82 THE UNIVERSITY SCIENCE BULLETIN. 



sphagnum, moss and shore grasses. They were numerous about a swampy 

 pasture pool in New York. 



Reuter, who created the genus Lampracanthia for Uhler's crassicornis 

 species, stated that though he had never seen S. anthracina Uhler it 

 probably should be placed with Lampracanthia crassicornis. The habits, 

 the similarity of their eggs and their method of deposition is certainly in 

 favor of such a consideration. Yet when one examines Uhler's coriacea, 

 one is justified in believing anthractyia more nearly related to it than to 

 L. crassicornis. 



Family HEBRID^ A. & S. 1843. 



(Hebrus from Hebre, a river in Thrace A. & S.) 



A. Taxonomy of the Hebrid^. 



Family Characteristics. Very small plump bodied insects. The adults 

 in the genus Hebrus always winged while those of Merragata are di- 

 morphic. Antennae five-segmented in Hebrus, four in Merragata. Ocelli 

 present; head and thorax sulcate beneath; rostrum three-segmented; 

 tarsi two-segmented. Until recently but one genus was recorded for the 

 United States. In February, 1917, Carl Drake added the genus Mer- 

 ragata to our fauna with two new species from Ohio. We have thus 

 recorded six Hebrids for the United States, four in the genus Hebrus 

 and two in the genus Merragata. 



Historical Review. These insects were placed with the group which 

 now forms the Gerridse (Amphibicorisae Duf. and Hydrodromica Fieb.) 

 in its broad sense by Brulle 1835, Burmeister 1835, Blanchard 1840, 

 Westwood 1840, Fieber 1851-1861, Barensprung 1860, Walker 1873, J. 

 Sahlberg 1875, Saunders 1875 and Kirkaldy 1909. In 1884 Berg placed 

 them beside the above forms. They were treated as relatives to the 

 Tingidids by Amyot and Serville 1843, Flor 1860, Douglas and Scott 

 1865, Puton 1875-1899, and by Saunders 1892. Lethierry and Severin 

 1896, Distant 1904, Champion 1898 and Oshanin 1908 placed them be- 

 tween the Aradids and Gerrids (Hydrometridae) . Herrich-Schaffer 

 classed them with the Lygaeids. Handlirsch 1908 appears to derive them 

 from the Hydrometrid group and places them next to the Lyg^ids ac- 

 cording to his diagram, although Reuter says this author is uncertain 

 in regard to them. According to Reuter's table 1910 they arise doubt- 

 fully from the Neidoideae group. The Tingididae are their nearest rela- 

 tives wathin this group. The Coreidae lie just beyond in the next group. 

 In 1912, Reuter removes them to another series altogether and lists 

 the Hebrids under the superfamily Reduvioidiae because of their simi- 

 larity to certain Nabids. Horvath, Bergroth and Champion consider 

 the Hebrids and Mesoveliids closely related, as does Van Duzee. 



KEY TO GENERA. 



A. Antennae consisting of four segments, the minute segment at the 



base of the third segment being counted as a part of the third 



segment. Merragata White. 



AA. Antennae consisting of five segments, the minute segment at the 



base of the third being counted as a part of the third segment. 



Hebrus Laporte. 



