252 HETEROPTERA. 



Florida beaches, cast there by stormy wind and wave, and 

 may some summer day be found on our own coasts. This, 

 the type genus of the tribe, is a purely oceanic form, and has 

 been taken hundreds of miles from the nearest land, but it 

 also has been found among the Florida keys. Females have 

 been found with the extruded eggs attached to the abdomen, 

 and the Vitor Pisani expedition picked up a floating feather 

 on which were some red eggs, which judging from an ex- 

 amination of the embryo, were ova of Halobates. How they 

 brave the oceanic tempests, how they breed, what they eat, 

 are all mysteries befogged by speculation. This tiny being 

 contributes to biology one of those problems which form 

 its fascination for those who love that science. 



I have set forth in the preceding pages, very briefly, per- 

 haps too briefly, an outline of what is known regarding these 

 most remarkable forms, in the hope that by enabling others 

 to recognize them, our knowledge of their habits, their life- 

 histories and their distribution may be greatly enlarged. 



