THE AUCHBNORRHYNCHOUS HOMOPTERA. 235 







feeble suture without proper membrane. Mthalion reticulatum 

 accords, discounted by tolerably small peculiarities, essentially 

 viitlrTettigunia in the structure of the first two segments, and in 

 the situation oL their spiracles ; on the other hand, they agree 

 essentially with^Centrotus in the structure of the pleura of the 

 third to eighth segments, and in the situation of their spiracles. 

 wLedra aurita, on the contrary, agrees in all essentials with 

 ^Tettigonia. 



^ 4. Falgoridce. — The peculiar structural characters of this 

 family are simplest and easiest to study in one of the large 

 forms — for example, a species of the snhgenus'^Fulgora — and a 

 species of this genus is for that reason the basis of the following 

 observations. 



The tergite of the first segment, which is medianly indistinct 

 and short, is laterally longer and well chitinized, and terminates 

 a little from the lateral margin of the abdomen, which is mem- 

 branous, externally limited and coalesced icith a 'posterior and 

 somewhat outwardly directed lateral part of the metanotum ; the 

 sternite is everywhere very short, but well chitinized, and extends 

 right out to the lateral margins. The tergite of the second seg- 

 ment is broad medianly, and shortens considerably laterally up 

 to the vanishing point, before it reaches right out to the lateral 

 margins ; the sternite is everywhere tolerably short, not very 

 strongly chitinized, and does not reach right out to the segment's 

 lateral margins, which are entirely membranous, but very short, 

 as the pleura of the third segment and the outer part of its tergite 

 extend forward as a — taken together — considerable oblique tri- 

 angular formation on the lateral parts of the abdomen. The 

 sternites of the first and second segments, together with a large 

 part of that of the third segment, are covered, as seen from below, 

 by the posterior coxfe and trochanters. The dorsal tergites of 

 the third to eighth segments reach, as usual, out to the lateral 

 margins, whereas their sternites (of which the eighth is modified 

 for the service of the genitalia) extend somexvliat farther out later- 

 ally than in the above families. The pleura are broad, and con- 

 sist/ of a loiver, well developed, but, however, not especially broad 

 (i?i Fulgora ventral) chitinous 'plate, and a usually broader, upper, 

 lateral part, ivhich may be noted as typiccdly meinb-rmifous, appears 

 , as such in many forms (for exa,iai-gle,^Megamekl^Issus) , but in 

 F'ldgora presents a somewhat irregularly formed, strongly chiti- 

 nized portion near its lower margin. 



The first pair of abdominal spiracles lies on the ventral part of 

 the segment in front, and partly exterior to the end parts of the first 

 segment's tergite, and behind and within the backwardly directed 

 lateral parts of the metanotum ; this is irfFidgora considerable 

 and transverse. The second j^air of spiracles also lies ventrally at 

 a very considerable distance from the lateral margins behind 

 the lateral part of the first tergite, thus more approaching the 



