14 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



a. Anterior tarsi of the males rarely dilat- 

 ed. Elytra generally truncate at 



apex Lebiidce. 



h. Anterior tarsi of males with dilated 



joints. Elytra entire Feronida. 



c. Anterior and middle tarsi of the males 

 with dilated joints. Elytra en- 

 tire Harpalidce. 



B. Palpi with last joint very small, and 

 needle-shaped, the preceding one 

 been large 2indi sv^oWen. .BemUdiedes. 

 In the HarpalidcB we have some difficulty 

 in deciding into which of the first three 

 groups a specimen is to be placed if we 

 posess only a female, for then the dilatation 

 of the tarsi is not usually present ; but the 

 Lebiidcsare generally easily recognized by 

 their short elytra, which are cut off square 

 behind, small size, and (often) bright colours, 

 or markings in the form of a cross. The 

 Feronidcs and Havpalidcs can be distinguished 

 from each other by a beginner, ifheposesses 

 females alone, only when he has obtained a 

 little experience of each group, and our 

 recommendation to him is, to wait patiently, 

 and diligently search for a male of the 

 species, whose name is the desideratum. 



GENUS AND SPECIES OF 

 HEMIPTERA— HOMOPTERA, 

 NEW TO THE 

 BRITISH FAUNA. 



By G. C. BiGNELL. 



Platymetopius undatus, De Gear. 

 During the past summer, I have had the 

 pleasure of the company of Mr. John Scott 

 in many of my rambles in this neighbour- 

 hood. In one of our trips through Bick- 

 leigh Vale, one of the many beautiful valleys 

 of Devon — running south from the Dart- 

 moor hills, we came to a meadow overgrown 

 with Pteris aquilina, situated about seven 

 miles from Plymouth, between Plymbridge 

 and Cann quarry. This lovely meadow is 

 about three acres in extent, and surrounded 



with oak woods, some of them extending 

 several miles in the N.E. direction. It was 

 here that P. undatus first made its acquain- 

 tance with British Entomologists, and its 

 presence was heartily welcomed. After 

 the introduction I need hardly say that we 

 worked zealously to find its companions. 

 For quite an hour we had to wait ; but 

 having made a desperate sweep with my 

 net at an ichneumon flying over a fern, I 

 captured it, and with it one of our little 

 friends. This gave me the clue to find them, 

 which I imparted to my friend Scott, and 

 in a very short time, by devoting our 

 attention to the brackens, we were amply 

 rewarded with a nice series of this very 

 beautiful Homopteron. It is 6 mill, in length, 

 and viewed from above, when at rest, the 

 upper part of the head, thorax, and the 

 space between the two bracelike markings 

 (thus on the elytra are of a rich 



chocolate brown, the outer margins an 

 orange yellow ; the legs and underside of 

 the entire insect a lemon yellow. I shall 

 send Mr. Mosely a specimen, and I have no 

 doubt he will do his best to make a good 

 drawing on one of the future plates. My 

 first capture of this insect took place on the 

 7th August ; and Mr. Scott and myself feel- 

 ing we should like to know how far it ex- 

 tended towards Dartmoor, we visited 

 Shaughbridge on the 9th. This is a lonely, 

 wild, and beautiful spot, where Nature 

 has been allowed to have nearly its 

 own way for many centuries, where the 

 brackens are abundant, and the boulders 

 lie as first deposited. This locality is 

 evidently not to the taste of our little 

 friend — I presume it is far too bleak. In the 

 meadow where we found it is protected in 

 every direction by hill or wood. This (the 

 hom^e) we visited again on the nth, and 

 obtained a goodly supply, which were nearly 

 all females. From these observations it will 

 be seen that, about the nth August, in a 

 well sheltered situation, would be found the 



