SCUTELLEROIDEA OF IOWA 67 
seems to be a favorite resort of this as well as of some other 
species of the tribe as the cool autumn days approach for the 
soft downy leaves afford considerable warmth. In the spring 
or late fall it is no uncommon thing to find the remains of sev- 
eral of these pentatomids around the larger plants, mute testi- 
mony of the inability of any considerable number of the in- 
sects to find there sufficient shelter to weather the cold winter 
successfully. On October 3, 1913, I swept great numbers of 
this species from turnips growing in a small truck patch near 
Iowa City. 
Peribalus piceus (Dallas) 
1851. Pentatoma picea Dallas, List Hem., I, 236. 
1904. Peribalus piceus Van Duzee, Trans. Am, Ent. Soc., XXX, 34. 
1909. Holcostethus piceus Kirkaldy, Cat. Hem. (Heterop.), I, 48. 
General form more convex both above and below than either of the 
preceding species; broadest behind middle. Color darker, the pale mar- 
gin of pronotum, abdomen and tip of scutellum strongly contrasted. Body 
more or less densely clothed with short, stiff hairs which are most con- 
spicuous on edges of head and pronotum. Head more deeply, coarsely 
and uniformly punctured than in our other forms. Seutellum broad, 
irregularly, coarsely punctate at base, more uniformly punctate at middle. 
In addition, this species differs from our other representatives 
of the genus as follows: ‘‘There is a pair of round white dots on 
the disk of the pronotum anteriorly, and the pale margin of the 
connexivum is undulated within; the legs are piceous, becoming 
pale brown on the outer surface of the tibiae and base of the 
tarsi; antennae brown, shading to piceous on the apical joints 
and with the incisures pale; rostrum brown, reaching the pos- 
terior coxae.’’ (Van Duzee, l. c.) 
This insect seems to be rather rare although it apparently 
enjoys a wide range in our northern states and Canada. It has 
been recorded from Montana and Ottawa, Ontario, and the type 
was from Hudson Bay. Osborn records two specimens from 
Little Rock, Iowa, which were collected by E. D. Ball. (Proce. 
Ta. Acad. Sci., V, 232, 1897.) Other Iowa specimens have not 
come to light. The only specimen in my eollection is labelled 
‘‘N, Ilinois,’’ and thus furnishes a further distributional ree- 
ord for the species. 
