Fig. 7:23. Ochterus barberi Schell, Lake Houghtelin, near Bard, 

 Calif., Nov. 13, 1951 (R. L. Usinger). 



! developed ocelli. The antennae are four-segmented 

 and, though inserted beneath the eyes, are not con- 

 cealed in grooves and hence do not fit precisely into 

 the Cryptocerata in terms of key characters. Never- 

 theless, Singh-Pruthi (1925) found that the male 

 genitalia are closely related to those of the Gelasto- 



j coridae. The rostrum is four-segmented, with the 



I first segment broadly joined to the head, the second 

 segment small, and the third segment very long and 

 tapering. The legs are slender and are fitted for 

 running rather than for swimming, jumping, or grasping 



I as in related families. The front and middle tarsi 

 are two-segmented and the hind tarsi are three-seg- 

 mented, the first segment in each case being very 

 short. 



The genus Ochterus Latr. is widely distributed in 

 tropical and temperate regions of the Old and New 

 Worlds. Fifteen species are recorded from the Western 

 Hemisphere by Schell in her revision (1943), but 

 only one of these, Ochterus barberi Schell (fig. 7:23), 

 occurs in California and this only along the Colorado 

 River in Imperial County. 



Life history data are available for only one species, 

 Ochterus banksi Barber, which was reared in Virginia 

 (Cobb, 1951). According to this account, the eggs are 

 white and broadly oval without a cap. They are depos- 

 ited singly in clumps of grass and roots and on plant 



211 

 Usincjer: Hemiptera 



debris, ["he incubation period wae (bund to be L5 to 

 22 days. The five nymphal instare La ted a folli 

 first, 11 to 17 <la\s; second, 8 to -M days; third, 22 

 to 41 days; fourth, isi to 229 days; fifth, 18 to 28 

 days. The winter is passed in the fourth nymphal 

 instar, hibernating under Leaves and debris along 

 the shores of ponds and streams. The nymphs are 

 said to construct small individual cells in the 

 sand in which thej molt. All nymphal stages carrj 

 sand grains on their bodies, presumably for the pur- 

 pose of concealment. 



REFERENCES 



BOBB, M. L. 



1951. Life history of Ochterus banksi Barber. Bull. 

 Brooklyn Ent. Soc, -16:92-100, 1 pi. 

 SCHELL, D. V. 



19-13. The Ochteridae of the Western Hemisphere. Jour. 

 Kansas Ent. Soc, 16:29-47, 1 pi. 



Family GERRIDAE 



Water Striders, Pond Skaters, Wherrymen 



Gerrids are the most familiar inhabitants of the surface 

 film of ponds, lake margins, and pools in streams. 

 More specialized forms, such as Metrobates, prefer 



7:24. Gerris rem/g/s Say, female, Paraiso Springs, Monterey 

 Co., Calif., May 27, 1924 (L. S. Slevin). 



