196 HEMIPTERA. 



soon wither, and eventually become brown, dry, and wrin- 

 kled ; when the insects leave them for fresh leaves, which 

 they exhaust in the same way. As the eggs are not all laid 

 at one time, so the bugs are hatched in successive broods, 

 and consequently will be found in various stages of growth 

 through the summer. They, however, attain their full size, 

 pass through their last transformation, and appear in their 

 perfect state, or furnished with wing-covers and wings, dur- 

 ino- the months of September and October. In this last state 

 the squash-bug measures six tenths of an inch in length. It 

 is of a rusty black color above, and of a dirty ochre-yellow 

 color beneath, and the sharp lateral edges of the abdomen, 

 which project beyond the closed wing-covers, are spotted with 

 ochre-yellow. The thin overlapping portion of the wing-cov- 

 ers is black ; the wings are transparent, but are dusky at their 

 tips ; and the upper side of the abdomen, upon which the 

 wings rest when not in use, is of a deep black color, and vel- 

 vety appearance. 



The ground-color of this insect is really ochre-yellow, and 

 the rusty black hue of the head, thorax, thick part of the 

 wing-covers, and legs, is occasioned by numerous black punc- 

 tures, that, on the head, are arranged in two broad black 

 longitudinal lines, between which, as well as on the margin 

 of the thorax, the yellow is distinctly to be seen. On the 

 back part of the head of this bug, and rather behind the eyes, 

 are two little glassy elevated spots, which are called eyelets, 

 and which are supposed to enable the insect to see distant 

 objects above it, while the larger eyes at the sides of the head 

 are for nearer objects around it. Eyelets are also to be found 

 in grasshoppers, locusts, and many other insects. In some of 

 our species of Ooreus there is a little thorn at the base of the 

 antennae, the legs are also thorny on the under side, and the 

 hindmost thighs are much thicker than the others ; but none 

 of these characters are found in squash-bugs.* When han- 

 dled, and still more when crushed, the latter give out an odor 



* They appear to belong to the genus Gonocerus of Burmeister. 



