bo 
qn 
BROAD SHOULDERED WATER-STRIDERS. 
FAMILY VELIIDAE. 
(Broad-shouldered Water-striders). 
This is a small family of bugs of very peculiar shape. Their 
body is usually stout, oval, and broadest across the prothorax. 
The beak is three-jointed; the legs long, but not so extremely 
so as in the next family. Insects belonging to both have the 
| | 
| \ 
Fic. 19a.—Rheumatobates rileyi Berg. Normal male, enlarg: d, the lower figure 
f showing abdomen from side (Heidemann,’del.). After Insect Life, Div. of 
Entomology, Dep. of Agriculture. 
last segment of the tarsi bifid, and the claws are inserted before 
the apex. The legs are fitted for running over the water, but 
they can also travel with considerable ease upon the land. The 
head of the species belonging to the family Veliidz is set closely 
into the prothorax; the round eyes project a little on each side 
of the head; the face is either short and convex, or produced into- 
