No. 34-] HEMIPTERA OF CONNECTICUT. 1 7 



Order HEMIPTERA. 



(Sub Class Rhynchota.) 



Key to Suborders. 

 i. Wings usually present 2 



Wings absent; beak fleshy and without segments (parasitic on 



man and other mammals) Parasitica, p. 17 



2. Wings of uniform texture; usually arched or roof-like over back 

 and sides of body; beak attached to, or produced from, the hind 

 part of the lower side of the head; head closely joined to the 

 prothorax with the sides resting on the bases of the fore-legs 



Homoptera, p. 23 



Wings not of uniform texture; thickened at the base with the 

 tips thin and membraneous ; the fore wings when folded lying 

 flat upon the back with the tips overlapping ; beak attached to 

 the front part of the head; head usually separated from the 

 prothorax by a more or less distinct neck Heteroptera, p. 383 



Suborder Parasitica. 



By Herbert Osborn, D.Sc. 



The insects of this group are wingless parasitic forms occurring 

 only on mammals. They are entirely suctorial in mouth structure 

 and depend upon sucking the blood of the host animals for their 

 food supply. The antennae have from three to five segments ; the 

 eyes may be greatly reduced or wanting; there are no traces of 

 wings and the legs are modified especially for clasping, being 

 adapted to clinging to the hairs of the host animals. 



The species are among the most pernicious pests of man and 

 domestic animals ; some of the species are a special menace as 

 carriers of disease, the most notable perhaps being the body louse 

 of man which transmits typhus fever. 



The American species have been treated by the writer in Insects 

 Affecting Domestic Animals, 1 and a much more recent paper by 

 Kellogg and Ferris 2 gives a quite full discussion of American 

 species but with more especial reference to the species occurring 

 on wild animals. The writer has drawn upon their paper for 

 records and especially for help in the construction of the keys for 

 the present paper. 



Most of the characters used in classification are minute and 

 require examination with the microscope, and it is usually most 

 convenient to have specimens mounted on glass slides in Canada 

 balsam. 



1 Insects Affecting Domestic Animals, Bull. No. 5, n. s. Div. Ent. U. S. 

 Dept. Agriculture, 1896. 



2 The Anoplura and Mallophaga of North American Mammals. Leland 

 Stanford Junior Univ. Publications. Univ. Series, 1915. 



