1923. | Anatomy and Bionomics of Red Cotton Bug. 23 
the metanotum. Its two ends, forming the post alares, meet 
the lateral edges of thorax just behind the base of the forewings. 
Mesopleuron is a more or less rectangular plate with 
no pleural suture, but divisible into two rectangular areas, one 
behind the other, a red broad anterior and a white narrow 
posterior. Their line of demarcation is continued at the ven- 
tral margin, into the coxal cleft (cf. propleuron). When the me- 
sopleuron is made transparent, these two areas are seen to be 
connected with each other by transverse chitinous strands, hence 
probably representing the episternum and epimeron (EPS2. 
and EPM2.). This condition, viz., the presence of the coxal 
cleft and the absence of the pleural suture, has been observed in 
only a few other Heteroptera (Taylor—29 
A triangular piece is differentiated from the anterior end 
of the episternum, just below the origin of the forewing and is 
termed anterior basalare(A.B.) At the posterior corner of the 
anterior basalare is located a somewhat triangular apedome 
the position of which is externally indicated by a concavity. 
From the lower corner of the same sclerite (i.e. anterior basalare) 
begins a chitinous piece (prealare bridge—P.A.) which connects 
the pleuron with the deflected part of the scutum. Under the 
base of the wing, the slender subalare can also be distinguished. 
At the anterior margin of the pleuron is situated the first 
thoracic spiracle surrounded by its peritreme. 
Metathorax is invisible externally, being overlapped by 
the meso-scutellum and the fore wings. It bears the 2nd pair 
of wings. 
The Metanotum is differentiated into the scutoscutellum 
(PSSL3 Fig. 3c) and postscutellum (P.SI.3), which are regarded 
as the two incipient sclerites of a thoracic segment (Snodgrass, 
Entomological News, 1909). In other words the anterior sclerite, 
which in the mesonotum breaks up into the prescutum, scutum 
and postscutellum, remains a single undifferentiated piece in 
the metanotum. This condition is met with only in a few 
other Heteroptera (some Aphidae and Coridae). : : 
Metapleuron is comparatively narrow dorsally. The deli- 
cate intersegmental membrane connecting it to the mesopleuron 
lodges the second thoracic spiracle surrounded by its peritreme. 
As is the case in the mesopleuron, there are two rectangular 
plates one behind the other, which in the living animal are 
differently coloured, viz., red and white. These _ gisangek 
represent the episternum and epimeron. It may, however, z 
pointed out that the line separating the two plates is not conti- 
nuous with the coxal cleft, as is the case in the noes eigen le 
Near the dorsal margin of the pleuron there is a ghee h 
longitudinal area called cenchrus, the upper edge of w ss 
touches the postalare. In the anterior ventral region of t ri 
pleuron, just behind the second coxae is a silt-like opening o 
the stink glands. 
