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290 COLLEGE ENTOMOLOGY
The members of this family comprise six genera and 18 species and have
recently been reviewed by Ferris and Usinger (1939). Members occur on aU
. the continental arcas in the tropical and subtropical regions. The present
distribution includes five species from Africa, five from the East Indies, one
from China, one from India, three from North America, seven from South
America, two from Central America, and one from the West Indies. They
have been taken thus far on only four families of bats: MOLOSSIDlE or
free-tailed bats; NYCTERIDlE or false-vampire bats; PHYLLOSTOMIDlE
or leaf-nosed bats; and PTEROPIDlE or fruit-eating bats. By far the greater
number of polyctenids occur on the first-mentioned family.
Polyctenes molossus Giglioli 1864 was the first species described and is the
only member of that genus. It occurs in India.
The North American speCies are: Hesperoctenes eumops Ferris and Usinger
from the bat, Eumops californicus, in California; and Hesperoctenes hermsi
Ferris and Usinger from the free-tailed bat, Tadarida macrotis, in Texas. Only
74 specimens have been taken in the entire world thus far.
Family CIMICIDJE 1 (Latreille 1804) (Ci-mic'i-dre, from the Latin cimex, cimicis,
a bug), German, Bettwanzen. French Cimicides, Punaises des !its.
Bedbugs, Flats, Swallow Bugs.
As now defined this is a very small family of temporary ectoparasites or
predators which feed upon warm-blooded animals including man, birds, and
bats. They are for the most part small, oval, thin and flat, somber reddishbrown
bugs with tough integument and naked or pubescent bodies. Head
short. broad, and set into the prothorax. Antenn