54 THE UNIVERSITY SCIENCE BULLETIN. 
Family SALDIDA Amyot & Serville 1843. 
A. TAXONOMY OF SALDIDA. 
In the treatment of the systematic part of this family the writer has 
been fortunate enough to secure the loan of the Hayden Geological Re- 
port of 1877 from the John Crear Library, of Chicago. This contains 
Uhler’s monograph of the Saldidz and the descriptions of all but a dozen 
of those listed in Van Duzee’s checklist. These latter have been gleaned 
from the various sources in which they appeared. 
Uhler stated at the time (1877) that only one genus was used but that 
good characters could be found for erecting others. Thus Reuter in his 
paper “Zur generischen Teilung der palaarktischen und nearktischen 
Acanthiaden” separates the family into 13 genera, eight of which are his 
own. This paper appeared in “Ofversigt af Finska Vetenskaps-Societeten 
Forhandlingar Bd. LIV, 1911-12, Afd. A. N. 012,” which, by good chance, 
was found in the exchange library of the Kansas Science Bulletin. As 
the title indicates, the paper is in German, but the tables and descriptions 
are in Latin. The writer has essayed to adapt the tables to the genera 
recognized in Van Duzee’s list and to render in English his generic de- 
scriptions in part: 
“Family SALDIDA (A. & S.) 1843. 
“Form oval or long-ovate. Eyes large, strongly exserted, inner mar- 
gin posteriorly emarginate or sometimes only subsinuate. Ocelli two, 
distinct or very rarely united into one. Rostrum three-segmented, first 
segment very short. Antenne much longer than the head, four-seg- 
mented, subfiliform or two terminal segments enlarged. Pronotum trape- 
zoidal, with the anterior side much the shorter, lateral margins oblique, 
with the edges recurved and the submargin depressed; the latero-pos- 
terior angles overlapping the base of the scutellum. Xyphus of the 
prosternum short, triangular, the prosternum short, projecting backward 
like a lid, over the base of the anterior coxe, the propleura with a 
roundish pit beyond the anterior angle of the prosternum. Mesosternum 
grooved, with the coxe placed moderately close together. Metasternum 
deep-seated, the coxez in contact at the base. Hemelytra without cuneus. | 
Membrane with looped nervules, forming a transverse series of four or 
five long areoles. Posterior coxze cardinated, broad. Posterior tro- 
chanters very long, acute, placed on the inner side of base of femora; 
the posterior femora and tibie longer than the others. Anterior femora | 
slightly thicker than the others. Tarsi three-segmented, first very short. 
Male genital segment with a dorsal apical opening, with two curved styles 
converging apically. Last ventral segment of female retrorse, usually 
produced, rounded, plate-like, covering the genital segments, apex rarely 
truncate and exposing the genital segments.”—Uhler and Reuter. 
“The posterior legs are thrown very far back by reason of the very 
large and long coxe, and, together with the long femora and tibiz, give 
them a great facility in vaulting into the air. They use their wings in 
connection with this motion, and generally alight several feet from the 
point of departure. Their motion in running over the ground is often 
sinuous, while rapid, and their selective adherence to the spots which 
best agree with their combination of colors may well shield them from 
the pursuit of enemies.”—Uhler. 
This family Saldide is represented in America by eight genera and 
thirty-two species. Reuter recognizes two subfamilies which may be 
separated as follows: 
