The british cyclopedia of natural history - Softcover

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1837 Excerpt: ...Kngidas, DermestidtCy Byrr/iidce, Heteroceridte, mi E/niidce. Subsec. 5. Palpicorncs. Families, Hydrophilidee, Splucrididce. Subsec. 6. Lanwllicornes, which see for its families. The majority of these families have already bees, treated upon in their alphabetical situation in this work. / '.it..' I 1 PENTATOMIDiE (Leaeb An extensive taarily of hemipterous insects, belonging-to the subordei Heleroptera and section Geocorisa, or land bugs, and at once distinguished by the length of the upper lip, and the five-jointed antennae. The details of the mouth of one of these insects having been already figured in the article Insect (vol. ii. p. 851, fig. 89), we need only refer the reader thereto for a complete illustration of the trophi of this family. The body is generally short, oval, or rounded, or more or less depressed; the tarsi are three-jointed, and the antenna? are filiform. The family is of very considerable extent, and comprises some of the largest and handsomest species of field bugs, as the majority of the Linnsean Cimicet are called. The family comprises several principal genera, namely, ScuteUera (of Lamarck, type of the family Scutelleritet, Laporte), having the scutellum very large and covering the body; Penlatuma, Fabricius (type of the Penlatomides. Laporte), having the scutellum of moderate size; Teueraloma, Saint-Fargeau, having the antenna? four-jointed; and Edessa, Fabricius, having the metasternum porrected. These genera have been greatly cut up by Laporte, Curtis, and Burmeister, into minor groups, which it will be unnecessary here to detail, as they rest chiefly upon minute structural distinctions. Amongst the genera separated from Pentaloma, the following, as consisting of British species, ought not to be omitted, namely, JElia, having the...