INTRODUCTION 
The object of the present work is to indicate, as far as possible, 
the status of the superfamily Scutelleroidea in Iowa, giving 
locality records, with notes on abundance, distribution, ecology 
and food habits of the species known to occur in the state. 
Diagnoses of the various groups are also given as well as tables 
for determining the species. Attempt has not been made to give 
complete synonymical tables for each species, although for some 
forms the synonymy is practically all included. It has been the 
aim to cite all the combinations under which each form has been 
known but names cited in error are not all mentioned. In most 
cases sufficient synonymical references are given so that a com- 
plete list may be made from the literature cited. 
The descriptions are written from specimens themselves in 
connection with the original description wherever possible. 
They are intended to be principally diagnostic. Measurements 
are given for each form and they are taken in the following man- 
ner: 
Total length.—Distance from apex of head to tip of wing mem- 
brane. 
Width across pronotum or Width across humeri.—Distance 
across pronotum at widest point. 
Following the description of each species will be found the 
notes on distribution, food habits, ete. The range and distribu- 
tion in Iowa have been determined in part from Professor Her- 
bert Osborn’s brief notes but largely from specimens collected in 
many localities in the state by the writer and others. 
The system of classification followed herein is, for the most 
part, that of Reuter and is adopted by Van Duzee for the Heter- 
optera in his ‘‘Check List of the Hemiptera of America North 
of Mexico,’’ as well as in his ‘‘Catalogue of the Hemiptera of 
America North of Mexico.’’ A few minor changes have been 
made from these works but the sequence of families and genera 
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