Vol. 41, pp. 39-40 March 16, 1928 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTO^.-^^OlfMf^ A CHARACTER FOR RECOGNITION OF THE FAMILY MEMBRACIDAE. BY W. L. McATEE AND J. R. MALLOCH. Recent publications bear evidence that there is at present no clearcut understanding of the scope of the family Membracidae. Funkhouser's Catalogue^ (p. 341) says of the genus Aethalion, ''Not a membracid genus. Should probably be considered a distinct family, the Aethalionidae." China states^ that Coding has described two genera of Cicadellidae as Membracidae and in his reply3 to this article Coding admits that another genus described as a membracid by him is a Heteropteron. These various genera, Williamsiana, Eustollia (Cicadellidae), and Eufroggattia (Pentatomidae), as well as the genus Xerophyllum Fairmaire (Acridiidae) are listed in the Funkhouser catalogue. The definition of Membracidae quoted by Coding (1. c.) from Distant is so generalized it does not distinguish the group from certain representatives of the Cicadidae, Cicadellidae, and Cercopidae, nor even from some Heteroptera. Hansen ac-cording to Kirkaldy lumps the Membracidae with the Jassidae, but writers on Membracidae though undoubtedly having as-sumptions, at least, as to the extent of the group have mostly refrained from defining it either positively or negatively. In view of this state of affairs, the writers deem it timely to mention a character for recognition of Membracidae which they first studied several years ago. It occurs in such highly modi-fied groups as Bolbonotus and Tragopinae, and also in those in which the pronotum is Httle specialized. Conversely it does not occur so far as we can discover in any other Homoptera. iFunkhouser, W. D., Gen. Cat. Hemip. Fasc. 1, Smith College, Mass., 1927, 581 pp. 2China, W. E., Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 9th Ser., No. 114, June, 1927, pp. 625-627. 3Goding, F. W., Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 9th Ser., No. 119, Nov., 1927, pp. 541-542. 9— Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. 41, 1928. (39)
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