Soc. de Sci. de Bucarest, 

 Rumanie, XIX, p. 64. describes R. americana, which he identifies with what, 

 following Uhler, we have been calling qitadridentata, Stal ; and he synony- 

 mizes my R. kirkaldyi with fusca, P. B. Montandon's method of identifying 

 by a figure and not by a description, seems to me too far-fetched. As a matter 

 of fact, I have in my collection two other species which can be identified with 

 the description of R. fusca, — one from the South, and another local one, which 

 I have also received from the West. To me, the question can best be resolved 

 by determining where Beauvois got his examples. Until this is done, I much 

 fear that I shall continue to regard my kirkaldyi as a distinct species and that 

 fusca is still to be determined and fixed." 



