23 



NOTES ON SOME GENERA oF HETEROFTEHA 



by K. Kergroth 



Fam. ï>E:iSrTA.TOIw(riID-i5E 



1. Scylax DiST. — This genus coutains but oiie species : por- 

 rectus UisT. (mocrinus Dist.)- fn trying to réfute this well founded 

 synonymy Distant (Enlomologisl 1911, p: 23) resorts to an amii- 

 sing trick, to put it very mildly. He makes the unnecessary state- 

 menl that his types of tliese species were botli females (which was 

 clear froin tiie figures), and now describes the inale génital 

 segment ol' porrectm, and llien says : « this effectuaily (!V) 

 disposes of the contention ot Breddin (Wien. Ent. Zeit.'^XXVI, 

 p. 93 [1907 , repeated L)y Kihkaldv (Cat. Hem. 1, p. 371, 1909), 

 that S. porrectus, Dist., and S. macriims, Dist., were the sexes of 

 one species. » ît is, 1 think, the first time that Distant describes 

 the génital segment of an insect, and we bave to be thankfui for it, 

 but with the description and the quoted remark he entirely misses 

 his aim. As the places where Breddin and Kirkaldy speak of this 

 genus are correctly cited, Distant bas evidently read them. and 

 thus knows quite well that neither Breddin nor Kirkaldy bave 

 ever said that porrectus and macrinus arc Ihc sexes of one 

 species. Breddin simply says that he had received a long séries 

 of spécimens, showing ail transitions between porrectus and macri- 

 nus, and that macrinus is only a subbrachypterous forni of porrec- 

 tus — a conclusion with which I entirely agrée — and Kirkaldy 

 only says, without quoting Breddin, that he had seen spécimens 

 and that the two species « are the same ». Mr. Distant too often 

 forgets his own maxim : « any approach to misrepresentation 

 sbould be avoided » (Cfr. .\nn. Soc. Eiit. Belg. 1911, p. 230). If he 

 wants to show that porrectus and macrinus are distinct, he bas t(j 

 describe either the maie or the female génital segment of bot h 

 «species », and show where the différence is. Nobody doubts thaï 

 the maie génital segment of a species is différent from the female 

 one. 



2. Sepontia Stàl. — It seems to me that Distant on good 

 reasons bas separated Eusarcocoris Lereddi Le Guill. and two 

 other species as a distinct genus, Neostollia, but aiso the allied 

 genus Sepontia must in my opinion be divided into two gênera, 

 Sepontia Stâl, and Caenina Walk. (which corresponds to Stâl's 

 division aa of Sepoiitia). In Sepontia the scutellum is considerably 



