VIII 



HEMIMERUS 



217 



Fam. II. Hemimeridae. 



Apterous, Nirid Insects ivith exserted head, having a constricted 

 neck, mouth placed quite inferiorly ; the 

 thoracic nota large, imbricate. Mind 

 hody elongate, the segments imbricate, the 

 dorsal plates beiiig large and overlappiiig 

 the ventrcd ; the number of visible seg- 

 ments being different according to sex : 

 a pair of long unsegmented cerci at the 

 extremity. Coxae small, widely separ- 

 ated. Development intra-utei^ine. 



Fig. 114. Heniimerus 

 hanseni,femii\e. Africa. 

 (After Hausen.) 



In describing the labium of Mandibnlata, 

 p. 97, we alluded to the genus Hemimerus as 

 reputed to possess a most peculiar mouth. 

 When our remarks were made little was 

 known about this Insect ; but a very valuable 

 paper ^ by Dr. H. J. Hansen on it has since 

 appeared, correcting some errors and supply- 

 ing us with information on numerous points. 

 M. de Saussure described the Insect as possess- 

 ing two lower lips, each bearing articulated 

 palpi, and he therefore proposed to treat 

 Hemimerus as the representative of a distinct Order of Insects, 

 to be called Diploglossata. It now appears that the talented 



Fig. 115. Under side of head and 

 front of prothorax of Heviinieriis. 

 , base of antenna ; b, articulation 

 of antenna ; c, labrum ; d, man- 

 dible ; e, condyle of mandible ; /, 

 articular membrane of mandible ; 

 g, stipes of maxilla ; h, exterior 

 lobe ; i, palpus of maxilla ; k, sub- 

 mentum ; I, mentum ; m, terminal 

 lobe of labium ; ?i, labial palp ; 0, 

 plate between submentum and ster- 

 num ; jp, prosternum ; q, cervical 

 sclerites. (After Hansen.) 



'P k ^ 



Swiss entomologist was in this case deceived by a bad prepara- 

 tion, and that the mouth shows but little departure from the 

 ordinary mandibulate type. There is a large inflexed labrum ; 



1 i:nt. Tidskr. 1894, p. 65. 



