1887.] E. T. Atkinson — Note on the rice-juice sapper of Madras. 5 



or bug that attacks the aim rice, and in Tinnevelly it is called the 

 munju vandu, or rice-juice sucker or sapper. There is every reason 

 to believe that the numerous references which I give below all be- 

 long to one and the same species or its local varieties. This species 

 is represented in South America by the closely allied Leptocorisa 

 filiformis, Fabr. ; in Central and North America, by L. tipuloides, 

 De Geer ; in Africa by L. apicalis, Westw. ; and in Australia by Mutusca 

 brevicornis, Dallas. The general colour of the Indian species varies from 

 virescent (which in old specimens, fades to sordid yellow) to testaceous 

 and even brownish-testaceous : the rings, at the base of 2-4 joints of the 

 antenna?, vary in the space occupied by them ; and in colour, from white 

 to fulvous and testaceous, and are sometimes very faint ; the first joint of 

 the antennas is sometimes entirely testaceous : abdomen above reddish 

 orange, beneath entirely flavescent or with a row of four brown spots on 

 each side. Those without spots beneath are smaller, and in my collection 

 are from Assam and Sikkim ; the spotted forms are from Calcutta, Behar, 

 Tinnevelly and Ceylon but, in some of these latter specimens, the spots 

 are so nearly obsolete as to be barely traceable. 



Leptocorisa acuta, Thunberg. 



Cimex acutus, Thunberg, Nov. Ins. Spec, ii, p. 34 (1783). China. 

 Var. a. — Cimex angustatus, Fabr., Mant. Ins. ii, p. 308 (1787). 



Cimex angustus, Gmelin, ed., Syst. Nat. i, (4), p. 2193 (1788). 



Oerris oratorius, Fabr., Eut. Syst. iv, p. 191 (1794) ; Syst. Rhyng., 

 p. 261 (1803). India. 



Gerris angustatus, Fabr., Eut. Syst. iv, p. 191 (1794) ; Syst. Rhyng., 

 p. 262 (1803) ; Stal, Hem. Fabr. i, p. 66 (1868) ; Ofv. K. V.-A., Forh., 

 p. 658 (1870). China, Philippines. 



Myodochus trinotatus, Herr. Schaff., Wanz. Ins. viii, p. 95, t. 281, 

 f. 863(1848). Java. 



Leptocorisa angustata, Walker, Cat. Het. iv, p. 173 (1871). 



Leptocorisa (Rhabdocoris) acuta, Stal, En. Hem. iii, p. 86 (1873), 

 China, Java, Australia. 



Var. I. — Gerris varicornis, Fabr., Syst. Rhyng., 260 (1803) ; Wolff. 

 Ic. Cim. v, p. 202, t. 20, f. 196 (1811) ; Stal, Hem. Fabr. i, p. 67 

 (1868) excl. syn. G. apicalis; Ofv. K. V.-A., Forh., p. 658 (1870). 

 Tranquebar, Philippines. 



Leptocorisa flavida, Guerin, Voy. La Coquille, Zool. ii, p. 178, t. 12 

 f. 12 (1830). 



Coreus (Stenocephalus) varicornis, Burm. Nov. Act. Ac. Leop. xvi. 

 Sup., p. 298 (1834). 



