Report of the State Entomologist. 



233 



painful, more so tlian those of a bee, and to be followed by numbness. 

 Its color is black or dark brown. Its thorax in front is granular or 

 marked transversely with iine striae. The antennae are brown and 

 hairy. The eyes are quite large and almost join below. Legs the 

 color of the body, Under side of the body, hairy. 



Of Prionotus cristatus (Linn.), the " nine-pronged wheel-bug," or the 



Pig. 48.— The nine-pronged wheel-bug, Peionotus ceistatus, in its young and mature 

 forms ; also, its hexagonal egg-mass, eggs enlarged to show their flask-shape, and an 

 egg giving out the larva. 



"devil's horse," illustrated in figure 48, Glover states that it is very 

 apt to sting if not handled with great care, and that the poison fluid 

 ejected when the wound is inflicted is extremely painful. Having been 

 stung by one of them, " the pain lasted for several hours, and was 

 only alleviated by applications of ammonia. Several days afterwards, 

 the flesh immediately surrounding the puncture was so poisoned 

 that it sloughed off, leaving a small hole in the thumb injured " 

 MS. Notes Journ. — Hemiptera, 1876, p. 61-2). 



Sirthenea carinata (Fabr.), — of a black ground color, with a long 

 red spot at the base of each wing-cover, the sides of the abdomen 

 also marked with red, and the legs honey-yellow — is also charged 

 with the infliction, at times, of painful wounds, but the authority for 

 the statement can not be found at the present writing. 

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