110 [Assembly, 



From the critical revision to which our Hemiptera have been 

 subjected by Dr. Uhler, in his recently published Check-List of 

 the Hemiptera Ileteroptera of North America, it would appear 

 that the familiar name under which we have so long known this 

 insect, viz., erosa^ and so descriptive of its appearance of having 

 had its sides eaten out or eroded, will have to be abandoned for an 

 unmeaning proper name — that of Wolffti, given to it by Stal. 

 In the Check- List referred to, erosa is reserved for a Mexican form. 



In Stal's Enumeratio Hemipt. (part 5, p. 133) the author has 

 used the name erosa Linn, for a species from Surinam, the erosa 

 of Her-Sch. for a species from South America (Mexico, Uhler), and 

 the erosa of Guer. for a species from the West Indies. 



Stal cites as sjnionymous of Wol^ii, ^''Acan.thia erosa Wolff 

 {Icones Cim. 3, p. 89, f. 83), Phymata erosa A. & S. {Hemip- 

 teres, 1843, p. 290, 2)." 



For the above citations I am indebted to Mr. E. P. Van Diizee, 

 of the Grosvenor Library at Buffalo, N, Y., who is devoting 

 special attention to the collection and study of our greatly neglected 

 Hemiptera. 



Melon Vines Attacked by the Squash Bug. 



Anasa tristis De Geer. 



A correspondent writes: "My melon vines for the past two 

 years have been nearly destroyed by a long-legged bug, from one- 

 half to three-fourths of an inch long, of a dark brown color, and in 

 form (of its back) somewhat kite-shaped. They girdle the main 

 stalk of the vines, and later I find that the young ones have partly 

 burrowed about the root-stalk, the younger of which are of a 

 semi-white color." 



The bug above described as destroying melon vines is probably 

 the notorious squash bug, Anasa tristis of De Geer. Althougli 

 accounts of its injuries have been for the most part confined to the 

 squash and the pumpkin, yet it also attacks others of the Oucurhita- 

 cecB. We find no mention of its injuries to melon vines in the 

 writings of any of our economic entomologists, yet that it is 

 injurious at times appears from the above statement, and also from 

 that of Miss Murtfeldt that its eggs occurring very abundantly 

 upon some melon vines under her observation had been parasitized 



