MR. T. J. BOLD ON HEMIPTERA. 849 



our soil or climate hold out hopes of many of them being 

 hereafter found. We are much stronger proportionately in the 

 Hydrodromica, or species which live in water. This might be 

 expected, as such are much less subject to climatic influences. 

 On the whole, not much over one-third of the recorded British 

 species have been captured in our district. 



Many Hemiptera lead innocent enough lives, feeding upon 

 the plants they frequent, whose sap they extract by means of 

 their proboscis ; but a majority of them are highly carniverous, 

 and feed upon the juices of insects, or their larva. Many of the 

 small species, notably the Anthocoridce, devour great numbers 

 of "plant lice," or aphides; and not a few of the larger ones 

 appear to have the same liking, as I have often seen a green 

 Lygus, with an aphis kicking at the end of its proboscis. 



Notwithstanding the elegance of form, and beauty of colour- 

 ing, in many of the species, the study of these creatures has 

 been much neglected in this country. All the species of this 

 order have the power of emitting at will a most penetrating 

 odour which is often exceedingly offensive : this, and the evil 

 doings of our domestic pest, have caused people generally to 

 look upon the whole tribe with disgust. 



As will be seen by the catalogue, great use has been made of 

 the admirable work of Messrs. Douglas and Scott on the "Briti:! 

 Hemiptera," and to their papers published in the "Entomolo- 

 gist's Monthly Magazine." Abbreviated references to them, and 

 to three other authors casually mentioned, are below. 



Bong, and Scott, Brit. Hem. — Douglas and Scott, British 

 Hemiptera-Heteroptera. 



Boug. and Scott, Ent. Mon. Mag. — Douglas and Scott, in 

 Entomologist's Monthly Magazine. 



Fieb. — Fieber, Die Europaischen Hemiptera. 



Flor, Rhyn. Liv. — Flor, Die Rhynchoten Livlands. 



Zett. Ins. Lap. — Zetterstedt, Insecta Lapponica. 



