132 BemarJcs by Mr. Afkinson. [NoY.y 



It is not my intention at present to deal with the sub-orders Phytoph- 

 thires and Anoplura, the former including the PsylUdce, Goccidce, &c., as 

 the recorded species are few and of little value, and it will be better, 

 should time and opportunity permit, to undertake original investigations 

 of these sections in which India is so rich in species. My object in these 

 papers has been to lay the foundations of a * Homoptera Indica * by 

 collecting all the information at present available and above all to clear 

 the synonymy which is full of so many pit-falls and troubles for the 

 beginner. 1 felt that it was useless to attempt to enlist the sympathies of 

 observers on behalf of this interesting order of insects, unless some subs- 

 tantial aid was given them to enable them to take an intelligent interest 

 in the work. For this purpose I have given the original descriptions of 

 each Indian insect wherever possible or where Stal, Signoret, Distant or 

 Butler have re-described an insect, their descriptions. In a few cases I have 

 re-described the type, but this is so far a work of doubt that I have prefer- 

 red to give the original description only, however meagre, until I have had 

 an opportunity of visiting Europe and seeing the actual types themselves. 

 The work so far as I have gone is merely preparatory to a truly useful 

 work on the Indian Homoptera, and I trust that I have done enough to 

 enlist the aid of all lovers of Natural History in India to collect materials 

 for the purpose. I am prepared to do all I can towards naming any 

 collections sent for that purpose to me at 43 Park Street, Calcutta. I 

 would suggest that all new and unnamed or unrecognized specimens be 

 deposited in the Indian Museum until arrangements can be made for 

 their being sent to Europe for identification, and further I shall be happy 

 to furnish instructions for the collection and preservation of specimens 

 in the meantime. In the section Homoptera are included the cicadse 

 whose shrill song is so well-knowa, the beautiful lantern- flies with their 

 long cephalic process, the cicadinae, the plant-lice including that which 

 yields the lac- dye and lac of commerce, and the majority of the myriads 

 of insects which one can see flying about the street lamps at the close of 

 the rains. Not one in fifty of these latter has as yet been described, and 

 I can promise any one who chooses to take up this order plenty of 

 novelties and plenty of amusement. In the section Heteroptera are 

 included those insects which live on vegetable juices and are found on land 

 or in water, in the latter element skipping over the surface or swimming. 

 Many of them are beautifully coloured and vie with all other orders in 

 the richness of their clothing and the quaintness of their forms. As this 

 is the first attempt at reviewing the recorded knowledge of our Indian 

 Homoptera there must be many omissions but no trouble has been spared 

 to make the record perfect. Nearly all the English, French, German, 

 Swedish, Italian and Russian publications of the various Entomological 



