1924] Systematic Position of the Family Termitaphididce 259 
ON THE SYSTEMATIC POSITION OF THE FAMILY 
TERMITAPHIDIDiE (HEMIPTERA, HETEROPTERA), 
WITH A DESCRIPTION OF A NEW GENUS AND 
SPECIES FROM PANAMA. 
By J. G. Myers^. 
Relationships of the family, Termitaphididae (nom. nov.) 
In 1902 Wasmann erected the genus, Termitaphis, on a 
peculiar termitophile which he called Termitaphis circumvallata, 
and which he considered an aberrant aphid. Silvestri, des- 
cribing two additional species in 1911, recognized that the genus 
was not even homopterous and established for it the new family 
Termitocoridse, which he placed in the sub-order, Heteroptera. 
In 1914 a further species was described in a preliminary manner 
by Mjoberg, while in 1921 Silvestri recorded from India a fifth 
species of the genus. These references were all listed in the 
Zoological Record under the family, Aphididse, and apparently 
received no attention from heteropterists. The list of species 
was brought up to eight by Morrison in 1923. Such in brief 
is the history of the genus. 
The writer is indebted to Dr. W. M. Wheeler for the op- 
portunity to study and describe a ninth species collected at 
Panama and to offer some suggestions oh the relationships of 
the family to other heteroptera. Mr. Harold Morrison had 
also received specimens of the same insect from Panama, and 
was about to describe it but has very generously turned over his 
material toi me. 
The Rev. E. Wasmann most kindly sent for comparison 
the unique specimen of the type of the genus. Thanks are due 
also to Dr. W. M. Mann for bringing this valuable type from 
Europe. Previous workers have invariably referred their mate- 
rial to the type-genus, but Wasmann’s type shows that it is 
decidedly not congeneric. A new genus, Termitaradus, is there- 
fore erected here for the Panama species and its allies, which 
^Contributions from the Entomological Laboratory of the Bussey Ins- 
titution, Harvfeird University, no. 243. 
