96 SHIELD-BACKED BUGS. 
FAMILY CORIMELAENIDAE. 
(Negro-bugs). 
This family contains a number of mostly black, hemispher- 
ical and beetle-like bugs; some have a bluish or greenish tinge, 
and all belong to a single genus. ‘The scutellum is very large, 
very convex, covering nearly the entire abdomen; it also pos- 
sesses short grooves on each side for the reception of the edge 
of the wing-covers. 
Corimelena pulicaria Germ. (The Flea-like Negro-bug). 
As the illustration, Fig. 95, shows, it is black, polished, with 
a whitish stripe along each side. Its pointed beak is hidden. 
It sometimes occurs in large numbers upon various fruit-bearing 
plants, but seems to be partial to the blackberry and raspberry, 
and is by no means a stranger to the strawberry. Very large 
numbers sometimes occur upon the potato vines, where they 
cause wilting of the leaves. It is a disgusting little pest, and 
its presence may be discovered by the nauseous buggy odor of 
the fruit. The insect is so small, however, that it is often taken 
into the mouth unnoticed until its disgusting flavor reveals its 
presence. Of course such an accident is apt to spoil the ap- 
petite for even the finest plate of fruit, and the disappointed 
lover of it is apt to use strong language about bugs in general 
and the negro-bug in particular. 
FAMILY SCUTELLERIDAE. 
(Shield-backed Bugs). 
The insects, belonging to this family resemble the Negro- 
bugs in many ways. They are turtle-shaped, with a large scutel- 
lum covering nearly the entire upper surface of the abdomen, 
but they possess no grooves to receive the edges of the wing- 
covers when at rest. In the few species occurring in Minne- 
sota the feelers are five-jointed. The insects are too uncommon 
to be of any economic importance, but to show their shape Eury- 
gaster alternatus Say has been illustrated in Fig. 95. 
