No. 34'] HEMIPTERA OF CONNECTICUT I MEMBRACIDAE. 163 



E. vulnerata var. nigra (Gillette). 



Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xx, 765, 1898. 



Black with a white area on middle of costa and a yellow spot on 

 inner basal angle of elytra behind scutellum. 

 E. crevecoeuri (Gillette). 



Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xx, 767, 1898. 



Yellowish pronotum and scutellum with two red longitudinal 

 lines, face yellow suffused with red. Scutellum entirely red or 

 black, elytra with basal two-thirds reddish, yellow beyond tip of 

 clavus and with costal area at base more or less yellowish. 

 Length 3 mm. 



Occurs in wooded areas on foliage, not a common species. 



Family MEMBRACIDAE. 

 By William Delbert Funkhouser, A.M., Ph.D. 



Characters of the Family. 



The family Membracidae is characterized by the extreme devel- 

 opment of the pronotum which usually extends backward to cover 

 the mesonotum and metanotum and often completely conceals the 

 entire abdomen, the presence of two ocelli only, the poorly devel- 

 oped hair-like antennae situated below and slightly in front of the 

 eyes, the trimerous tarsi, and the usually membranous and 

 characteristically veined wings. 



Taxonomic Position. 



Although the taxonomic position of the families of the 

 Homoptera, and indeed the validity of the systematic divisions 

 themselves, have long been a subject of discussion among hemip- 

 terists, there seems to be abundant evidence to indicate that the 

 Membracidae are entitled to only a very low place in the phylo- 

 genetic arrangement of the families. The pronotum, to be sure, 

 is highly specialized, but the sensory system is very poorly devel- 

 oped, the wings are extremely generalized, and the genital organs 

 have developed very little from the ancient type. 



Phylogenetic studies w^ould suggest that the Membracidae 

 should be placed between the Cicadidae (which may be considered 

 the lowest or most generalized of the homopterous families) and 

 the Cicadellidae, with strong affinities toward, and probably from 

 the same stem as, the latter. 



Distribution. 



The family Membracidae is primarily a tropical and subtropical 

 group of insects and is represented in greatest numbers in South 

 America, northern Africa and southern Asia. It is in these 



