BUGS. 287 



next to the costal margin, followed by a dot on the cuneus, and the membrane are 

 black. Two dusky bands are also present on the femora, and one or two traces be- 

 neath the knees. It usually measures somewhat more than one-fourth of an inch in 

 length. This species is exceedingly variable in the extent of its marking ; some spe- 

 cimens are almost destitute of the black stripes, and others have them shortened and 

 run together as in the variety P. nigriger from Mexico. The leaves of dahlias, cur- 

 rants, and various other garden plants and fruits are infested by this insect ; but it has 

 not yet proved to bo seriously destructive in any part of the United States. P. goni- 

 phorus is a similar, but still more variable species, which inhabits the entire eastern 

 side of North America, from Quebec to southern Florida, and west to the Rocky Moun- 

 tains and the Mexican boundary. 



In contrast with the foregoing, we notice one other form, the glassy-looking Hya- 

 liodes vitripennis, which belongs to the division Cyllecoraria. It and the allied genera 

 belong to a set of forms which may be recognized by the neck-like proportions of the 

 front of the prothorax in continuity with the head. The eyes stand out jDrominently 

 on each side, like beads, and the front is bluntly rounded. Here the base of the pro- 

 thorax is broadly convex, and the wing-covers are flat and long elliptical, with the cos- 

 tal edge strongly carinate. Its color is yellowish-white, with the front basal joint of 

 the antennas, back part of the prothorax, and a band across the apical end of the wing- 

 covers, red. The wing-covers are almost transparent, the prothorax is coarsely punc- 

 tate, and the forward lobe of the prothorax, the last two joints of the antennae, the 

 tip or more of the second joint, and the base-of the scutellum, are black. It measures 

 about two-tenths of an inch to the tip of the wing-covers. This elegant little insect 

 lives in great numbers upon the wild grapevines, but it is often equally common upon 

 the varieties of black and red oak, particularly in the early autumn, where it may be 

 seen searching for small, tender insects and larvse. It is distributed from Canada to 

 Florida, and west to Kansas and Texas. A variety has the red replaced by black, and 

 a black stripe runs along its prothorax. 



A wide hiatus exists between the family just noticed and the Ptebhocobid^, now 

 to be considered. These latter are stouter and much more heavily built, generally 

 large insects, marked with strongly contrasting colors, in which red and black play a 

 conspicuous part. The first sub-family of this group may be repre- 

 sented by the familiar cotton-stainer of the southern states, Dys- 

 dercus suturellus. It is oblong-oval in form, of a red color, the 

 wing-covers and an arc on the base of the prothorax, and also the 

 scutellum, are pale brown. The wing-covers have the costal margin, 

 a narrow line bordering the base of the membrane and continuing 

 diagonally along the outer margin of the clavus, and also a slender 

 streak on the inner margin of the clavus, pale yellow. The first 

 joint of the antennse is very short, and, together with the base of ' mtm-ei^us.""^ 



the second joint, red ; the remainder of the second, and also the 

 third, fourth, and fifth joints, the membrane and the shanks, including the tarsi, are 

 black. It varies much in size, ranging from five-twelfths of an inch to two-thirds of 

 an inch in length. It inhabits the Bahama Islands, as well as Florida and other 

 southern states, and everywhere produces serious damage by withdrawing the sap 

 from the leaves and bolls of the cotton plant, as well as by staining the fibre an 

 indelible red or yellow color. 



The Largina agree with Dysdercus in having no ocelli, but they are generally 



