Chapter XVI: Introduction (14)

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.

Family REDUVIIDAE.

1. _Opistoplatys australasiae_ (Westw.).
3. _Pirates ephippiger_ (White).
6. _Pristhesancus papuensis_ (Stal).
12. _Gminatus nigroscutellatus_ (Bredden).
15. _Gardena australis_ (Horvath).

Family PENTATOMIDAE.

2. _Cuspicona forticornis_ (Bredden).
4. _Poecilometis strigatus_ (Westw.).
7. _Megymenum insulare_ (Westw.).
8. _Philia basalis_ (Grey).
9. _Poecilometis histricus_ (Stal).
13. _Cermatulus nasalis_ (Westw.).
14. _Geobia australis_ (Erich.).
16. _Notius depressus_ (Dall.).

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.

Family CICADIDAE.

4. _Cyclochila australasiae_ (Donovan).
1. Pupa on emergence from the ground.
2. Pupa casting its skin.
3. Fore-leg of pupa.
5. Ovipositor and sheath separated.
6. Side view of ovipositor.
7. Ovipositor viewed from above.
8. Cross section of ovipositor, showing cutting saws and egg
passages.]

The head is broad, more or less truncate in front, with prominent eyes on the sides, and small gem-like ocelli arranged triangularly on the summit; each antenna consists of one stout basal joint surmounted with several (usually four) segments forming a bristle. The tegmina or fore wings, larger and stouter than the hind pair, are furnished with thickened veins, and are frequently mottled with brown, usually forming bands or spots on the cross nervures. The swollen fore legs are spined; the thorax is well developed; and while the large hollow abdomen of the male is pointed at the extremity, that of the female (usually the larger insect) is furnished with a horny retractile ovipositor, which is adapted for cutting the bark of the twig, wherein she deposits her eggs.

The complicated musical apparatus of the male is situated between the thorax and base of the abdomen, and consists of a large plate on either side attached to, but extending over the basal portion of the abdomen (these plates are often called the drums or opercula); beneath in the abdomen is a cavity formed into two cells within which are two thin glass-like plates called mirrors; above these mirrors are bundles of muscles which lead to two membranes formed like kettle-drums; each membrane has a concave and a convex surface, the latter folded and full of ridges.

Haswell (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1886) describes it thus: “The loud shrill note emitted by the insect is the result of a quick succession of crackling sounds produced by the movement of the stiff membrane with its horny ribs, through the agency of the muscle. Under ordinary circumstances, the sounds follow one another with sufficient quickness to produce a continuous note, and this is effected not by the contraction of the muscle as a whole, but by the successive contraction of individual _fasciculi_ (different filaments forming the whole), all of which act on the horny plate, and thus the movements of the muscle on the tendon during the production of the note resemble those of the hammer-board of a piano when a number of keys are being struck in quick succession.”

The life history of cicadas has attracted much attention; on first emerging from the eggs they might easily be taken for minute shrimps, apparently all heads and claws. They cast themselves off the branch and, falling to the ground, burrow into the soil and follow down the roots, where they feed upon the sap and undergo a series of moults. We do not know the length of time that they take to develop underground, but the adults of several of our large species, though each year more or less in evidence, appear in greater numbers every third year, so that it is probable that three years is about the cycle of their subterranean existence. The grotesque pupa burrowing upward when fully developed, bores a vertical shaft often several feet long before it comes to the surface, when it crawls out and climbs up the nearest tree trunk or fence, where it clings till the skin splits down the back, and the perfect cicada emerges. The dry brown pupal shells firmly attached by the sharp claws remain long after the inmates have departed.

Cicadas are well represented in our insect fauna, a number of large handsome species being found along the coastal forest country, and many smaller ones in the interior. The large ones attracted the attention of collectors at a very early date: Donovan, Leach, and Guérin described several, and Walker (British Museum Catalogue, Homoptera 1850) added a number of new species from material in the Museum collections, but his localities and descriptions are very vague and unsatisfactory. Since then Distant between 1882 and the present date has greatly increased our list of described species. In 1904 Dr. Goding and I monographed the Australian Cicadas (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.), describing a number of new forms, and bringing the number up to 120 species in 18 genera. Last year (1906), the Trustees of the British Museum issued a “Synonymic Catalogue of Homoptera, Part I., Cicadidae,” compiled by Distant; in this a number of alterations in the earlier classification are made, as indicated in his recent contributions on this family in “The Annals and Magazine of Natural History” 1900–1906. He places them in three distinct sub-families which are subdivided into seventeen smaller divisions. Many of our species are now placed in other genera.

The sub-family CICADINAE contains many of our largest and most striking species. Its members have the front edge of the basal abdominal segment on each side produced forward in a leaf-like expansion, which more or less covers the sound organs.

The genus _Thopha_ contains two very fine species: _Thopha saccata_, “The Double Drummer,” takes its popular name from the great size of the opercula projecting on the sides of the thorax. It is a reddish brown cicada, its wings marked with brown and black, and it measures 5 inches across the outspread wings; it lives in open forest country; has a loud, distinct note; and ranges from South Australia to Brisbane. _Thopha sessiliba_ is a somewhat smaller but brighter-coloured species ranging northward along the Queensland coast from Townsville, and is found in Central Australia at Tennant’s Creek.

The large Cicada called by the children “The Double Drummer.”

(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]

The Genus _Arunta_ was formed by Distant to contain two Australian species, of which _Cicada perulata_ described by Guérin is the type. It is a handsome insect, 4 inches across the wings; is of a reddish brown tint mottled with lighter colours; the wings are unspotted; and the male can be easily recognised by the large white frosted opercula. It is not a very common species; it is taken sometimes about Sydney.

The next division contains three genera typical of Australian species. The Genus _Cyclochila_ until lately contained a single species, but Distant has lately described a second from N. Queensland. _Cyclochila australasiae_ is our common large green cicada, called by the children the “Green Monday.” The whole insect is rich green, the colour extending into the nervures of the tegmina; there is a yellow variety not so common, called in consequence the “Yellow Monday”: I have counted as many as 40 of these fine insects resting on the trunk of a small oak-tree in my garden in the early morning.

The Genus _Psaltoda_ contains 7 species peculiar to Australia. _Psaltoda moerens_, our common black cicada, is called the “Red Eye” by the Sydney boys on account of the bright colour of the ocelli. It measures over 4 inches across the wings, which are mottled with black on the tegmina, and marked with the same colour on the wings. It frequents the smooth white-stemmed gum trees, and ranges from Brisbane, Queensland to Adelaide, South Australia, and is also found in Tasmania. _P. harrisi_ is a smaller and somewhat variable form both in size and colour; it varies from black to brown and even dull green; the wings are very slightly mottled, and it can be easily distinguished from the “Red Eye” by the more distinct silvery patch on the sides of the body.

The Common Black Cicada or “Red Eye.”]

The members of the Genus _Henicopsaltria_, four in number, are also peculiar to this country. _Henicopsaltria eydouxi_, one of our commonest species, frequents the trunks of the rough-barked gum trees; I have counted over 300 on a single tree on the coast near Gosford, N.S.W. It measures nearly 5 inches across the wings; is of a general mottled light brown and chestnut colour, with the wings infuscated with three zig-zag bands of brown; the opercula are orange red. _H. fullo_, peculiar to W. Australia, is a very distinctive blackish coloured species measuring about 3 inches across the wings; it can be easily identified by its banded wings and the dorsal surface of the abdomen ornamented with a transverse white band about the centre of the body. The Genus _Macrotristria_ now contains 7 species; most of these were originally described in the Genus _Cicada_, and have representatives in all parts of Australia, two coming from W. Australia, and two richly-coloured green species from the tropical forests of N. Queensland, while _Macrotristria angularis_, our common, large, dark brown species, variegated with light yellowish spots on the head and thorax and with deeply infuscated wings, ranges from Adelaide, S.A., to Queensland.

The Sub-family GAENINAE contains a number of South American and Asiatic cicadas, among them some with very brightly coloured wings. Two members of the Genus _Tettigia_ are found in North Queensland and North Australia, both of which were once placed in the genus _Tibicen_; while _Tettigia tristigma_ is the type of the Genus _Tamasa_. The handsome black and yellow mottled _Gaeana maculata_, common in India and China, has been recorded by White from Australia, and Goding and I had specimens from the Northern Territory of S. Australia, but Distant does not notice this record.

The Sub-family TIBICININAE have the front edge of the basal abdominal segment straight, not produced forward; and the sound organs are entirely uncovered. _Venustria superba_ is a curious ferruginous insect with rich coppery tints upon the tegmina and wings, which comes from North Queensland. Dodd usually collected it in the neighbourhood of termite nests.

The Mottled Grey Cicada.

(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]

The Genus _Abricta_ now includes most of our species previously placed in the Genus _Tibicen_; thirteen are listed from Australia. _Abricta curvicosta_, one of the largest, measures about 4 inches across the wings; is reddish brown with a pale stripe down the centre of the prothorax, and three black spots on each of the tegmina. It is one of the common species about Sydney, N.S.W., in midsummer, and is called the “Floury Miller” on account of the silvery pubescence covering the body which makes it look as if it had been dusted with flour. _A. aurata_ ranges from Tasmania and Victoria into the southern districts of N.S. Wales, and is usually found upon the fern trees; it is a smaller darker coloured cicada with a large, sometimes double, black spot on each tegmina.

Distant (Pro. Zool. Soc. 1882) described a number of new species chiefly obtained from North Queensland; and, finding it difficult to give them distinctive specific names that would define their peculiarities, he got over the difficulty by naming them after Australian explorers. _A. willsi_ is a small species measuring about two inches across the wings, which are marked with two small spots, and it can be easily distinguished from all the others by the curious rugose yellowish patch on the sides of the prothorax. It has a very wide range over N.S. Wales, Queensland, North, and probably W. Australia, both along the coast and in the interior.

_Parnkella muelleri_ is only about 1½ inches across the wings which have two spots on each tegmina, and is of a pale yellow tint. It is restricted in its range to North Queensland. The tiny little yellowish green cicada found upon the grassy plains of Southern Victoria and S. Australia, described as _Tibicen infans_, is now placed in the South African Genus _Quintilia_.

The “Fiddler.”

(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]

The Genus _Chlorocysta_ contains two curious pale green insects with vitreous tegmina and wings, the former much more closely reticulated than the ordinary cicada, with many cross and parallel nervures. The head is small, and the body of the male is swollen and cylindrical. _Chlorocysta vitripennis_ was described by Westwood (Ann. Nat. Hist. 1851); the larger male measures slightly over 2 inches across the wings. The female is greenish or reddish, the abdomen conical but not inflated. They frequent low scrub; the southern forms found about the Tweed River, N.S.W., are green or yellowish; those from North Queensland quite brown. _Glaucopsaltria viridis_, described by Goding and me from S. Queensland, is placed by Distant in this genus.

The Genus _Melampsalta_ contains a great number of our small black or dark brown cicadas often marked with orange red or dull yellow. The members of the genus are found over Asia, Africa and Europe, over 40 are described from Australia, and 7 from New Zealand. Some species are very numerous in early summer, and are known as “Squeakers” on account of their musical notes. _Melampsalta torrida_, originally described by Erichson from Tasmania, has a wide range round from Queensland to W. Australia. It is almost black, with several light marks in the centre of the thorax, and two irregular rounded confluent black spots at the tips of the tegmina. It measures about two inches across the wings, but is variable both in size and in the wing markings. _M. abdominalis_, about the same size, is black, with two lines of reddish yellow on the apical portion of the dorsal surface of the abdomen, and the under surface red; when the tegmina are closed there is a distinctive opaline mark on either side. It is common in S. Australia and N.S.W. _M. eyrei_ is a much smaller species, with the head and thorax black, lined with yellow, and the whole of the abdomen except the black tip, bright yellow; it is common in N. Queensland.

The members of the Genus _Pauropsalta_ are easily distinguished from those of the previous group by having five apical areas in the wings, while the former have six. Sixteen species are described from Australia. _Pauropsalta encaustica_ is our commonest species with a very wide range over Australia; it is of a uniform black tint, with faint pale brown marks on the head and prothorax, and an infuscated patch on the hind margins of the wings; the abdominal segments are finely ringed with white to reddish brown. _P. annulata_ is a synonym of this cicada. _P. nodicosta_ is a small brown species from Kalgoorlie, W.A., with a curious node in the centre of the costal nervure of the tegmina. _P. mneme_, larger, and broader than _P. encaustica_, has the abdominal segments richly edged with red. It is common on the Blue Mountains, N.S.W.

The Genus _Cystosoma_ was created by Westwood (1842) to contain the great green “Bladder Cicada” which he called _Cystosoma saundersi_, that at one time was common in the orange orchards around Newcastle, N.S.W. Mrs. Ross says it is now common about Armidale, N.S.W., on the sweet brier, and I have also had it on willows from Glen Innes N.S.W. A second much smaller species, with similar opaque green tegmina, _C. schmeltzi_, ranges up the coast of North Queensland.

The two curious hairy brown cicadas belonging to the Genus _Tettigarcta_ are restricted in their range. _Tettigarcta tomentosa_, the darkest in tint, has each side of the thorax produced into a distinct spine; it is only found in Tasmania. _T. crinita_ comes from similar country in the Gippsland forests, Victoria; it is not quite so hairy, and has the thorax rounded on the outer margin without any spines.

Family 2. Frog-Hoppers.

CERCOPIDAE.

The members of this family are not very numerous though world-wide in their distribution. They are stout, wedge-shaped, elongate insects of moderate size; the head is furnished with large flattened eyes on the sides; with a few exceptions two ocelli are present on the vertex between the eyes; the small, short antennae, composed of two bead-shaped joints surmounted with a bristle, are placed in front of and between the eyes. The pronotum is large with the triangular scutellum occupying the centre of the back; the tegmina, longer than the body, are coriaceous, reticulate, with two long discoidal and five or more apical cells. The coxae and femora are short; the posterior tibiae are hardly longer than the others, rounded at the base, spatulate at the apex, armed on the outer margins with two stout spurs, the second twice the length of the first; the tibiae and basal joints of the tarsi are terminated with rows of spines.

Most of our known species were described by the French naturalists, Amyot & Serville (Annals Soc. Entom. de France 1845); and Walker (Brit. Museum Cat. Homoptera 1851); and but little attention has been paid to them since. Our most characteristic species belong to the Genus _Eurymela_. Seventeen species are listed by Walker from all parts of Australia. They are large, thickset frog-hoppers, with the head broad and truncate in front with the face much inflexed; their general tint is blue-black with the head and elytra marked with red or white bands or spots. They lay their eggs under the bark of young gum trees, slitting it in regular rings with their stout ovipositors and leaving a white papery substance along the punctures. The young cling to the twigs in clusters after they emerge, and they may often be seen in different stages of growth upon the same bush. They are very active little creatures, creeping round the twig when disturbed, and jumping as soon as they are touched. Many of them are much sought after by ants which come to them for the honey dew they secrete.

_Eurymela bicincta_ measures ½ an inch in length, and is broad in proportion; it is of a uniform dark shining blue tint, with the head, thorax, and base of the elytra bright red. It has a wide range and may often be found in colonies of 30 or 40 clustering together on a gum sapling. _E. rubrovittata_ is about the same size; it is black, with the under surface, face, and three narrow transverse bands round the thorax and elytra bright red. It has a range from Western Australia to Queensland. _E. speculum_ is a common species, recorded from Tasmania to Queensland; it is of a uniform dark blue-black tint with a white patch on either side of the face, and two irregular oval white spots on each wing cover. _E. pulchra_ is smaller, with the head and thorax marked with red, and two irregular broken bands of white on the side of each wing cover.

Five species of the Genus _Aphrophora_ are described by Walker from Tasmania and Australia. The members of this genus are known as “Cuckoo-spittle Insects” from the remarkable habit the larvae have of enveloping themselves in a mass of frothy liquid, which is supposed to be formed to protect their soft bodies from insects that might prey upon them; it, however, really makes them very conspicuous objects on a twig, and several species of wasps are known in America to drag them out of this covering and use them to provision their nests.

Our common “Cuckoo-spittle Insect,” found upon the she-oak (Casuarina), ti-tree (Leptospermum), and Melaleuca, is _Chalepus teliferus_; the larvae are pale-brown soft oval creatures, which jump when removed from the frothy liquid, and in this liquid they remain enveloped until they are ready to emerge. The perfect insect measures under ½ an inch in length, is of an elongate boat-shaped form; the head is produced in front as a slender process, curved upwards; the tips of the elytra come to a compressed point; the general colour is dull reddish brown, with the horn on the head ferruginous, and the wing covers mottled on the sides with black. A second species, _Chalepus pugionatus_, has been described by Stal from Australia.

Family 3. Tree-Hoppers.

MEMBRACIDAE.

This is a group of homopterous insects chiefly confined to the tropical parts of the world. They are well represented in Australia, though we have nothing like the remarkable creatures covered with horns and spines found in South America and popularly known in consequence as “little devils.” They are remarkable for the wonderful development of the prothorax which, projecting in front, often forms a hood above the head, so that the latter is much hidden when viewed from above; the eyes are globular and project on the sides of the head, and there is a pair of ocelli in a line between them; while the short bristle-like antennae are well below the eyes on either side of the base of the stout rostrum (beak), which at rest is turned down between the legs. The abdomen is covered with the wings and parchment-like tegmina, the extremities of which come together to form a sharp point. The legs are short and stout, without the numerous spines common on the “frog-hoppers”; and the tarsi consist of three joints, the first longest. They can both fly and jump very well, but trust to the latter method to escape from their enemies. They and the members of allied families can be easily collected by shaking or beating low scrub over an open umbrella; or can be bred from larval forms on the food plant.

Very little attention had been paid to our tree-hoppers until a few years ago when Goding published his “Check List of the Membracidae described from Tasmania and Australia” (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1898); in this he gives many notes and lists 22 species, chiefly described by Walker (Brit. Museum Cat. Homoptera 1851), Fairmaire, in his Review of the family in 1846, and Stal in 1869. In 1903 Goding, in the same Journal, published a “Monograph of the Australian Membracidae.” In this he re-describes all the known, and adds a number of new species to our fauna, bringing the list up to a total of 32 described species, comprised in 14 genera, grouped in 6 sub-families, based chiefly upon the shape and structure of the prothorax.

The Genus _Sextius_ contains five species, in which the prothorax is ridged in the centre and produced on either side into a rather short acute horn standing out on either side, and with the apical portion produced into a keeled spine extending to the tip of the abdomen. _Sextius virescens_, our commonest species, is of a delicate green colour, and feeds upon the sap of the black wattle and other species of Acacia. In early summer it may be found among the foliage in all stages of development; the trees they frequent are frequently infested with ants which come to obtain the honey dew. The female slits the bark with her ovipositor, and lays the eggs in rows. _S. depressus_, about the same size, slightly over ¼ of an inch in length, ranges from Western Australia to Queensland: at Kempsey, N.S.W., I obtained specimens on a slender leafed Acacia. It is of similar green colour to _S. virescens_, with the front of the thorax of a lighter tint, but the projecting horns are shorter and depressed, and the venation of the elytra is much finer. _S. australis_ is about the same size, and of a uniform black tint with a patch of bright silvery pubescence on the sides of the thorax, which is rounded in front and has very short blunt horns. It lives upon the branchlets of a prickly Hakea growing about Sydney.

_Lubra spinicornis_ is a slightly smaller insect, of a general dull brown tint: it has the prothorax produced into two almost erect clubbed horns. Specimens have been obtained from Brisbane, Queensland, and the northern rivers of New South Wales. _Daunus tasmaniae_ is of the same chocolate brown colour; is more robust in proportion. The prothorax forms a regular hood swelling out on either side at the base of the tegmina, and the projecting horns are curved and deeply ridged, and are chisel-shaped at the tips. It is one of the commonest species in Tasmania, and is recorded over a wide area of the eastern mainland as far North as Brisbane.

_Eufroggattia tuberculata_ is a rare insect usually found resting on a twig of a eucalyptus sapling, and is shaped very much like some of the small plant bugs belonging to the Genus _Testrica_; it is short and broad in form, with the head exposed; the thorax has short blunt horns; and the abdomen is broadly rounded at the apex.

Family 4. Lantern-flies.

FULGORIDAE.

This is a very difficult family to satisfactorily define, as their members are very diverse in general shape and structure, with points of resemblance that bring some of the genera very close to the Cercopidae (from which however they differ in the shape of the head), while they somewhat resemble the Jassidae in the structure of the legs.

The typical forms have the front of the head either produced into a lance-shaped structure, or the face and vertex either rounded in front or forming an acute angle. The eyes are large and stand out on the sides of the head; the ocelli, usually two in number, are situated below or near the eyes and are placed in the cavities on the cheeks; in a few species there are three ocelli, while in others they are wanting. The antennae, situated beneath the eyes, and often very peculiar in structure, consist of two short joints surmounted with a bristle.

Many are large handsome insects with bright coloured tegmina and wings; others are of delicate green and grey tints, quite moth-like in form, but can be easily distinguished by the way they rest with their stiff roof-like wings, and by their active jumping habits. The legs are often long, and the hind pair are furnished with a few stout spines on the tibae, but never thickly spined as in the Jassidae. Many of our larger species are found both in the larval and perfect state, on tree trunks. A few species are well-known pests and have an extended range beyond Australia.

Donovan described and figured several species (Insects of New Holland, 1815); Westwood figured and described two in his “Monograph of the Genus Fulgora” (Trans. Linn. Soc. 1837): but the majority of our species are described by Walker (Brit. Mus. Cat. Homoptera, 1851), and he also named others in “Insecta Saundersiana, Homoptera,” 1858, which describes the insects in W. W. Saunders’ great collection.

_Siphanta acuta_, better known under the name of _Cromna acuta_, is one of our commonest fulgorids, moth-like in appearance, of a pale green colour, with broad square-cut fore wings and a short pointed head. It measures about an inch across the outspread wings. It has a wide range in Australia; and its pale green fluffy larvae feed upon the sap of many plants, and readily jump when touched. It is also well known in Hawaii, Sandwich Islands, where it is called the “torpedo-bug” from the way it jumps; and it is said to be a pest on the coffee plants (Smith Annual Report, Hawaii 1904). A number of species of these moth-like forms are described by Walker from Australia and Tasmania, and placed in the Genus _Bythoscopus_, which genus, when further studied, will probably be much subdivided.

The Common Passion-vine Hopper.]