A biology of the British Hemiptera-Heteroptera / by Edward A. Butler.

  • Butler, Edward A. (Edward Albert), 1845-
Date:
1923
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A biology of the British Hemiptera-Heteroptera / by Edward A. Butler. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    53/712 (page 41)
    4i very young ones, 1st or 2nd instar, have the head and thorax black, thickly and deeply punctured, and the abdomen pale red with scattered black punctures and with three dorsal black transverse bars, and black spots on the connexivum ; legs dark brownish, and antennae brownish with stout black terminal joints ; the head is very large and nearly semi-circular, with central and side lobes on the same level, lateral margins of pronotum ochreous and slightly foliaceous. Length 1J- mm. The next instar, 2 mm., shows traces of three longitudinal ochreous stripes on the dark fore parts, and a narrow, pale, foliaceous margin appears all round the insect. The abdomen loses almost the whole of its red tint and becomes greyish ochreous, while the legs and antennae are black. The head is not quite so much rounded in front, and the central lobe is very slightly passed by the side lobes. In the latest instars, 5J-6J mm., the whole insect is paler, being marked with longitudinal streaks alternately of fuscous and ochreous, of which the fuscous ones are the broader and more indefinite. The pale border all round is much wider, and the legs are not so dark. The shape is still long oval, not angular, although the head has become more elongated, and not broad and rounded as it was at first, and the side lobes have far over¬ passed the central lobe. The wing-pads do not interfere with the general scheme of striped coloration. , Nymph of . _ ip Aelia acuminata L. Life-cycle. The perfect insect has been taken from April to September inclusive. As the larvae are found up to August, it will be seen that the August and September imagines have recently matured, while the earlier specimens must be over-wintered examples. The species evidently hibernates, and in winter it has been found taking refuge in pine trees and in juniper (Reuter, 19). There are probably five instars in the larval life. Habitat, etc. This is another case of a solitary British representative of a fairly large genus, containing closely allied species, all showing the same type of ornamentation. There are few styles of decoration in the whole range of the Hemiptera more delicate than the exquisite pencillings of the longitudinal lines with which Aelia is adorned. As might be expected from its appearance, it frequents dry, grassy places, its ochreous colour and its longitudinal stripes harmonising exactly with the dry grass bents of its environment, and being possibly, therefore, protective in function. On August 15th, 1899, which was an intensely hot day, I took this species in company with Neottiglossa pusilla, Coreus denticulatus, Spathocera dalmani, Verlusia quadrata, and Ceraleptus lividus by sweeping the fine, dry, long grass growing on a small artificial mound of only a few square yards in extent, which apparently covered a water-tank. The mound was in a wood at Albury, Surrey, and the grass was most of it very dry and brown, and it