insects, but in Europe species have been found con- 

 sistently below the high-tide line and a close relative, 

 Aepophilus, lives under sea water most of the time 

 along the coasts of France and Britain. Saldids are 

 world-wide in distribution, and one species, Chilo- 

 xanthus stellatus Curtis, occurs at Pt. Barrow, the 

 northernmost point on the North American mainland. 



In California shore bugs may be found in all kinds 

 of aquatic habitats. Pentacora signoreti prefers salt- 

 water shores along the coast and at the Salton Sea. 

 Saldula luctuosa is a salt-marsh form known from the 

 San Francisco and Monterey bays. loscytus nasti is 

 a bog inhabitant, and /. politus has been taken in the 

 vicinity of hot springs. However, most of our species 

 occur along the shores of fresh- water streams and 

 lakes. 



Feeding habits. —Wiley (1922) fed her colonies on 

 small mirids and cicadellids, living or recently killed. 

 I reared two species in Hawaii on freshly killed 

 katydids. In nature the bugs are seen to forage among 

 grasses and rocks, seeking any small insect life. 

 Saldids share their microhabitat with other predators 

 such as Gelastocoris, Ochterus, and the small but 

 very numerous carabids, Bembidion. However, they 

 are more agile and fly more readily than any of these. 



Taxonomic characters. — The pioneer work on North 

 American Saldidae was by Uhler (1877). Unfortunately, 

 no key was given by Uhler, so the taxonomy of the 

 group remained obscure for more than half a century. 

 Recently, C. J. Drake has published a dozen or more 

 papers in which new species are described from Cali- 

 fornia, and North American species are, in some 

 cases, synonymized under older European names. Here 

 again, no keys are given, so the present keys to 

 California species are entirely original, though based 

 on adequate series including paratypes supplied by 

 Drake. Dr. Drake also checked the keys and offered 

 valuable suggestions. The Catalogue of Genera and 

 Species of Saldidae by Drake and Hoberlandt (1950) 

 was useful in the course of this work. On a trip to 

 Washington during the preparation of the keys, the 

 Uhler types were studied. 



The following California records listed in the Van 

 Duzee Catalogue (1917) are now considered to be 

 misidentifications or synonyms of other species: Salda 

 littoralis (Linn.), Saldula dispersa (Uhl.), S. inter- 

 stitialis (Say), S. xanthochila (Fieber), and Micracan- 

 thia humilus (Say). 



The most reliable specific characters are seen in 

 the type and arrangement of pubescence. In addition 

 to subappressed hairs, one group of species has stiff, 

 erect hairs. These can be seen only with good light 

 under a binocular dissecting microscope with magnifi- 

 cation of 18 diameters or more. The bristles are more 

 easily seen in profile than from above. Although size 

 and color pattern vary within a species, these char- 

 acters are useful within limits, as has been demon- 

 strated in the much better known fauna of Europe 

 (fig. 7:42). Male genitalia have not been found useful 

 thus far either at the species level or for higher 

 groups. 



The generic classification is taken directly from 

 the classical work of Reuter (1912), though the keys 



225 

 Usinger: Hemiptera 



have been simplified to cover only the North American 

 genera. Although Reuter's genera have stood the tesl 

 of time, the genera Teloleuca and Micracanthia can 

 scarcely be separated from the large and diverse genua 

 Saldula. Also loscytus may not be a natural group 

 since the addition of franciscanus (Drake) and na$ti 

 Drake and Hottes. However, it was felt that no 

 changes should be made in the generic classification 

 until a world-wide study is undertaken. 



Key to Nearctic Genera of Saldidae 



1. Pronotum with 2 prominent, erect tubercles on front 

 lobe, occupying nearly all of the disc 



Saldoida Osborn 1901 



— Pronotum without conical tubercles on front lobe 



2 



2. Membrane with 5 closed cells; always macropterous 



3 



— Membrane with 4 closed cells in macropterous forms, 

 variously reduced in brachypterous forms 4 



3. Sublateral cell of membrane short, not reaching apices 

 of the cells on either side; northern North America 



Chiloxanthus Reuter 1891 



— Sublateral cell of membrane reaching apices of cells on 

 either side (fig. 7:40a!) Pentacora Reuter 1912 



4. Lateral margins of pronotum concave, the humeral 

 angles acutely produced . . . Lampracanthia Reuter 1912 



— Lateral margins of pronotum convex, the humeral 

 angles rounded 5 



5. First or inner cell of membrane produced forward 2/5 or 

 1/2 its length beyond base of 2nd 6 



— Inner cell of membrane produced forward only slightly 

 or not more than 1/3 its length beyond base of 2nd 



7 



6. Second antennal segment less than twice as long as 

 1st; upper surface with more or less extensive pale 

 areas; the lateral margins of pronotum pale 



Calacanthia Reuter 1891 



— Second antennal segment twice as long as 1st or more; 

 upper surface usually entirely dark brown or black, 

 rarely with a few small pale spots on corium and 

 membrane (fig. 7:40c) Salda Fabricius 1803 



7. Antennae relatively thick, the 3rd and 4th segments 

 thicker than apex of second segment (fig. 7:406) 



loscytus Reuter 1912 



— Antennae relatively slender, the 3rd and 4th segments 

 not thicker than apex of second segment 8 



8. Inner cell of membrane reaching only 4/5 of the distance 

 to apex of adjacent cell; 2nd segment of hind tarsi 

 nearly 1/2 again as long as 3rd segment 



Teloleuca Reuter 1912 



— Inner cell of membrane usually reaching almost to apex 

 of adjacent cell; 2nd segment of hind tarsi subequal or 

 slightly longer than 3rd segment 9 



9. Veins of corium obsolete; size small, usually less than 

 3 mm. (fig. 7:41) Micracanthia Reuter 1912 



— Veins of corium more or less distinct, size larger, 

 more than 3 mm. (fig. 7:40a) 



Saldula Van Duzee 1914 



Key to California Species of loscytus 



1. Most or all of corium pale or red 2 



— Corium entirely black or with a pale spot near outer 

 apex 3 



2. Costal margins broadly infuscated at least apically 

 (fig. 7:406); western United States 



typical politus (Uhler) 1877 



— Costal margins entirely pale 



variety flavicosta Reuter 19 12 



3. Third and 4th antennal segments very stout, about 1/4 



