694 
RHYNCHOTA. 
joints in the antenna is a matter authors do not agree on, the family is 
not easy to recognise. 
Hydrometrim:. 
Antennce four-jointed. Body beneath clothed in silvery velvety pu¬ 
bescence. Live on surface of water. 
These are small insects of dull colour, found on the surface of still 
water and on the sea. Grey, black, and dull straw colour are the 
Fig. r 4Gl— Geuris spinol/e. x 5. 
prevailing tints. The antennae are long, the eyes well developed, 
the rostrum short and curved. Nearly all are winged and fly readily ; 
the legs ate usually long and hairy, so that the insects can run along 
the surface film of water without “breaking” it. 
Nothing is on record as to their life-history in India ; all are 
probably predaceous on insects which fall into the water. They have 
no economic importance and have been very little collected and not 
studied at all. 
Mesoveliince.—Mesovelia mulsanti, Buch., is the sole species in India, 
a small insect found on water weeds in Indian rivers ; it has escaped 
