12 G- C. Crampton and W. H. Hasey, 



to the remarkable conclusion that the the epimeron of the meso- 

 thorax (which he terms the •'pleurit") of ^epa, represents both the 

 episternum and epimeron of the me tat h or ax of the Blattidae. 

 The mesothoracic epimeron of Xepa is thrown into a fold by the 

 forward shifting of the region behind it, and overlaps the meta- 

 thoracic epimeron, which escaped Heymons' attention entirely, 

 although it may by readily seen upon raising the flap-like fold of 

 the mesothoracic epimeron. 



There is such a flattening, shifting, and distortion of the sclerites 

 in the insects upon which Heymons bases his conclusions, that he 

 was completely deceived as to the interpretation of these sclerites, 

 thus illustrating how easy it is to be misled in dealing with the 

 ill-defined sclerites of the embryo. On this account there would 

 seem to be considerable ground for doubt as to whether the region 

 which Heymoks terms the ''subcoxa" is really a basal portion of the 

 leg, or is merely a portion of the pleural region, which in the 

 embryonic stages it not clearly demarked from the leg region; for 

 the leg is closely connected with the pleuron in the embryonic 

 stages, and the sutures which demark the sclerites are not usually 

 apparent in the early stages of development. 



It will be at once apparent to anyone who will glance at 

 Heymons' figure of the thorax of Ne2M, that the region which he 

 designates as the "subcoxa", is merely the episternum, together with 

 the pre-coxal bridge connecting it with the sternum. As a result of 

 Heymons' mistake concerning the homologies of the "subcoxa" in 

 other insects, how^ever, there has been a great deal of speculation 

 as to what plate should be designated as the subcoxa in insects in 

 general. Thus, Boeenek states that the subcoxa is the equivalent 

 of his "merosternum"', while Verhoeff maintains that it is equi- 

 valent to his "coxopleure" together with the trochantin, and Ender- 

 LEiN claims that it is the trochantin alone. Prell applies the term 

 subcoxa to the "pseudo-trochantin" of the Myrientomata, apparently 

 using the term subcoxa as a synonym of trochantin. Berlese and 

 many other recent investigators have adopted Enderlein's method 

 of applying the designation "subcoxa" to the trochantin, although 

 there is no apparent advantage to be gained by so doing. The 

 term trochantin (or trochantinus) has been applied to the sclerite 

 in question by entomologists the world over, for the past ninety 

 years, and is understood by everyone. It thus has everything to 

 recommend it, while the term subcoxa is not even appropriate, for 



