248 



PSrCHE. 



[June 1895. 



Heteroptera found in Vigo County, 

 Indiana, and to keep full accession 

 notes of tlie species of those two orders 

 as well as of the Orthoptera which I 

 had been collecting for some years. 



In November, 1S93, I conceived the 

 idea of preparing a paper on the insects 

 of the three orders mentioned which I 

 found either as adults or nymphs (active 

 young) of Orthoptera and Hemiptera 

 in the winter montiis of December, 

 January and February. I had intended 

 to collect during the present winter 

 and prepare the paper as the result, 

 mainly, of the two winters' (iS93-'94 

 and i894-'95) collecting, but having 

 moved from the county before Decem- 

 ber, 1894, I shall have to base it upon 

 the former winter's collecting and such 

 accession notes as I took before I began 

 a systematic search for winter insects. 



The Orthoptera taken are noted in 

 the present paper. The Hemiptera- 

 Heteroptera (about 65 species), and 

 the Coleoptera (between 250 and 300 

 species) will be treated of in future 

 articles. 



ORTHOPTERA. 



Blattidae. 



Of the six species of this family 

 known to occur in the county four 

 have been taken in winter. Of these 

 Phyllodromia germanica (L.), the 

 Croton bug, is very abundant in all 

 stages about the older hotels and board- 

 ing houses of the citj' of Terre Haute. 

 On Dec. 16, 1S93, 30 adult specimens 

 and fully half that number of young 

 were taken in less than ten minutes in 



the kitchen of one of the hotels. Two 

 of the adults \vere females with ootheca 

 protruding. 



Periplaneta orientalis (L.) is less 

 common and I have seen only half 

 grown n\mphs in the winter months. 

 It is most frequent in bakeries and 

 about old tenements. 



The other two species, Isclmoptera 

 unlcolor (Scudder), and /. pennsyl- 

 vatiica (De Geer), occur only in the 

 country. They are usually found in 

 company but the former is scarce while 

 the latter is the most common insect 

 noticeable in the woods in winter. One 

 cannot pull the loose bark fiom an old 

 log without dislodging a colon}' of 

 from ten to a hundred of the nymphs 

 of various sizes. Cold has seemingly 

 but little eft'ect upon them as they 

 scramble away almost as hurriedly 

 when their protective shelter of bark is 

 removed on a day in mid- January with 

 the mercury at zero as they do in June 

 when it registers a hundred in the 

 shade. The adults of these two species 

 occur only from about May [2 to 

 October. The n^'mphs of the two are 

 distinguishable b)' color alone. Hciobia 

 JJavocincta Scudder and Tenuiopteryx 

 deropeltifornils Brunner are found in 

 the county and probably pass the winter 

 in the nymph stage, but I have not been 

 able to identify them with certainty at 

 that season. I might add here that an 

 adult male of Peripla?!cta americaiia 

 as well as two nymphs were seen in a 

 hotel in Indianapolis on Jan. 15, thus 

 proving that that insect passes the 

 winter in all stages. 



