April, '13] HEIDEMAN: SUGAR-CANE TINGID 249 



time I was there none appeared to be doing any damage. Among 

 the Lepidoptera that were bred from caterpillars I may mention a 

 Syntomid, Cyanopepla submacula Walk. (det. Dyar). The Skipper 

 Perimeles remus Fabr. was very common in the fields. A few cater- 

 pillars belonging to the genus Cirphis, which commonly eat the un- 

 folding leaf of the cane were attacked by the parasite, Horismeniis 

 urichi Crawiord (det. Crawford). From the eggs of an undetermined 

 Fulgorid imbedded in the tissue of a cane leaf, I reared a giant My- 

 marid which turned out to be Cosmocomoidea morrilli Howard (det. 

 Howard). 



There were numbers of lizards of different species in the fields, which 

 do good work in keeping down insects of all kinds. On reference to 

 Plate 7 it will be readily understood how impossible would be 

 artificial control, such as spraying in a sugar cane field, when canes 

 are an}' size at all. The only time of the year would be when the canes 

 have just commenced to grow, but then two difficulties crop up, the 

 scant labor supply and the large areas to be treated at one and the 

 same time. Planters must therefore rely on natural control and in 

 Mexico there is a fair amount of it by insects and fungi. 



My thanks are due to Dr. Howard and his assistants and to Lt.- 

 Col. Winn Sampson for determinations. 



THE SUGAR-CANE TINGID FROM MEXICO 



By Otto Heidemann 



This neat little hemipterous insect was originally described as Mo- 

 nantkia tahida and figured by Herrich Schaeffer 1839, habitat Mexico. 

 F. K. Fieber copied Schaeffer's description and figure in his " Mono- 

 graphic der Tingidese, " 1844. Later, about 1900, Dr. G. C. Champion 

 found specimens of this species also in Panama and Guatemala and 

 redescribed and figured the same in the Biologia Centr alt- Americana, 

 but referred the species to the genus Leptodidya, which had been 

 erected by Stal, 1873, based on some South-American species. 



Notwithstanding the fact, that, the characters of the species al- 

 ready are well defined, the writer ventures to give a new description 

 more in particulars. 



Leptodidya tahida (H. Schaeff.) Champion.^ 

 Monanthia tahida Herrich Schaeffer.^ 

 Monanthia tahida Fieber.^ 



1 Wanzenartigen Insecten, V, p. 86, t. 173, fig. 535. (1839). 



2 En. Monogr. Tingideae, 1884, p. 70, t. vi, fig. 1. 

 'Biol. C. Am. II, p. 23, t. 2, fig. 10. (1897-1901). 



