JOURNAL 



OF THE 



Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 



Volume XXXVIII MAY 1923 Nos. 3 and 4 



A KEY TO THE FULGORID^ OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA 

 WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES 



By Z. P. Metcalf 



Introduction 



The Family Fulgoridce is perhaps the most neglected family of 

 homopterous insects. This is due in no small measure to the fact 

 that in comparison with other families of the order they are relatively 

 of little economic importance in our region. This is merely relative, 

 however, and in a final summing up it must be borne in mind that a 

 family of relatively small importance when compared with Coccidce 

 or AphididcB may be of outstanding importance when compared with 

 other families in other orders. Much more study must be devoted to 

 this family, however, before we can even begin to estimate its real 

 economic importance. 



Taxonomically the Family FiilgoridcB is of great interest and per- 

 haps in no family of insects in any modern scheme of classification 

 do we have as many and as diverse forms as in this one. There is 

 no doubt that the Fulgoridct are really of superfamily rank, but the 

 author feels that violent revisions in schemes of classification have no 

 place in a study of a restricted fauna such as this. From the view- 

 point of bizarre forms and structures few insect groups can even ap- 

 proximate the members of this family. Unfortunately from the stand- 

 point of great popular interest the forms are too small to create much 

 excitement. But with all of these limitations the chief drawback to 

 a real interest in this group is the fact that there is no manual of the 

 genera and species available. Descriptions are scattered far and 

 wide. A recent census shows that the descriptions of the two hun- 

 dred and fifty-eight described species in our region are scattered in 

 no less than fifty-nine separate publications with usually no corre- 



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