THE LYG^EID^;. 105 



often produced into spines or horns. These are found in the warmer parts of both hemispheres, 

 especially in South America and the East Indies. Those from the former belong chiefly to the 

 great genus Edessa, and to some allied genera with five-jointed antennas, while the majority of the 

 Oriental species have those organs of four joints. 



In temperate climates these insects generally keep themselves in concealment among herbage or 

 the foliage of trees and bushes, but occasionally they fly freely in the sunshine. They winter in the 

 winged state under the shelter of dried leaves or in moss, &c. The eggs are laid in the spring, 

 and are of an oval or rounded form, furnished with a little lid which the larva pushes off" in 



emerging. 



FAMILY II. COREID^E. 



In this second family of the Geocores the scutellum is triangular, but does not reach the base of 

 the membrane, the inner portions of the hemelytra (claous) meeting beyond its apex in a straight 

 suture. This character is common to most of the species of all the succeeding families. The 

 antennae are of four joints, and spring from tubercles placed on the sides of the head above an 

 imaginary line drawn from the eyes to the base of the rostrum. The rostrum is four-jointed, with 

 the basal joint usually the longest ; the head bears two ocelli ; and the hemelytral membrane has 

 longitudinal veins, which are generally, as in the Scutata, rather numerous. 



The number of European species is but small, and their size is generally insignificant, but in 

 the tropics the species are very numerous, and generally of considerable size, some of them being 

 the giants of the terrestrial Bugs. Many attain a length of an inch, while a few are an inch 

 and a half or two inches long. Some of these large species, and a great many of the smaller ones, 

 have the hinder thighs much thickened, especially in the males, while in some of these, and in others 

 with slender thighs, the posterior tibise are toothed, or dilated in a remarkable manner. This is 

 particularly conspicuous in the South American genus Anisoscelis, and the allied genus Diactor. A 

 species of the latter is figured of the natural size in Plate 63, J. In a good many species the 

 third joint of the antennae is compressed or even more or less dilated, and in a few the second joint 

 partakes of the same character. Some have the lateral angles of the prothorax produced into spines, 

 or even into broad processes, which in a few are curved forward so as to give the prothorax a very 

 marked crescent-like form. In a considerable number of species the body is comparatively narrow, 

 the abdomen being scarcely wider than the closed hemelytra ; in others the margins of the abdomen 

 are wide, and project far beyond the sides of the hemelytra. This is the case in the most characteristic 

 British species, Syromastes marginatus and Vertusia rJtombea, the specific names of which relate to 

 the prominence of the margins of the abdomen. Others, such as the species of Berytus and Neides, 

 are exceedingly narrow and linear in their general form. 



The insects of this family are rarely adorned with bright colours, different shades of brown being 

 the prevailing tints, although some are more gaily adorned. In their general habits they much 

 resemble the Shield Bugs, being found upon plants and trees, and flying readily during the heat of 

 the day. The larger species produce a loud humming noise when on the wing. Their food appears 

 to consist for the most part of vegetable juices, but some entomologists believe that they are more 

 predaceous in their habits than the Shield Bugs. 



FAMILY III. LYG^EIDJE. 



The members of this family are, on the whole, much smaller than the Coreidse, some of the 

 smallest forms of which many of them much resemble. They also have a short, triangular scutellum, 

 two ocelli, and four-jointed antennae, but the latter organs spring from below a straight line drawn 

 from the eyes to the base of the rostrum. The rostrum is of four nearly equal joints. The membrane 

 of the hemelytra has usually four or five longitudinal veins. 



The nearest approach to the preceding family is made by the typical genus Lygtuus, which 

 also includes the largest species. These insects are generally of a red colour with black bands and 

 spots. None of these occur in Britain, but several species are found on the continent of Europe 

 (LygcKus equestris, L. saxatilis, L.familiaris, &c.), all of which seem to have a wide distribution. The 

 family is chiefly composed of a multitude of small species forming the genus Rhyparochronms and its 

 allies, in which the body is usually black, and the corium of the hemelytra of some light brownish 

 252 



