HEMIPTERA HOMOPTERA. 



695 



Fam. 23. Belostomidae. No 

 ocelli or respiratory tube. An- 

 terior legs inserted near anterior 

 edge of prosternum. Hind-legs 

 flattened with swimming hairs. 

 This family includes the largest 

 bugs and some of the longest of 

 insects. Belostoma measures 

 four and a half inches. They 

 are purely aquatic. The front 

 legs are adapted for holding 

 their prey, and they are said to 

 be very destructive to young 

 fish and frogs. Diplonychus and 

 Zaitha carry their eggs on the 

 backs of the apparently unwill- 

 ing male. 



Fam. 24. Notonectidae. Pro- 

 sternum short so that the an- 

 terior legs emerge from near 

 each margin. Pronotum over- 

 laps head. Antennae 4-seg- 

 mented. Scutellum large. The 

 members of this family, some- 

 times called " water-boatmen " 

 or " back-swimmers," swim on 

 their back, which is very con- 

 vex. They prey on insects and 

 fish. They hibernate in mud 

 and lay their eggs on water 

 plants. Notonecta and Plea 

 have British species. 



Fam. 25. Corixidae. Head 

 broad, free from pronotum, and 

 very movable. Prosternum 

 short. Common water-bugs, 

 flattened ventrally and swim- 

 ming the right way up. Corixa 

 and Sigara are British. The 

 former is so abundant in Mexico, that it is made with meal into cakes and 

 forms a popular article of diet, and is exported to Europe as food for 

 game-birds, etc. 



Sub-order 2. HOMOPTERA. 



The wings all lie upon the body in a roof-like manner and the front- 

 wings are usually of one consistency. The front of the head is bent over 

 so as to touch the coxae. 



Fam. 1. Cicadidae. Three ocelli, between the eyes. Antennae with 

 short basal segment bearing a 5-segmented filament. Anterior femora 

 thickened and toothed. A group of large and mostly tropical insects 

 (Fig. 439). The wings are usually transparent with many nervures, but 

 are sometimes pigmented. Cicadas are often long-lived, but almost the 

 whole of the life is passed in the larval stage underground. In the case 



Flft. 433. Ranatra linearis, with the two por- 

 tions, a, of the respiratory siphon separated. 

 Cambridge. From Sharp. 



