i88 
INSECTS. 
Eims are divided into two tribes, based upon their mode of exist- 
Land-Bugs. ® . . 1 
ence, and the fact that in one tribe—the land-bugs, or Geocorisa— 
the antennae project, and are distinctly visible, while in the other—the water- 
bugs, or Hydrocorisa—they are very short, and hidden below the eyes. The shield- 
bugs (Pentatomatidse), which constitute one of the largest families of the Geocorisa,; 
are so called on account of their large scutellum, which reaches at least to the 
middle of the abdomen, and sometimes quite to its extremity, covering it over 
completely. The fore-wings are sometimes chitinisecl only near the basal margin, 
especially in those species with a very large scutellum. The body has in general 
an elliptical outline, or is shaped like a scutcheon, owing to the projecting lateral 
angles of the somewhat hexagonal pronotum. These bugs are mostly found on low 
plants, some in concealment, many showing themselves openly, and often attracting 
observation by their striking colours. The adults pass the winter sheltered under 
bark or dried leaves. In early spring the females lay their eggs on the foliage of 
low plants, shrubs, and pine trees. The oval or spherical eggs are provided with 
an operculum, or lid, and disposed in patches resembling honeycomb. The 
larvae moult several times in the course of their 
growth, and thus gradually effect a' change in 
their form and coloration. They feed on the 
juices of plants, or, in some cases, of animals, and 
attain their full size towards the end of summer. 
The European species are rather limited in number; 
but many forms are found in other parts of the 
world. The Hottentot bug ( Eurygaster maurus) 
is the name given to a species with a very large 
scutellum, found throughout nearly all Europe. 
hottentot bug (nat. size). It is of a yellow, dark brown, or black colour, 
with two clear spots on each side of the base of 
the scutellum. Some rather pretty bugs of the genus Scutellera, belonging to 
the same subfamily, and characterised by a similar large scutellum, are found 
in Australia and the Eastern Archipelago. They are of a short, broad, and 
convex form, and have a very fine metallic-blue coloration, often spotted with 
bright yellow. The forest-bugs ( Pentatoma ) have strongly projecting angles 
to the prothorax, and have a long triangular scutellum. The species figured 
(P. ruftpes) is common throughout Europe, on birch and other trees, and renders 
service by destroying certain caterpillars. We figure on the opposite page three 
other species of this family — Acanthosoma dentatum, which is common on 
willows; Eurydema oleraceum, a bluish green or metallic green species, with red 
or white markings, which in some places is injurious to plants of the cabbage 
tribe, but also lives on other plants, and has often been seen to prey upon insects ; 
and another common species met with near the outskirts of woods and in fields 
and meadows. 
The family Coreidce includes a number of land-bugs, which vary a good deal 
in form, but which possess in common the following characters,—antennae four- 
jointed, set rather high up on the head; two ocelli generally present; scutellum 
short and triangular; elytral membrane strongly and thickly veined. These bugs 
