BUGS. 291 



while Metapodius femoratus is distributed from North Carolina to Florida and Mexico. 

 These may be recognized by the dark brown color and rough upper surface with a 

 blade-like process projecting from the fore- 

 head, and by the thick, curved, knobby hind- 

 femora armed with coarse, curved teeth, 

 and the plate-like expansions along the hind- 

 shanks. Our Mictina embraces the largest 

 and most magnificent species of this group, 

 the Pachylis gigas. It inhabits Arizona as 

 well as Mexico, measures an inch and three- 

 quarters in length, and is of a velvety 

 brownish-black, veined with bright yellow, 

 and banded with orange across the legs and 

 on the base of the plate on the third joint 

 of the antennas. The nymph is deep steel- 

 blue, with two series of red spots on the 

 tergum, and a single series of larger ones on 

 the venter ; while the sides of the thorax, 

 the scutellum, and a broad band on each 

 of the femora and tibiae are brilliant orange. 



. . Fig. 335. — Pachylis gigas. 



It flourishes on various species of cactus 



common to the great desert plains. In this group occurs also the 

 XK//^ splendid Amazonian Molchina compressicornis, an insect rather less 

 ^■Jnt robust than the foregoing but with a long, sharp spine projecting from 



/"■JrA each shoulder, and the rough surface of the thorax, scutellum, and the 

 rBHN middle of the wing-covers splendidly decorated with emerald green 

 \ ^y I around the black, velvety spots. To the sub-family Coreina belongs 

 ■f \ our common Squash-bug, Anasa tristis, and also Chelinidea viitigera, 



^'^' ^.•^-^"™" an ochre-yellow, ovate form, with black antennae, legs, sides of the head, 

 band upon the base of the prothorax, and a spot behind the head. 



The corium is slightly dusky, with pale yellow veins, while 



the membrane and scutellum are blackish. Several other 



sub-families occur here, which we can only mention by 



name. These are Spartocerina, Chariesterina, Mesocorina, 



Rhopalina, etc. 



We now reach the extremely comprehensive super-family 



PENTATOMOIDEA, composed of the sub-families Acan- 



thosomina, Edessina, Pentatomina, Sciocorina, Halydina, 



Phlseina, Asopina, and the family Cydnid^. Only a few of 



■'. ,. . r.ti -IT yy ^ Fia.aSI.—Clielinidea viitigera. 



these can be indicated at this time. The old genus Cya- 



nus is most commonly represented in North America by the shining, pitch-black 

 Pangmus bilineatus. It has an indented curve on the front part of the prothorax, a 

 head armed with an arc of rigid spines in front, the shanks closely set with longer 

 stiff spines, while the front pair are built for digging into the ground. 



Podisus cynicus is a large, ochreous, or pale yellow insect of broad, oval form, 

 with the sides of the prothorax diagonal, and a quadrangular, flat head. The whole 

 upper surface is irregularly punctate with red, which is massed together behind the head 

 and near the sides of the prothorax, while the shoulders are acutely angular. The con- 



