vm AEPOPHILIDAE — CERATOCOMBIDAE — CIMICIDAE 559 



the Bencliucha,^ a bug an inch long, which in South America 

 attacks human beings after the fashion of the common bed-bue 

 In this case no ill-effects follow the attack, but in the case of 

 Conorhinus sanguisuga in Arizona, great pain and inflammation 

 ensue and may end in the gathering and discharge of pus. 



Xot the least remarkable of characters of Iicduriidae is the 

 form of the eggs of some of the species (Fig. 272, and A'ol. A'. 

 Fig. 78, C) ; the egg bearing a peculiar operculum, the piirpose of 

 which is at present quite mysterious. 



Fam. 13. AepopMlidae. — A single species forms this family. 

 It is of considerable interest, as it is incapable of iiight, passing a 

 large part of its life covered by the sea. ^epop/it'/ws bonnairei 

 is a small Insect with quite short head, ivithout ocelli, and with 

 the organs of flight represented hj a 2^air of very short elytra, 

 ivith rounded hind-margins. It is found on the shores of 

 Western France, and, as a great rarity, on our own south coast. 

 It no doubt sucks small soft animals. In the Channel Islands 

 it occurs in spots where it is nearly always covered by a con- 

 siderable depth of water. 



Fam. 14. Ceratocombidae. — Minute lugs with ocelli and 

 elytra. Rostrum free. Head not broad, someivhat prolonged in 

 front; eyes close to the thorax. Elytrct usucdly without a dis- 

 tinctly separated membrane. Tarsi three-jointed. — This family 

 includes at present only a few, minute, fragile bugs, that have 

 often been classified with Cimicidae or Anthocoridae. "We have 

 only two British species, one of which, Dipsocoris cdienus, is 

 common amongst the damp shingle at the margins of the burns 

 and waters of Scotland. 



Fam. 15. Cimicidae. — Ocelli absent; elytra very short and 

 broad, so that the broad abdomen is left uncovered. Hcc(d short 

 and broad. Bostrum received in a groove beneath the head. Tarsi 

 three-jointed. — Although this family consists of only a dozen 

 species, it is the most notorious of all the Order, as it includes 

 the detestable Cimex lectularius or common Bed-bug. This Insect 

 is now peculiar to the habitations of man, and is said not to 

 trouble savage races ; or rather it is supposed to be present only 

 when the habitations have a certain degree of comfort and per- 

 manence. It has no iixed period of the year for its development, 

 but the generations succeed one another so long as the temperature 



1 Naturalist's Voyage, ed. 1884, p. 330 ; chap. xv. 



