80 Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society Vol. XIV 
KEY TO THE NEARCTIC SPECIES OF PIESMIDE 
(HETEROPTERA). 
By W. L. McATErE, Washington, D. C. 
Hitherto the family Piesmide has been supposed to be repre- 
sented in North America by only a single species, Piesma cinerea 
Say. To the writer this has appeared an improbable state of 
affairs, especially in view of the fact that twelve or more 
paleearctic species are recognized. His desire to study the neartic 
representation of the family has been gratified chiefly because of 
much appreciated loans of material by the following hemipterists : 
E. D. Ball, H. G. Barber, Carl J. Drake, Edmund H. Gibson, 
J. R. Malloch, Herbert Osborn and, H. M. Parshley, to all of 
whom he returns sincere thanks. 
As stated, but one species of Piesma has hitherto been recog- 
nized from the nearctic region; in this paper eight new species 
and two new varieties are described, and one previously described 
species, Agrammodes costatus Uhler, assigned here. The new 
species are all from southwestern states where careful collecting 
of the group should be done. The Piesmidz are partial to plants 
of the family Chenopodiaceze, which when systematically ex- 
amined in this country, will yield an abundance of specimens of 
some of the new species herein described, and probably additional 
new species. In connection with the present study examples of 
most of the European species have been examined, and there 
seem to be no holarctic identities. It may be added that the 
palzearctic species average smaller than the nearctic. 
The Piesmidz when recognized as a family distinct from the 
Tingidz has been based on characters most of which are not abso- 
lutely trenchant. 
The opposed characters are stated in the subjoined parallel 
columns : 
PIESMIDZ. TINGID. 
Jugee free and more or less Juge scarcely produced. 
produced at apex. 
