16 IOWA STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY 
Edessa meditabunda (Fabricius) 
Plate I, Fig. 16 
1794. Cimex meditabundus Fabricius, Ent. Syst., Vol. Iv, 113. 
1894. Edessa rugulosa Uhler, Proc. Zool. Soe. London, 177. 
This is the most common pentatomid on Barbados and was 
taken in considerable numbers on every trip. It is commonly 
ealled ‘‘Pea Chink’’ by the native Barbadians who, being more 
or less familiar with its odoriferous qualities, and upon seeing 
us take the bugs, frequently inquired if we intended to make 
medicine of them. Apparently the ill taste of certain medicines 
with which they were familiar was associated with the ill smell 
of the bugs. 
On May 20 a few examples were taken from the bare hills in 
St. Michael’s Parish, about five miles from Bridgetown. The 
region is very rough with some bushes, low trees and grass, but 
the place is so thickly populated and so closely grazed by goats 
and cattle that the vegetation is not profuse and plant feeding 
insects are not numerous. 
North of Bridgetown on and near the Hawkins Estate, along 
sheltered terraces where rapid evaporation of the rather meager 
amount of precipitation is prevented, the vegetation is more 
profuse and this species was found abundantly in this and simi- 
lar situations. In low places and small ditches grown up in 
vegetation over which the water flows in torrents during the 
rains E. meditabunda and many other plant-feeding insects find 
a plentiful supply of food. The former seemed to be especially 
fond of a solanaceous plant of some sort and on May 28 in six 
sweeps of the hand net fourteen adults and one nymph of this 
species were taken. Again, a little farther on, in a half dozen 
sweeps of the net, thirteen adults were captured. 
A few examples were taken in the vicinity of Christ Church, 
Oistin Bay. 
A deep gully along the railroad tracks about two miles out of 
Bridgetown, in spite of the fact that it is kept closely pastured 
by goats and cattle, supports an abundant vegetation. Here, 
on the afternoon of June 3, we took considerable numbers of 
the present species as well as examples of most other pentatomid 
species which occur on the island. 
At Antigua, the species was much less common, although a 
