oGG 



INSECTS AT HOME. 



wholly without wings or wing-cases, these organs being merely 

 indicated by some very small rudimentary appendages to the 

 thorax. In colour they are yellowish-brown, and have none of 

 the distinguishing characteristics of the Heteropteran wing. 

 The insect is extremely swift of foot, and bears some resem- 

 blance to the wood-ant. Both sexes are rare, l>ut the female 

 is even scarcer than the male, and is a great prize to any 

 entomologist who finds her. 



L'AVl 



1. Systellonotns trigrnttatns, male. 2. Ditto, female. 3. Oithocephalus hirtns. 



a. Do., head, antenna, and rostrum. b. Do., tarsus. c. Do. laljruni. «/. Do., elytron. 



e. Do., wing. 



An example of the restricted family Capsidae is given on 

 Woodcut LXVI. Fig. 3. This is called Orfhoccplmlus hirtus. 



Even to the unaided eye this is a remarkable insect, but is 

 shown to be still more curious when examined with the aid of 

 a microscope. The general colour of this insect is black, with 

 a slight dash of yellow. If it be placed under the microscope, 

 it will be seen that the ground hue is black, covered first with 



