PREDATORY INSIXTS FREQUENTING THE ORANGE. 



191 



plaut enemies, i);irtiinilaily the leaf-eating caterpillars. Otliers of the 

 Soldier-bugs feed ui>on tbe juices of the plant for a short time after 

 hatching, and afterwards live exclusively upon insects. 



The most rai)acious of the bugs belong to the family Reduviidie, and 

 have the head well separated from tlie body by a more or less slender 

 neck ; they possess a stout, curved beak and long legs, well fitted for 

 rapid movements. Many of these species bristle with spines, especially 

 in tlu? younger stages, and the usual colors are dark brown variegated 

 with red. 



THE SPIDER-LEGGED SOLDIER-BUG. 



{Lepfocorisa Upuloides Latr.) 

 [Plate VI, Fig. 4.] 



This species lias already been discussed among the enemies of Bark- 

 lice .(see Cbajiter VI). It is very commonly seen upon the Orange, and 

 frequents, often in great numbers, trees infested with Lecanium Scales, 

 and not only sucks the juices of the Bark-lice, but also captures ants 

 and other insects which are attracted by the lice. 



This ])re(laceous bug should not be confounded with the plaut-sucking 

 Bed bug {Dysdercus .suturcllu.s), which does injury to the fruit. In Lep- 

 tocoris 1 the form is slender ; the body seven-tenths of an inch long and 

 the legs longer thau the body ; the colors are orange and bl.ack. 



The stouter form and deep- red color of the Bed-bug render the two 

 species distinguishable at a glance. 



Leptocorisa must be classed among beneficial insects, since it feeds to 

 some extent upon Plant-lice and Bark-lice ; but, like many predatory 

 bugs, it captures and destroys indiscriminately the friends as well as 

 the foes of the plant. Possibly at times it subsists almost entirely upon 

 the honey-dew ejected by Plant-lice. Acids as well as sweets appear 

 to be suite<l to its taste, and it is one of the few insects known to prey 

 upon ants, the juices of whose bodies are strongly flavored with formic 

 acid. 



The i'ollowing soldier-bugs form ])artof a great army of pri'<laceous 

 insects which frequent the orange tree, but have no very 

 close connection with the plant or its especial fauna. 



THE RAPACIOUS SOLDIER-BUG. 



{Sinea midtispinosa, De Geer.) 

 [Fig. 92.] 



Fu;. 92 — Sinea mul 

 tinpinosa. (Alter 

 G lever.) 



Colors brownish, with a red stripe along the upper 

 surface of the abdomen. The body is slender, but less 

 so than Lei)tocorisa. The young bugs are said to feed ui)on Plant-lice; 

 the adults, however, attack insects of large size. 



