Australian insects

The structure of the mouth is the distinctive character of the insects of this great Order. Instead of the biting jaws (or sucking mouth) of many other insects previously described it is produced into a slender pointed tube of complicated structure, which usually lies along the under-surface of the head and thorax. This beak, called the rostrum, consists of a jointed sheath (labium) enclosing hair-like setae (mandibles and maxillae). When the insect feeds the sharp tip is pressed into its food, and the sap or juice sucked up, not by the proboscis-like sheath, but by the delicate enclosed setae. Kirkaldy doubts if the sheath “ever even penetrates the tissues, either vegetable or animal, unless these be already lacerated by the setae”; and it is often used only as a fulcrum to steady their operations.

In the outward appearance (often a deceptive character in classification) the members of this group are very dissimilar; probably no two insects could be more unlike than the typical plant bug and the ordinary scale insect.

They all undergo an incomplete metamorphosis, often changing their colours and even shape in the various moults before they are fully developed. The eggs of those living upon plants are generally deposited in clusters, and these are often very beautiful crystal spheres with stellate caps upon the summits. In other groups the eggs are buried in the tissue of the food plant or covered with woolly or sticky secretions.

They take the name Hemiptera from the structure of the fore wing, one half of which is, in the typical bugs, horny and the rest semitransparent.

The families of the plant and water bugs are much more closely related to each other than to the frog-hoppers, cicades and scale insects; and the whole Order has been separated into groups or sub-orders, viz., Heteroptera; Homoptera; Anoplura; Mallophaga.

Sub-order I. HETEROPTERA.
Bugs.

This sub-division contains all the plant, carnivorous, and water bugs, which vary in size and shape from the tiny little leaf-infesting forms to the great “fish-killer,” Belostoma indicum, found in our water-holes.

They are usually furnished with two pairs of wings. The basal portion of the front pair is horny and opaque, and the apical half more or less transparent; this pair covers the larger hind pair, which, well adapted for flight, are folded up beneath when at rest. The members of some groups however are apterous.

Many are furnished with glands on the body secreting an offensive, buggy-smelling fluid, which they discharge when handled or disturbed.

Some species are serious pests to plant life, and swarm in countless thousands over vegetation, sucking up the sap and causing it to wither and die in consequence, as in the case of the Chinch Bug of North America upon wheat, and the Rutherglen Bug in Australia among field crops. Others are predaceous and very useful, destroying great numbers of leaf-eating grubs and caterpillars.

These insects are well represented in Australia, and many of the larger and more showy ones were collected and described at a very early date, and their descriptions are scattered through the pages of many scientific journals. Numbers of our species have been described by Westwood (Hope Catal. 1837); Dallas (List Hemip. 1851); Walker (Catal. Heter. Brit. Museum 1867); Distant (Trans. Ent. Soc. London, 1886, etc.); Kirkaldy (The Entomologist); and others in English journals; while among the Continental writers Messrs. Stal, Bergroth, Montandon, Horvath, and Reuter have been the chief workers.

In 1893 Messrs. Lethierry and Severin commenced a “Catalogue of the Described Heteroptera of the World”; three parts were published, but, probably owing to the death of Lethierry, it was never completed, part three closing with the Anthocoridae, and most of the aquatic groups are not listed. Dr. Mayr has in his “Monograph of the Belostomidae 1871” noted our species.

Plate XXXI.—HEMIPTERA.

Family Pentatomidae.

Family Pyrrhocoridae.

2. Dysdercus sidae (Montrz.).

Family Coreidae.

5. Mictis profana (Fabr.).

Family Lygaeidae.

Family Reduviidae.

9. Ptilocnemus femoralis (Horvath).

Family Tingidae.

14. Froggattia olivina (Horvath).

The Heteroptera have been divided into about twenty families, chiefly defined by the structure of the head and wings; these families are again subdivided into a great number of sub-families, many of the more important being represented in Australia.

Family 1. Shield Bugs.
PENTATOMIDAE.

This group comprises many of our largest and most brilliantly marked tropical plant bugs, distinguished from all those of other families by the remarkable size of the scutellum which frequently covers the two pairs of wings and dorsal surface of the abdomen. The majority of these insects fly well. The head is usually furnished with 5-jointed antennae (though some are restricted to four joints), and two ocelli. It is one of the largest groups, and has been divided into fourteen sub-families. There are over 4,000 species in the family, and it is well represented in Australia. This family is sometimes known under the name Scutelleridae.

The Cherry Bug, Peltophora pedicillata, is a bright metallic green bug mottled with black spots on the back; the greater part of the under surface, edges of the thorax, and two blotches at the base of the scutellum are bright coral red: it measures ½ an inch in length and is broad in proportion. It has a range from New South Wales (where it is often found on strong-scented flowering shrubs and has been recorded as a cherry pest) to N. Queensland, where it is very abundant on the wild fig trees. Tectocoris lineola is so variable in size and colouration that it has been described under eight varietal names and has an extended range from the north of N.S. Wales through Queensland to New Caledonia and China. It has a broad, elongate, convex body of a bright orange colour edged on the margins of the body with metallic green; the dorsal surface is covered with curious green or blue patches reminding one of Chinese letters; sometimes these markings are almost absent, in others so confluent that it is more blue than red. Donovan named our variety T. banksi, after Sir Joseph Banks, who first obtained specimens from Australia. Chaerocoris paganus is under ½ an inch in length, and of an oval, beetle-like form; its general colour is red with dull metallic green forming blotches on the back, head, and sides of the thorax. It is very common at times crawling about on the rocks and ground about Sydney. C. similis is a smaller darker form, only taken about Gunnedah, N.S.W., but it probably has a wider range.

Philia basalis is one of the common fruit bugs of N. Queensland. It is slightly over ½ an inch in length, with elongate convex scutellum, and a uniform rich metallic green tint, with a bright coral-red spot behind the head and two similar ones at the base of the scutellum; the sides of the abdomen are bright red on the under surface. P. senator is a smaller, more variable form, with the coral-red markings not so distinct. Philia regia, about the same size as the last species, is of a rich coppery-red tint, with the hind portion of the back bright yellow, and the ventral surface and legs bright green and yellow. Both these species and P. senator are found along the Queensland coast.

The Genus Calliphara contains a number of large bugs, elongate but broadly rounded in front, with the scutellum forming a complete convex shield over the back; 26 species are described ranging from China through the Malay Peninsula to Queensland. Calliphara imperialis measures over ¾ of an inch in length, and has the whole of the dorsal surface, except the tip of the abdomen, bright shining red; the under surface, legs, and tip of abdomen are dark metallic green. C. billiardierei, about the same size, has the back and the under surface of the abdomen (except the tip) red; the head, thorax, legs and tip of abdomen deep metallic green with dull purple tints. C. cruenta is a much smaller species, the thorax and basal half of the back red, shading into purple toward the tip. C. nobilis has the head and thorax dark, with the dull red back spotted with black. All our species of this genus are found in the tropical scrubs of N. Queensland.

Cantao parentum measures over an inch in length, and is more elongate in form; it is of a uniform dull red tint, with the whole of the dorsal surface marked with small irregular black dots; the legs and under surface are black. It ranges along the Queensland coast. It has been reported to have attacked cherries in Southern Queensland. The Genus Testrica contains several little brown bugs, short and broad, with the front of the thorax more or less produced into a spine, and the extremity of the abdomen broadly rounded. Testrica bubala is not more than ⅙ of an inch in length, with the shoulders sharply spined; it is found upon the foliage of small gum trees.

The sub-family Cydinae contains a number of curious little black shining bugs that live on the ground and are often found hiding under stones. They are quick and active in their habits, and might easily be mistaken for small black beetles. Geobia australis, under ¼ of an inch in length, is of a uniform pitch-black colour, with the exposed tips of the elytra greyish-brown; it has spiny legs; the head is clothed with scattered hairs forming a fringe. Adrissa atra is a much larger black bug; it has pitch-coloured elytra with brown tips. This common species is found about Sydney under stones and rubbish.

In the Pentatominae we have a large number of species. They are broadest across the base of the thorax, which is sometimes slightly angulate; the scutellum is large and angular, occupying the centre of the back but not covering the whole of the wing covers. Notius depressus measures over ½ an inch in length, and is broad in proportion; the general colour is deep blue to purple, the sides of the head and thorax and ventral surface marked with yellow. It ranges from Tasmania to N.S. Wales.

Eumecopus australasiae has a wide range, and is often found in wattle scrub resting on tree-trunks. It measures about an inch in length, is a very active insect, and flies readily when disturbed. Its colour is dull brown, mottled with small dull yellow spots; these form several short parallel rows on the pointed head, and there is a distinct yellow spot at the apex of the scutellum.

The Genus Poecilometis contains 14 species peculiar to Australia. They are of the same general form as the last group, are found in similar localities, and are all of a more or less reddish-brown tint. Poecilometis histricus, about ¾ of an inch in length, is of a light brown colour with ochreous markings. P. gravis, found upon wattle scrub, is smaller than the last species and is of a more reddish-brown tint. P. strigatus, about ½ an inch in length, is of a similar brownish colour.

Dictyotus plebejus is one of our commonest little dull brown bugs; is about ¼ of an inch in length and nearly as broad as long. It has a wide range over Eastern Australia, and is found, often in numbers, under stones, dry cowdung, or dead logs. The genus is peculiar to Australia, and contains 18 described species.

Commius elegans is common on the foliage of the native cherry about Mittagong, N.S.W.; it is just under ½ an inch in length; is of a general blue black colour with the thorax and under surface yellow blotched with black; the sides and apex of the scutellum are edged with yellow; and a narrower transverse band of dull white crosses the back just below the tip of the scutellum. It has a wide range over Australia, and was described by Donovan in 1805. Plautia nigripennis is a much smaller plant bug, with the upper surface green, and the sides and tips of the elytra reddish brown; it ranges up the Queensland coast from the Tweed River, N.S. Wales. P. affinis is a pretty little green insect which feeds on rice and other plants in the northern district of N.S.W. It measures about ⅓ of an inch in length.

The members of the Genus Cuspicona range from India to Australia and New Caledonia; eight species are described from Australia. Cuspicona simplex is a finely rugose and green coloured bug about ⅓ of an inch in length, with the sides of the thorax produced into blunt spines, and the elytra broadly rounded to the tip. It infests many field crops and has been reported as doing serious damage to growing potatoes. C. thoracica is a small green species, with the thorax produced into a stout spine on each side. The head and a broad band across the thorax are reddish brown; the margins of the thorax and the centre of the scutellum are marked with bright yellow. It is common in the eastern coastal districts, and has been found feeding on ground crops about Gosford, N.S.W. C. forticornis is a larger green species with the thoracic spines red, and the dorsal surface thickly and finely punctured. It is common in the northern scrubs of N.S. Wales.

The Asopinae contains two well known species of Australian bugs: Cermatulus nasalis is common on the Richmond and Tweed Rivers, N.S.W. It measures slightly over ½ an inch in length, and has a somewhat rounded form, with a small projecting head. Specimens vary from an olive brown to almost black colour, and are mottled with deep red; the upper surface is deeply and closely punctured, and the tips of the elytra are metallic bronze. The Vine-moth Bug, Oechalia schellembergi, is one of our most interesting species from an economic point of view because it preys upon the caterpillar of the vine moth (Phalaenides glycine), several species of cut-worm, and the larvae of the fig-leaf beetle (Galeruca semipullata). They lay their rounded glassy eggs in patches of about a dozen upon the foliage, and the freshly emerged bug is dark brown, and flattened in form. The adult bug varies very much in size; the largest is about ½ an inch in length; it is very finely punctured, and is of a general light reddish brown colour mottled with yellow; the sides of the thorax are stoutly spined, and the abdomen is rather tapering toward the tip. It has a wide range over Australia, and is recorded from New Zealand.

The Spined Orange Bug, Biprorulus bibax, is a well known orange pest about Moree and the Tweed and Richmond Rivers, N.S.W. It is a handsome bright green bug when alive, but after death usually changes to dull yellow; it measures nearly an inch in length and ¾ of an inch across from tip to tip of the large thoracic spines; the front of the thorax between these stout spines is somewhat depressed; the abdomen is broad and rounded, and the dorsal surface finely punctured.

The Tessaratominae are usually large insects found upon plants, and among them are several destructive species. Among a number of hemiptera submitted to D’Horvath for identification were two species, viz., Rhoecocoris (Oncoscelis) sulciventris and Stilida indecora, which both in the larval and perfect state swarm over the orange orchards in the north of N.S. Wales and, by sucking up the sap of the stalks, cause the unripe oranges to fall. Their habits and life history being identical, Rhoecocoris (Oncoscelis) sulciventris, which was identified by Olliff in the Agricultural Gazette N.S.W. 1892, I at first confused with Stilida indecora (Ag. Gazette, N.S.W., 1901). S. indecora is of a more reddish brown tint than R. sulciventris, with the dorsal surface of the thorax not punctured, and the apical areas of elytra more bell shaped, while the venation is much finer; while the thorax of R. sulciventris is distinctly punctured and the anterior edge of the apical area of the elytra is broadly rounded. Oncomeris flavicornis is our largest Australian plant bug, over 1½ inches in length, of a broad shield shape, over ¾ of an inch across the rounded thorax, and of a general dark reddish brown almost black colour on the dorsal surface; each elytron is richly marked on the basal half with bright yellow, and the apical portion is rich metallic purple. It comes from the tropical scrubs of N. Queensland.

In the Sub-family Dinidorinae we have Megymenum insulare, a typical form very common on the foliage of the low scrub of the semi-tropical forests of N.S. Wales and Queensland. It is of a general chocolate brown tint, with the inner apical markings of the elytra dull white; it measures just under ½ an inch; the sides of the head and the front of thorax are furnished with short angular spines, which are also present round the outer edge of the abdominal segments; and the whole of the dorsal surface is rugose. The immature larvae are brown, flattened, and fringed right round with bract-like processes.

Family 2. Gum-tree Bugs.
COREIDAE.

This group contains bugs in which the scutellum does not extend as far back as the middle of the body; the head is generally furnished with four-jointed antennae inserted above on the sides of the head; there are two ocelli; and the sheath of the proboscis consists of four segments. Many species have the femora of the hind legs dilated or armed with blunt spines. The majority are dull coloured insects that have no distinctive common name in Australia, so for want of better, I propose to define them as “Gum-tree bugs,” as many typical forms feed upon the young shoots of our gum trees (Eucalyptus). In America they are sometimes called “Squash Bugs” from their fondness for pumpkin plants. Over 1,500 species have been described and placed in 29 sub-families; and they are well represented in Australia.

The Mictinae are represented by one of our best known species, which I called the “Crusader Bug,” Mictis profana. It is a somewhat variable elongate insect just under an inch in length, of a uniform dull drab-brown, with the inner edge of each elytron marked with a dull yellow stripe, which, intersecting each other in the centre, produce a distinct cross on the back. The hind legs are thickened and the apex of the tibia forms a blunt spine. It has a wide range over Australia, and of late years has been found infesting the citrus orchards, where it punctures the young shoots and causes them to die back.

The Genus Amorbus contains 15 described species peculiar to this country, most of which feed upon the foliage of young gum trees and give out a very strong odour when touched; the young larval forms are often brightly coloured, but in the adult state all these bugs are dull brown. Amorbus angustior, under ¾ of an inch in length, has the dorsal surface flattened; the abdomen swells out on the sides beyond the edge of the folded elytra, and the whole surface is granulated or roughened. It is of a uniform chocolate colour with the antennae and abdomen rusty red. A. robustus is a much larger species, stout in proportion, with the same elongate form, but the edges of the abdomen not projecting beyond the wings.

Mutusca brevicornis is a very slender brown bug, about ½ an inch in length, usually found resting among the grass. The head and thorax are elongate, with the former produced in front of the antennae into two slender lobes; the elytra are long and slender, and the wings well adapted for flight. Riptortus robustus is also an elongate bug, but shorter and stouter, with the head short and angular; the thorax is short, rounded in front, and produced into a ridge behind, with a stout spine on either side. The body is long, constricted in the centre, and rounded at the tip: the thighs of the hind legs long, thickened and armed with a row of spines along the inner edge. The general colour is reddish brown.

The Genus Leptoglossus contains some handsome species which are remarkable for having the tibiae of the hind legs dilated into leaf-like processes. Leptoglossus membranaceus is an elongate, flattened, black bug banded with a slender red line across the thorax; the head is small, projecting in front of the triangular thorax; and the shield shaped body comes to a rounded tip. The fore legs are slender, but the hind pair are slightly thickened on the thighs and roughened on the inner edges; and the tibiae have leaf-like projections on either side, giving it a very remarkable appearance. It is common in North Queensland and ranges over Africa, India, Ceylon, and the Philippines.

Family 3. Chinch Bugs.
LYGAEIDAE.

This is a family containing about 1,400 described species divided into thirteen sub-families, but many of the latter are very restricted in their numbers, the majority coming under the typical sub-family Lygaeinae. Their general characters are similar to those of the Coreidae except that the antennae are inserted below the eyes, and the head is not so flattened and more angular in front. They are smaller bugs of more delicate structure, and their prevailing colours are brown or black variegated with red and yellow; some of them, such as the Chinch Bug of North America, are very destructive pests. As they have no distinctive group name I have adopted Professor Comstock’s name of “Chinch Bugs.”

The Lygaeinae contain most of the bright coloured species, often marked with red; the wing covers are usually of a somewhat delicate texture.

Astacops laticeps, about ⅓ of an inch in length, is a slender black bug with the head and sides of the elytra bright red. Scopiastes vitticeps, about the same size, has the head, thorax, and sides of the body red. Both these insects are common on the grass and field crops on the Northern Rivers of N.S. Wales. Lygaeus hospes measures ½ an inch in length, is of the typical elongate form, and is black marked with bright red forming a broad indistinct cross on the basal portions of the elytra. It has a wide range from China and India to Australia and New Caledonia. L. mactans is a much smaller insect, with the head, base of thorax, and the greater part of each elytron bright red. It has a wide range over Australia, and is also recorded from Fiji. L. decoratus, about ½ an inch in length, has the whole of the head, thorax, and sides of the elytra banded with red and black; it comes from Queensland.

The Cotton Bug, Oncopeltus quadriguttatus, figured in my notes in the Agricultural Gazette 1901, should be according to Horvath O. sordidus, Dallas, though the latter name is given as a synonym of the first in L. and S.’s Catalogue. It measures ½ an inch in length, is of a general black colour, with the head and two depressions in the centre of the thorax dull red, and the scutellum and basal half of each elytron deep orange red; the abdomen is dull red and clothed with short down. They lay their eggs to form a ring round a twig, sometimes as many as a hundred in a cluster; the larvae are flat and almost circular in form, of a general red colour mottled with metallic blue spots, and the legs and antennae are dark coloured. This bug is common on the cultivated cotton plants about the Richmond River, and ranges from Sydney into Queensland.

The Rutherglen Bug, Nysius vinitor, is one of the most destructive plant bugs in Australia; breeding in grass lands, during the summer it swarms over all kinds of field crops and fruit trees in countless millions, sucking up the sap of both the foliage and fruit. It has a very wide range, and takes its popular name from the town in Victoria, in which it was first recorded damaging grapes. It is a tiny creature, under ⅙ of an inch in length, is dull brown to grey in colour with silvery grey wings; it is very active and flies well. It is so common that under favourable conditions it might become here as serious a pest as the Chinch Bug of North America. The Genus is a very extensive one, containing 69 species distributed from Greenland to S. America, thus almost world wide in its range.

The Coon Bug, Oxycarenus luctuosus, is a tiny black and white bug about the same size, originally described from New Caledonia. It is very common, chiefly in the inland districts, swarming over the ground in millions. When in the larval state, before the wings are developed, its general colour is bright red, and it is then much more noticeable, giving the fences on which it rests in the day time a curious blood-red tint. So far it has never been recorded as a plant pest, but that is probably only because it is chiefly a western species, where little fruit is grown.

Family 4. Fruit Bugs.
PYRRHOCORIDAE.

These bugs differ from the last family only in the fact that they are not provided with ocelli. It is a small family containing under 400 described species, placed in two sub-families.

The Larginae contains a number of red coloured bugs, the majority of which are confined to South America. The members of the Genus Physopelta however belong to the Indian and Malay region; and P. famelica ranges from Ceram to Woodlark Island, and down the Queensland coast to the Tweed River. It measures under ¾ of an inch in length, is of the typical form, and of a general dull red tint, with the head, centre of the thorax, and legs dark brown; the centre of the scutellum and four spots on the sides of the elytra are black.

The Pyrrhocorinae comprise the bulk of this family, which are chiefly found in Africa and Asia. The “Harlequin Fruit-bug,” Dindymus versicolor, was originally described from Tasmania, but has a wide range over Australia. They shelter and breed in the crevices on tree trunks, and often damage ripe fruit. It measures slightly over ½ an inch in length; the under surface is yellowish, with the head and thorax blood red, the latter barred with white. The upper surface and legs are black, with the greater part of the thorax and basal half of the side of each elytron bright red. Dindymus circumcinctus is a slightly smaller, much darker species, the red only showing on the outer margins of the thorax and elytra. I have specimens collected near Sydney.

Dysdercus sidae belongs to a genus world wide in its distribution, and containing over 50 described species. This species is common on the Richmond River N.S.W., frequenting the cultivated cotton plants, where it can be seen running over the opening cotton bolls, and discolouring them with its excrement in the same manner as the “American Cotton Stainer,” Dysdercus suturellus, is reported to do in the United States. Our species measures about ½ an inch in length; it is red, with the scutellum and a distinct rounded spot in the centre of each elytron black. The antennae, eyes, and apical areas of the elytra are also black; the front and sides of the thorax marked with dull white.

Family 5. Lace Bugs.
TINGIDAE.

These are all small plant bugs without ocelli; the terminal joint of the antennae is swollen or clubbed; the pronotum is large, covering the scutellum; the neuration of the elytra is very distinct, forming intricate, lace-like patterns; the feet consist of two joints. They are true plant-feeding bugs, generally sucking up the sap from the under-side of the leaf, and when numerous often become pests. Between four and five hundred species of Tingidae have been described, and are placed in two sub-families. Few species have been recorded from Australia, but this is probably not owing to their absence, but because collectors are apt to overlook these small creatures.

Serenthia pectipennis is a tiny dark brown bug, hardly ½ of an inch in length; the oval body is convex, and broadly rounded to the apex, with a curious lighter brown pattern on the elytra. It comes from Glen Innes, N.S.W.

The Olive-tree Bug, Froggattia olivina, was described from specimens sent to Horvath; its native food plant is the wild olive (Notalaea longifolia); the larvae infest the under surface of the leaves, and cause them to wither and drop off. It has now transferred its attention to the cultivated olive, and when numerous will almost defoliate the trees; it has a wide range over N.S. Wales, but I know no record of it from the other States. It is a slender, handsome little dark brown bug, about ⅙ of an inch in length, and has typical clubbed antennae. The elytra are swollen out toward the base, arcuate on the sides, and rounded at the extremities, with lace-like reticulations on the apical areas; the thorax is rounded and convex.

Oncophysa vesiculata is another curious little elongate bug, about the same length; of a uniform dark brown tint; the upper surface is marked with distinct ridges and fine punctures, and a pair of large bulbous processes stand up prominently at the base of the elytra. It is common about Sydney, where it feeds upon the little native cotton bush.

Plate XXXII.—HEMIPTERA.

Family Reduviidae.

Family Pentatomidae.

Family Coreidae.

5. Amorbus robustus (Mayr).

Family Galgulidae.

10. Mononyx annulipes (Horvath).

Family Pentatomidae.

11. Oechalia schellembergi (Guérin).

Family 6. Fungus Bugs.
ARADIDAE.

These are dull coloured black or brown bugs of moderate size, with the dorsal surface very rugose, and the whole insect thin and flattened, admirably adapted to the life it leads hidden under the dead bark on tree trunks, their chief food being fungous growths found upon the damp bark. Howard calls them “Flat Bark Bugs,” and remarks that they look as if they had been stepped upon.

They have the tip of the abdomen exposed, as the elytra are shorter than the body, which is also exposed on the sides when the wings are folded. Like the Lace-bugs (Tingidae) they have no ocelli, but, unlike them, they have the scutellum exposed. This family contains about 300 described species, divided into four sub-divisions. Erichson has described several from Tasmania (Arch. 1842); Bergroth (Verh. Z. b. Ges. Wien 1886) and Walker (Cat. Heter. 1874) others from Australia.

There are a number of undetermined species in our Museum collections, most of which are to be found upon fallen timber where the bark is rotting and peeling off the trunk.

Family 7. Water Striders.
HYDROMETRIDAE.

These are aquatic insects, living upon the surface of the water, and some are even found on the open ocean, hundreds of miles away from land. They, like most other water-dwellers, are covered with a velvet-like pubescence; the head is ornamented with large projecting eyes; the antennae are four-jointed. They may be wingless; when present, the elytra are of a uniform texture. Most of the species are furnished with very long legs. The tarsi are two-jointed. About 160 species are described under four sub-families; only three or four are described from Australia; but more from the open waters of the Pacific Ocean.

In the genus Gerris, Skuse (Records of the Australian Museum, 1893) described a species from the waters of Sydney Harbour under the name of Gerris australis. It varies from dark shining olive to black on the dorsal surface; the ventral surface is yellow with grey tints. It is covered with a fine silvery pubescence, and measures ⅓ of an inch in length. Hydrometra strigosa, described by Skuse from specimens from the swamps about Botany, N.S.W., is a larger insect, of a uniform brownish yellow tint; and it has a more slender shape.

Halobates whiteleggi is a small ochreous water-bug about ⅙ of an inch in length, and was obtained by Skuse in swarms in the sheltered nooks of Sydney Harbour. Another species discovered in Torres Straits has been named Hermatabates haddeni, after its discoverer, Professor Hadden.

The closely allied small family Henicocephalidae consists of a single genus, the members of which are widely distributed. We have one described from Tasmania by Westwood under the name of Henicocephalus tasmanicus. They fly in swarms, dancing in the air together like midges. It is noticed they give off a musk-like smell.

Family 8. Assassin Bugs.
REDUVIIDAE.

This is a large division of the Hemiptera, and its members are carnivorous, destroying different kinds of insects, which they impale with their beaks, and from which they suck the blood; many can give a painful stab with the stout beak if handled carelessly. The head is long, narrowed behind, and freely movable; the rostrum or beak is short, stout, and is curved under the head, not extending far under the thorax; the antennae are long, slender towards the tips; the legs are long, slender, and often hairy; the elytron consists of three divisions. Some species are wingless. They exhibit much variety in size and colouration, and their shape is often adapted to their habits. The large immature forms of one undetermined species, found plentifully about Maitland, N.S.W., hides in the sand under the shelter of a log or stone; each covers its back with bits of sand or dirt, and, thus disguised, it lies in wait for its prey. Over 2,000 species are described from all parts of the world, and they are grouped into 14 sub-families.

The Emesinae contain a very curious group of slender grey bugs with long legs. They might at first sight be mistaken for “daddy longlegs” or “crane-flies”; and are found, too, in similar situations, viz., resting on tree trunks or under the cover of logs and bark; and they probably live chiefly on these long-legged flies. Gardena australis is of a uniform brown tint, mottled on the legs and elytra with grey. It is of the usual slender form, with elongate hairy legs. It and several similar but undetermined species are common about Sydney.

Opistoplatys australasiae, representing the small sub-family Tribelocephalidae, was described and figured by Westwood in 1859; it is not uncommon on tree trunks about the Richmond River, N.S.W. It measures over ½ an inch in length, and is flattened on the dorsal surface; the abdomen is elongate, and rounded at the apex; its general colour is dull chocolate brown, with the centre of the back slightly pubescent.

In the group Holoptilinae are some species with feather-like hind legs, the tibiae being densely clothed with long dark hairs. They are usually found on the trunks of dead trees, under the shelter of the drying detached bark, where they are found in all stages of development; they probably feed upon the small insects that come there for shelter. Horvath has identified those I have sent him as Ptilocnemus femoralis, a new species, though there are four other species described from Australia. This new species measures over ⅓ of an inch, and has the head, thorax, and joints of the legs dull yellow; the under surface and apical areas of the elytra are marbled with black and brown; the antennae, head, thorax and legs are fringed with long black hairs, which on the hind tibiae are so thick as to give the appearance of a feather or brush. Aradellus cygnalis, figured and described by Westwood (Thesaurus Ent. 1874), is also found hiding under dead bark on tree trunks. Some specimens were taken at Gunnedah, N.S.W., but I also have a closely allied, if not a new species, from Bathurst, N.S.W. It measures slightly over ⅙ of an inch in length, is of a general blackish brown colour, with yellowish legs, and the elytra are black, mottled with blotches of white; the curious thickened antennae and legs are fringed with short stout, bristle-like hairs.

The Acanthaspinae are larger slender-legged bugs, well represented in Australia. The genus Sphedanocores contains several distinct species with a wide range. S. distinctus measures over ¼ of an inch in length, and is mottled and barred with dark orange and black; the head is turned downwards and the rostrum is stout; the thorax is very rugose. Reduvius personatus is a cosmopolitan species that takes up its quarters in the house, covering itself with bits of dirt and feeding upon the common bed bug. It is recorded both from Australia and Tasmania. The larval form of an allied bug has the broad back concave, and covers itself with particles of sand; it rests under the shelter of logs and stones where it lurks during the day. Reduvius rivulosus is a large bug measuring ¾ of an inch in length; it is of a general dull brown colour with the elytra mottled with dull yellow, while the whole insect is clothed with fine woolly hairs, denser upon the legs. It comes from the Shoalhaven district, N.S.W.

The Piratinae comprise some of the so-called “Assassin bugs”; in colour most of them are dark brown or black, marked with dull yellow; they hide under stones in the daytime, and often in summer come flying to the lights in the house at night, when, if carelessly handled they can inflict a very severe stab with the beak. Pirates ephippiger is one of our largest species, measuring over ¾ of an inch in length. It is of a uniform dull black, with the stout legs reddish brown in colour, and there is a heart-shaped patch of bright yellow behind the scutellum. The prothorax is narrow, smooth and rounded, with a constriction separating it distinctly from the broader mesothorax which is also smooth and rounded. P. flavopictus is a very much smaller species, black in colour, with the yellow blotch behind the scutellum. The whole insect is clothed with fine hairs. It is a common species in New South Wales, and has a wide range over the southern part of the continent. Twelve other species of this large genus are described from Australia and Tasmania.

The Harpactorinae is the largest division of this family, and comprises both the large spiny “assassin bugs” that crawl about among the foliage or hunt over the tree trunks, and some typical forms, most plentiful in tropical countries.

Havinthus depressus is a small, flat, dark brown species, under ½ an inch in length, with the outer margins of the body mottled with dull red. H. rufovarius is a larger bug of a general black colour, with the head, front of thorax, legs, bases of the elytra, and under surface of the abdomen marked with deep red. The body is rugose and clothed with short stiff hairs. It has a wide range over Australia; and a very large variety, with blood red markings, from Kalgoorlie (W.A.), measures over an inch in length.

The members of the Genus Gminatus are peculiar to Australia, and are found hunting over tree trunks and flowers. The body is somewhat constricted behind the thorax, broadening towards the rounded apex. Gminatus nigroscutellatus, over ½ an inch in length, is of a general bright red colour, with the legs and scutellum black, and the apical areas of the elytra rich metallic bronze. The dorsal surfaces of the head and thorax are ornamented with a number of tubercles or spines. G. australis, slightly smaller and more slender than the previous one, differs in having the head black; the prothorax black and furnished with two pairs of black spines, and the shorter spines in the rest of the thorax tipped with black. The Bee Killer, Pristhesancus papuensis, is a large brown bug, nearly 1¼ inches in length, and thickly clothed with short buff hairs. The outer edge of the thorax is produced into erect blunt tubercles, seven in number, forming an angle on the outer margins. The dorsal surface of the abdomen is very concave; the folded elytra lie sunk well below the sides of abdomen, which are flanged and raised.

It has been observed sitting on the tassels of maize cobs, catching and sucking the blood out of hive bees as they come for the pollen. It is common on the Tweed River, N.S.W., and in Queensland.

The members of the Genus Helonotus are similar large carnivorous bugs. Specimens are recorded from Cape York (Queensland), and the tropical scrubs of New Guinea.

Family 9. Bed Bugs.
CIMICIDAE.

The family to which the common bed bug of unsavoury reputation belongs, is a very small one, comprising only a few genera and about a dozen species. They have no ocelli; the wing cases are short and do not reach to the tip of the abdomen; the head is short, with the rostrum when at rest fitting into a groove beneath it.

Cimex lectularius, the common house bug, is supposed to have come originally from Asia into Europe, and thence transported over the world. Several other species are found in Europe and America, another in India, and indigenous species both in Chili and the Isle of Bourbon. A fossil bug has been found in the Lower Tertiary beds in Scotland which is said to be very similar if not identical with the present household pest. Kirkaldy has recently created the Genus Klinophilos to contain our common bed bug, though it has always been considered to be Linne’s type of the Genus Cimex.

Family 10. Leaf Bugs.
CAPSIDAE.

These are all small plant-eating bugs of somewhat delicate structure, and form a family of considerable size; over 2,000 species having been recorded from all parts of the world. Several species are well known pests in India and Ceylon, and a few in America are said to prey on small insects. Very little attention has been paid to the collection of these small bugs in this country, but Mr. Kirkaldy informs me that 35 species have been described from Australia, chiefly by Walker, Reuter, Distant and himself.

They have no ocelli; the antenna is four jointed, with the second joint usually very long; the scutellum is triangular and very small; the elytra and wings are large, the former remarkable for having only two cells in each apical area; the female is furnished with a well-defined ovipositor. In his “Memoir upon the Rhynchotal family Capsidae” (Trans. Ent. Soc. London 1902), Kirkaldy lists 6 described species, and also defines 5 new species which were collected at Alexandria, Victoria. Eurybrochis zanna is a mottled reddish brown insect, darkest towards the extremity, measuring under ¼ of an inch in length, and of the usual form. Austomiris viridissimus is a longer, more slender bug of a general greenish tint. Zanessa rubrovariegata is again a little longer, of a uniform brown tint marked with red on the elytra.

Stal (Eugenie’s Resa Novara 1859) described 3 Australian species.

Family 11. Water Bugs.
CRYPTOCERATA.

The several families included in this group comprise a number of aquatic or semi-aquatic bugs.

The Galgulidae, known as “Sand-bugs,” are curious little creatures distinguished from the others in having ocelli. They are very short and broad in form, with projecting eyes, and in general appearance each suggests a miniature crab. They have short four jointed antennae situated below the eyes, and are furnished with legs well adapted for running on the ground. They are found on the edges of swamps or creeks, and feed upon different kinds of small insects. In colour they are usually of a uniform dull brown to black; the upper surface is generally much roughened. Never moving unless touched, they trust to their sordid colours to escape detection, for as they match the ground so well, they are difficult to find.

Mononyx annulipes, one of our commonest species, is about ¼ of an inch in length; is of a uniform dirty brown tint, with the legs and under surface dull yellow; the body is very rugose and fringed on the outer edges with fine bristles. Montandon has described several other Australian species (Bulletin, Societé des Sciences, Roumania, 1899).

The Nepidae are popularly known as “water scorpions” on account of the curious tail appendages projecting from the tip of the abdomen. They live in ponds, and feed upon different water insects, attaching their eggs to the leaves of the plants. They have the wing covers folded closely over the back protecting the wings from the water, and fly rapidly from pool to pool when the water dries up. There are many species found in Australia, most of which have a wide range. Rantara varipes, under 1 inch in length, has a tail about as long again as the body, and is of a light yellowish brown colour. It might be likened to a mantis, with its slender form and fore pair of legs furnished with spines on the inner edges to hold its prey. The other legs are long and slender with curved claws at the extremities.

In the Genus Nepa the insects have the head and body flattened; the elytra cover the wings; the abdomen is broadly rounded at the extremity, terminating in a pair of long slender bristles. The beak curved under the head is large and stout; the eyes are large, the fore legs are spined, and the other legs furnished with a pair of slender curved claws.

Nepa tristis, measuring about 1 inch to the tip of the body, is of the usual form and dull brown colour, with the upper surface of the abdomen showing bright red when the wings are expanded. It is found in the bottom of ponds crawling about among the weeds.

Family 12. Fish-killers.
BELOSTOMIDAE.

In the typical genus of this family we have some of the largest known Hemiptera, measuring up to 3 inches in length and broad in proportion. They are aquatic, generally living in still waters, feeding on small fish which they capture with their stout spined legs; they play havoc with the small fry in a pond, and are popularly known in consequence as “Fish-killers.”

The body is broad, but flattened on the dorsal surface, coming to a rounded point at the apex; the well developed wings are folded beneath the horny elytra; the whole shape being well adapted to the life they lead. In summer time they often leave their ponds, and, attracted by the light, come flying to the windows.

Belostoma indicum has a wide range from Southern India to Australia; it measures slightly under 3 inches in length, and is of a uniform dark brown colour. The large curved beak bent under the head, projecting eyes, and great spined fore legs show its carnivorous propensities; the middle and hind legs are fringed with delicate swimming hairs, and terminate in a pair of fine claws. Unlike most of the other aquatic hemiptera, the abdomen terminates in an oval tip without any anal appendages.

Sharp speaking of this family (Insects Pt. II. p. 567) says: “In the waters of the warm regions of the continents of both the Old and New Worlds they are common insects, but as yet they have not been found in Australia.” However, Mayr records it from Australia, “Die Belostomiden 1871” (Verh. Z. C. Gesell, Wien); and I have a specimen from Port Darwin, Northern Territory, and also a number of specimens from Southern Queensland.

Sphaeroderma equis is a curious oval-shaped water-bug that crawls about among the mud and water weeds in water-holes and creeks; it has a very wide range, probably all over Australia; the female has the curious habit of carrying her eggs stuck upon her back in a regular sheet covering the whole of the elytra. It is of a uniform shining brown colour, and measures ¾ of an inch in length; the head is smaller than that of B. indicum, with the eyes not so prominent and angular.

Family 13. Back-Swimmers.
NOTONECTIDAE.

These water-bugs have oval convex bodies and always swim with the belly upwards; their eyes are very large, situated on the sides of the head, the latter inserted into the prothorax, which overlaps it. The front legs are shortest, the fore tarsi not flattened but furnished with two claws. Their bodies are provided with long hairs which enable them to carry an air supply about with them. They are very active insects, and can be often observed in our water-holes and ponds swimming beneath the water, or coming to the surface and raising the tip of the body to obtain a fresh supply of air, when they can be easily captured with a hand net.

They insert their eggs in the stems of water plants, which the female pierces with her sharp ovipositor; and some European species are known to hibernate in the mud at the bottom of the pools and water-holes.

Several species are common in our ponds and creeks, and are savage little creatures destroying many other aquatic insects, and even small fish.

Enithares bergrothi is our common species with a very wide range over Australia. In their larval state they are silvery white in appearance, but as the elytra develop and cover the back they change to dark brown, mottled, shining creatures, with the body measuring about ⅓ of an inch in length.

Family 14. Water-Boatmen.
CORIXIDAE.

The members of the family Corixidae differ from the “Back-swimmers,” though both are often called “Water-Boatmen,” in having the fore tarsi flattened, fringed with hairs on the edges, but without any claws, while the head overlaps the thorax. They swim the opposite way (with the back upwards), and are flattened on the ventral surface. One or more species may be often captured with a net in the same situations as the members of the former group.

Corixa eurynome, described by Kirkaldy, is our common species found in creeks and water-holes all over Australia. It measures over ⅓ of an inch in length, with the scythe-shaped hind legs projecting behind; it is of a uniform chocolate brown colour on the dorsal surface, except the space between the eyes, which with the legs and ventral surface are dull yellow. The large flattened lead-coloured eyes are almost triangular.

Sub-Order II.—HOMOPTERA.

This sub-division was formed to include some families of haustellate insects which, though closely related to the true plant bugs, have well-defined characteristics that bring them into a natural Sub-Order of their own. They all have the typical suctorial mouth, but the front of the head is much inflexed so as to be in contact with the coxae. The front pair of wings are not true elytra, being generally membranous, and are usually referred to as tegmina. Some, like the aphids, have both pairs of wings delicate and transparent; while in the scale insects, the females are always wingless, and the male is provided with a single, imperfectly veined pair only. When at rest, the wings in the typical homoptera are folded over the back like a roof, forming a ridge. All the families are well represented in Australia, except the Aphidae, of which no indigenous species have been recorded, the Psyllidae with similar habits taking their place, at any rate in our western scrubs. Like true hemiptera, they each undergo an incomplete metamorphosis, some moulting many times before the final ecdysis; and all feed in the immature and perfect state on the sap of plants.

Kirkaldy has recently described about 200 new species of the families Fulgoridae, Membracidae, Cercopidae, and Jassidae (Leaf Hoppers and their Natural Enemies Bulletin I. pt. IX., Hawaii 1905), collected by Messrs. Koebele and Perkins chiefly in Queensland. In his classification based on Hanson’s (Ent. Tedssker xi. 1890) he divides them into 8 families and creates 76 new genera.

Family 1. Cicadas.
CICADIDAE.

The most familiar sound in the summer months in Australia, particularly along the coastal districts is the harsh, incessant screech of the cicadas; the hotter the day the shriller the tone, and from the first week in November to the end of January it is more or less constant. They are too well known to need much description, but it might be remarked that it is very unfortunate that they are commonly called “locusts” for, strictly speaking, the term “locust” should only be applied to the short-horned grasshoppers belonging to a different order, Family Acridiidae.

Plate XXXIII.—HOMOPTERA.

Family Cicadidae.