IIEMIPTERA. 175 



the first and second joints much thicker than the last two, 

 which are very slender and threadlike; the head short and 

 triangular; the body oval, flattened, and soft; the thorax in 

 the form of a broad triangle, with the tip of the anterior angle 

 cut ofT, and the broadest side applied to the base of the wing- 

 covers ; the latter, when folded, cover the whole of the abdomen, 

 and their thin portions have only one or two little veins ; the 

 legs are slender, and the shanks are bristled with little points. 

 There are, in Massachusetts, a good many species belonging to 

 this genus; but, in my Catalogue of the insects of this Com- 

 monwealth, they are included among the species of Capsus, 

 which, indeed, they closely resemble. The Phytocoris lineola- 

 ris, or little-lined plant-bug, measures one fifth of an inch, or 

 rather more, in length. It is an exceedingly variable species. 

 The males are generally much darker than the females, being 

 very deep livid brown or almost black above. The head is 

 yellowish, with three narrow longitudinal reddish stripes ; the 

 first joint of the antennae, the terminal half of the second, and 

 the last two joints are blackish; the beak is more than one 

 thu-d the whole length of the body, when folded beneath the 

 breast, extends to the middle pair of legs, and is of a yellowish 

 color, ringed with black ; the thorax, or that part of the body 

 that comes immediately behind the head, is thickly covered 

 with punctures, has a yellow margin, and five longitudinal 

 yellow lines upon it, which often disappear on the back part; 

 the scutel, or escutcheon, a small triangular piece behind the 

 thorax, and interposed between the bases of the wing-covers, 

 is also margined with yellow, and has a yellow spot upon it 

 in the form of the letter V, which is often imperfect, so that 

 only three small yellow spots are visible in the place of the 

 three extremities of the letter; the thick part of the wing-covers 

 is brown, with the outer edge and the longitudinal veins some- 

 times pale or yellowish, and behind this thick part there is a 

 large yellowish spot, on the posterior tip of which is a small 

 black point; the thin or membranous part of the wing-covers 

 is shaded with dusky clouds ; the under side of the body is 

 marked with a yellowish line or a longitudinal series of yellow 

 spots on each side of the middle ; the legs are dirty brownish 



