144 Journal of the Mitchell Society [^lay 



whose number and arrangement seems to be rather constant. The 

 two basal segments of the hind tarsi are usually provided with well 

 defined spines ventrally on their apical margins. The claws are 

 usually weak and simple but the pulvilli are frequently of consider- 

 able size. The members of the subfamily Delphacince are provided 

 with a special organ, the calcar, which is an organ of great taxonomic 

 importance in this group. It assumes four primary shapes: spini- 

 f orm, in which it is slender and attenuated to a rather fine point ; 

 cultrate, in which it has one edge thick and the other edge thin like 

 a thick bladed knife, the thin edge may or may not be provided with 

 marginal teeth ; f oliaceous, where the calcar is reduced to a thin leaf- 

 like structure ; and lastly tectif orm, where the calcar is angled in 

 cross section, in some cases {Stenocranus) the two edges of the tecti- 

 form calcar are brought close together and the space between is filled 

 with a sponge-like mass. In both the foliaceous and tectiform calcars 

 the edge may or may not be provided with minute teeth. 



The Wings. Not very much attention has been paid to the taxo- 

 nomic characters in the wings of the Fulgoridoe. This is perhaps due 

 to three reasons: (1) The fore wings of Fidgorida occur quite com- 

 monly in three forms; a very short wing with reduced venation cov- 

 ering the basal segments of the abdomen only, brachypterous ; a wing 

 of moderate length covering most of the abdomen and with fairly well 

 developed venation, ka4opterous; and lastly a wing usually longer 

 than the abdomen frequently much longer with fully developed ve- 

 nation, macrojiterous ; (2) the branching of the longitudinal veins 

 are not constant either for the genus or species; (3) the position of 

 the cross veins is very variable and the number is not constant. Yet 

 in spite of these objections the Avings furnish good characters and I 

 feel sure that no satisfactory classification of the higher groups of this 

 family will ever be made without taking into consideration the wing 

 characters. 



Just what are the factors that produce brachypterous, koeloptcrous 

 or macropterous wings is one of the many unsolved questions in bi- 

 ology today. The reduced wings are found in certain groujis only 

 and so far as I know are never found in the following subfamilies : 

 Fulgorince, Flatincv, Acanolonina, AchilincE, DcrhincE, Cixiince. 

 Brachypterous and k(i'loj)terous wings are fairly common in the sub- 

 family Dk'tyophariim, occur about as commonly as macropterous 

 wings in the Delphacince, and are all but the rule in the subfamily 



