10 Heniptera-Heteroptera. 
joint of the tarsi bears the claw or claws and the pulvilli 
when present. ; 
The Abdomen.—Lacaze- Duthiersconsiders the abdomen of 
the Hemiptera to consist of eleven segments ; the presence 
of some of these, however, is more or less theoretical, they 
being merely indicated by certain sclerites representing a 
portion only of the original segment; looking at the abdomen 
from beneath, the basal segment is very short, and looks 
almost as if it were part of the thorax ; then follow five 
well-defined segments, and beyond these five come what 
are termed the genital segments ; these are usually two or 
three in number and are much modified for generative 
purposes ; there is a complete ovipositor observable in the 
females of the Capside and some other groups; and 
in the males, throughout the Heteroptera, what are 
termed the genital styles, which may be found lying 
one on each side of the apical aperture, seem to afford 
good specific characters, although they have not been 
employed for such a purpose except where actually neces- 
sary. A curious organ occurs on the posterior margin 
of the upper side of the sixth abdominal segment in the 
Corixide, and was first pointed out by Dr. Buchanan White 
(Ent. Mo. Mag. x. p. 60, etc.) ; this “ consists of a chitinous 
plate attached to a short pedicle and provided with rows of 
closely set teeth ;” the plate varies in shape and in the 
number of teeth in the different species. Dr. White calls 
this organ the strigil and points out that it has no doubt 
some connexion with the genital organs. In the males of 
Corixa the last four segments of the abdomen are asym- 
metrical; in most species the asymmetry is on the right 
side and in a few it is on the left; “the strigil has a corre- 
sponding situation,” butis not observable in all the species, 
Collecting, etec.—The insects of this order, especially those 
belonging to the Capsidi, are in many cases so fragile that to 
touch them with the fingers isto run a great risk of spoiling 
the specimens ; the plan I have always adopted for securing 
