196 
II E MI P TER A. 
soon wither, and’ eventually become brown, dry, and wrin- 
kled; when the insects leave them for fresh leaves, which 
they exhaust in the same way. As the eggs are not all laid 
at one time, so the hugs are hatched in successive broods, 
and consequently will be found in various stages of growth 
through the summer. They, however, attain their full size, 
pass through their last transformation, and appear .in then- 
perfect state, or furnished with wing-covers and wings, dur- 
ing the months of September and October. In this last state 
the squash-bug measures six tenths of an inch in length. It 
is of a rusty black color above, and of a dirty ochre-yellow 
color beneath, and the sharp lateral edges of the abdomen, 
which project beyond the closed wing-covers, are spotted with 
ochre-yellow. The thin overlapping portion of the wing-cov- 
ers is black ; the wings are transparent, but are dusky at then- 
tips ; and the upper side of the abdomen, upon which the 
wings rest when not in use, is of a deep black color, and vel- 
vety appearance. 
The ground-color of this insect is really ochre-yellow, and 
the rusty black hue of the head, thorax, thick part of the 
wing-covers, and legs, is occasioned by numerous black punc- 
tures, that, on the head, are arranged in two broad black 
longitudinal lines, between which, as well as on the margin 
of the thorax, the yellow is distinctly to be seen. On the 
back part of the head of this bug, and rather behind the eyes, 
are two little glassy elevated spots, which are called eyelets, 
and which are supposed to enable the insect to see distant 
objects above it, while the larger eyes at the sides of the head 
are for nearer objects around it. Eyelets are also to be fcurnl 
in grasshoppers, locusts, and many other insects. In some of 
our species of Ooreus there is a little thorn at the base of the 
antennae, the legs are also thorny on the under side, and the 
hindmost thighs are much thicker than the others ; but none 
of these characters are found in squash-bugs.* YV hen han- 
dled, and still more when crushed, the latter give out an odor 
* They appear to belong to the genus Gonocerut of Burmeister. 
