Siffl'KSI imm. ^tk -^ ^ ^' TV ^ ^OURTH AXNUAL REPORT NOXIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS STATE OF ILLINOIS. I BY WILLIAM LeBARON, M. D., // / STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. I SPRTXGFIELD : STATE JOURNAL STEAM PKTXT. 1874. \ Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1874, by WILLIAJ^I LeBARON, M. D., in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. t !• INTRODUCTION. I [Fonrth Beport] To His Excellency, John L. Beveridge, Governor of the State of Illinois : SiK — I herewith trausmit my fourth annual report upon the injurious and beneficial insects of the State of Illinois. In this report I have carried out the plan proposed in the introduc- tion to my last report, of continuing the work there commenced under the title of Outlines of Entomology, so far as to complete the order of Coleoptera or beetles. As stated in the introduction just referred to, my object in this undertaking is to simplify and facilitate the study of this extensive and diliicult science, for the benefit of those who may be in- terested in it, and who, it may be presumed, will comprise a considera- "ble number of the young people of the State, under the stimulus recently given to the prosecution of this class of studies by the legislative enact- ment which requires that the study of natural history shall constitute one of the branches of education to be taught in the public schools. The continuation of this work, however, so as to embrace all the orders of insects, would require more time and study than could be de- voted to them consistently with the proper discharge of the more directly practical duties of this otiice. 1 shall not therefore attempt to continue it any further, at least for the present. But as the study of the several orders of insects is, to a great extent, independent of each other, the present work, it is hoped, will be found equally useful to the student, 80 far as it goes, whether the remaining parts ever be completed or not. With the view of making the part now published as complete in itself as possible, I have appended to it a glossary of the scientific terms more commonly used in descriptive entomology, and also a list of the principal authors, in this branch of science, both European and Ameri- can. As the present report is a continuation of the preceding, or third an nual report, and will undoubtedly fall into the hands of many who will be unable to procure copies of the other, I have reprinted, with some alterations, the concluding portions of the last report, which forms a natural introduction to the present. jY IMTRODUCTION. I may here add that the lateness of the date at which the hill for the appropriation for the purpose of illustrating- this report passed the General Assembly, and the time required for preparing the engravings, have necessarily caused a delay in the publication of this report of se^ eral mouths beyond the usual time. I also deem it proper here to put on record, that the preparation of the above mentioned bill, and its passage through the General Assem- bly, were largely due fo the interest and exertions of that well known frieud of popular education, the Hon. Elmer Baldwin, of LaSalle county. KespectfuUy submitted. t t a ^r t t> a t?/-ixt ^ WILLIAM LeBAEON, Geneva, September 1, 1874. ^to,te Entomologist. OUTLIMS OF EITOMOLOGY, PUBU8HED IS COXNBCTIOS WITH THE AUTHOK 8 ANNUAL REPORTS UPON INJURIOUS INSECTS. PAET FIRST. rSCLTTDISQ THE ORDEE OF COLEOPTERA. BY WILLIAM LeBARON, M. D., STATE ENTOMOLOGIST OF ILLINOIS. PREFACE. It is the object of the present work to simplify and facilitate the study of entomology, and especially to aid the inexperienced student in classi- fying the insects which he may from time to time collect. With this end in view I have made use, as far as practicable, of obvious and conspicuous characters in preference to those which are more minute and obscure, and consequently of more diflficult application. I have therefore made much use of the general characters of size, shai^e and color, but only so far as could be done consistently with the established classification of insects, founded upon their more permanent organic characters. In treating the Coleoptera, for the purpose of keeping in view the connection between scientific and practical entomology, I have endeav- ored to classify them, as nearly as possible, in accordance with their food habits, it being in the nature of their food and their modes of pro- caring it that insects come into the most direct relation to human inter- ests ; and this arrangement does not materially difler, so far as relates to the larger divisions, from that already established by Latreille and other entomologists, mostly upon structural cousiderations. This mode of classification is particularly interesting and available in the order of Coleoptera, on account of their much greater diversity of habits in these respects, than that of any of the other orders of insects. In classifying the Coleoptera I have not included a few small families, and a much larger number of small genera, thinking it best not to con- fuse the mind of the inexperienced student by the description of too many divisions, many of which contain but a few rare species, or else, dre so similar to other and previously established genera that their sepa- ration is a matter of questionable utility. Neither have I been able, without greatly extending the size and scope of this work, to take into account many of the new species which have been brought to our know- ledge by the recent explorations of the more western portions of the continent. The reader who wishes to extend his researches to these re- mote States and Territories, is referred more particularly to the' various writings of Dr. LcCoNTE, and the revision of the Tenebrionid» of Xorth Vin PEEFACE. America, and other memoirs, by Dr. Geo. H. Horn. But whenever a general enumeration of the species in any group is given, without quali- fication, it must be understood to embrace all the known North American species. In stating the numbers of species, I have followed, for the most part, the recently published Check List of Mr. G. E. Crotch, (1874). Where two or more closely allied genera or sub-genera are merged in one, all the species are, of course, included under the leading generic title. A precise adjustment of species formed no part of my plan, and my principal object in giving these numbers has been to show the compara- tive numerical importance of the several families and their leading or typical genera. In the definition of genera I have had constant reference to the great work of Lacordaire on the genera of Coleoptera*; and to Dr. J. L. Le- Conte's very accurate and scientific classification of the Coleoptera of North America, prepared for the Smithsonian Institution. (Part 1st, 1 vol., 8 vo., 1861 ; and Part 2d, 1873.) To these elaborate systematic works, and especially the latter, which, for obvious reasons, is most readily available to the American student, the present treatise is only intended to serve as an introduction or stepping stone; and to them the reader is referred for more extensive details, and for the definition of the smaller families and genera not included in the present work. In the families Chrysomelidse, Erotylidte, Eiidomychidte and Coccin- ellidse, which have not been reached in either of the uncomideted works just referred to, I have derived valuable aid from the synopsis of these families by Mr. G. R. Crotch, recently published in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and in the Transac- tions of the American Entomological Society. I In treating of the internal structure of insects I have necessarily lim- ited myself to the briefest general statements. Those who wish to pro- secute further this department of the science, will find much interesting matter in Dr. A. S. Packard's well known Guide to the study of In- sects. It will be seen that some of the families of Coleoptera are much more fully treated than others. This has been owing, partly, to the greater amount of material at my command, partly to the comparative impor- tance of certain families in a practical or economic point of view, and partly to the irregularity of the intervals at which the work has been prosecuted, which has prevented that uniformity of execution which would have been desirable. > In order to make this little work as useful as possible, I have added a glossary of the terms most commonly used in descriptive entomology ; and also, a brief catalogue of authors, especially those whose names ap- Genera dea Coleopteras. Ten vols. 8 to., Paris, 1854-1872. The author died before the completion of this -work, and the tenth volume has not yet been published. PREFACE. IX pear in connection with the descriptions of North American Coleoptera, or the ehicidation of their natural histoiy. Much of the vahie of a work intended, like the present, for the inex- perienced student, must depend upon accurately executed figures of the insects treated of, and the details of their organization. An ai>propri- ation for this purpose by the General Assembly has enabled me to illus- trate the present work to a reasonable extent. Most of these figures have been drawn by Mr. C. V. Rilev, State Entomologist of Missouri, and engraved under his direction, which is a sufficient guarantee of their accuracy. Many of these have already been published in illustration of his own official reports, but a considerable number of them have been prepared originally for this work. A small proportion of the figures have been obtained from Dr. Packard's Guide to the study of Insects, from Westwood's Introduction, and a few from other sources. The straight hair-line fre«]|uent]y i>laced at the side of a figure, shows the natural length of the insect. SYSTEMATIC INDEX. FACE I NSKGTS I NT GEXKKAL 1 Internal sfnicturo i>f insects 2 (Miculatory HV-tltMU 3 Ki>.si)irat<>ry .system 3 I)i;;t>.stivn sVNtt'ni 4 Sfciftory »y stt^ni 5 ^I use ular system 5 Origans of Hie seuHes 5 Soniiils iiiailc l)y insects 7 l\Iii nTnoriilidHcs of insects 8 Si'xt'H of insects 9 Extomnl Hlinctnre of insects 10 Head ami aiipendages 10 Thorax anhiln8 59 T;liizi>]>)]agus 59 DEiai ESTID.^ CO Dprruestes 60 Attagenus 60 Authrenus 60 MYCETOPHAGLD^ 61 M vcctophagua 61 CRTPT'OPFIAGID.E 62 Crvptophagus 62 BYKRHTD^ 62 Bvrrhus 62 ANISOTOMLD^ 63 Anisotnma 63 Agatliidium 63 PHALACRIDiE 63 Phalacrns 63 TElCnOPTERYGID^ 63 Tiyoliopteryx 63 SCYDMlK VID.E 64 ScydiiiiiuiiM 64 2. Sub-Olavicornes. TROGOSITID.'E 64 Trogosita 64 cue U.TID .E 6.5 Cucujus 65 Catogeuu!} 65 LiPinophlceus 65 Brontes 65 Sil vann.s 65 COLYDnD/E - 65 Colidium 66 Awlonium 66 Ditoma 66 LATHRimiDiE 66 Sub-section III. ]VIoiiiLicoriies. TlUiiK T. SHORT- WING ED SCAVENGERS. STAPnYLINIDyE 67 STAl'ilYI.INlDES 68 rroophilus 69 Leistotrophns 69 Stai)hyliuu8 69 Ocypus 69 Philonthus 69 OxyporuH 69 Xa'ntholiuus 69 , OXVTKLIliKS 70 Osortiis 71 Bledius 71 Oxy telus 71 Pkdekidfs 71 Cry ptobiuiu 71 Lathrobium 71 P;L'deru8 71 Lilliocbaris 71 Stiliciis 71 Suiiius 71 Palaminus 71 Stknii'Es 72 SteuuB *2 STAPHYLINID^. page Ai.EOCIIAKIDES 72 Falagria 73 Atenieles 73 Aleochara '. 73 Tachy usa 73 Homalota ' 72 Gyrophar-na 73 Taciiyfokides 74 Tachinns 74 Tachyporu8 74 • Coiiosoma 74 Boletobius 74 Mycetoporus 74 Hypoc3'ptu8 74 Omaliides 75 Lesteva 75 Anthophagus 75 Olophrnm 75 Omalinni 75 Anthobiiim 75 PSELAPHID.E 76 Pselaphus 76 Sub-section IV. Fectinicornes. TitniE VI. STAG BEETLES. LUCANTD^ 77 Lacanus 77 Dorcns 77 Platycerns 77 Ceruchus 78 Sinodendron 78 Passalua 78 Subsection V. LaiTiellicornes. Tribe Vn. LAMELLICORN DUNG-BEETLES. COPEID^ 60 Canthon , 80, 81 Cliojridium 81 Cojms 81 Oiithophagus 81 APHODIID.E 81 Aphodius 81 GEOTRUPID.E 81 Geotrupes 82 Bolbocerns 82 TROGID^ 83 Trox 83 Tribe vm LEAE CHAFERS. DYNASTID.'E 84 Dynastes 84 Xyloryctes 84 Ligyrus 84 Cydocophala 85 MELOLDNTHID.E 86 Lichuanthe 87 UopUa 87 Polypliylla 87 Dicheloiiycha 87 Lachnu.sterna 87 Macrodactylus 87 Serica 87 Diplotaxis ■- 87 RUTELID-E 88 Strigoderma 89 Aiiomala 89 Cotalpa 89 Peliduota 89 CETONUD.E 89 Gyiuuetie 90 Eiu'yoiuia 90 Cremastocheilua 90 Usinoderuia 90 Trichius 90 Valgus , 90 SYSTEMATIC! INDEX. xin Sub-section VI. SerricoriieM. Tkiue IX. rAO SAW HOKNED WOOD-BBETLES. BUrRESTID/E CUalcophora Dicerea Uiiprpstis (_;ht ysobothris ilelanophila Aiithaxia Acm.Todera A(irilii8 linirli ys MitciiiuH ELATKUIl) J': Ell;iniitiis A t hoiis Linioiiius Melanaeles Coryiiibctoa TitlHK X. ARERRANT WOOD-BEETLES. I'TINID.E }0\ I'tiuus 1"* Anotiium 1"- rtiliniis 102 Hostricluirt 10- LYMEX YLON IDiE in|» Lvniexylou 'f-i CUl'ESlDzE 10;' C upea lO-' TltlliK XI. SOFT-WINGED CARNIVOKA. LAM TYKIDiE 10^ LVCIDKS '05 Lycua 105 Calopteron 10''> Eros 105 LAMl-YiaDES 105 Lucidota 10*> rhotinua 106 I'hoturia - 107 riiengodea 10|^ TKi.i:rH0iai)):8 10" Chauliojiiiathua 10' Teleuhorus 107 Silis 107 aiELYRID^ 10^ Malachius l^^'^ Daa V tea 108 CLERID.'E IOp Elasmooerus luy Tillus lO'J (•ymntodera 109 Tnchodea 109 Clerua 109 Tlydnocera 10'.* Euopliiini < 109 Xi'crobia 109 Section II. UETEROMERA : TuuiK XII. PARASITIC-BEETLES. LAGRIID^ ■- 113 Lagria 113 PAOK. MORDELLID.E 113 Anaapia 114 Mordella 114 MELOID.E 114 Mftloo ll.'i Horia 115 Ntdilu8 117 KHII'irilOKID.?; 117 RIiipoplioriiB 117 STYLOPII ).E 1 17 Sty lops 118 Xonos 118 TmnK XIII. IIETEHOMEIiOUS BA UK-BEETLES. (EI )EM EKI D.E 118 < Edt'tiicra 1 M 1* Y TH 1 1 ).E 1 l!i I'y t ho 119 Salpingiia 119 UlSTEUDJi 119 Ciatela 119 A llecu'a 119 MELANDKYIDiE 119 Tel rat oiiia 120 M olandrya 1 20 Scrropalpua li!0 Sviuhroa 120 ( )rclie.sia 120 Sn aptia 120 TlUiiB XFY. IIETEROMEROUS GROUND BEETLES. TENEBRIONID^ 122 lIl'.i.nniiK8 122 Jlelopa 123 Sti-onjryliuni 12:! Moracantha 12;j Tknriiiuoxidkb 12:» Zo)diorua 12;j Aaida : 12:t Pelecyphorus 12.1 Eleodea 12:j Blaps 123 lUajtatinua 123 Upia 123 Teiiebrio 12:i Ul.OMIKKS 12.3 Ulonia 124 Hypophlcpua 124 Tkihk XV. IIETEROMEROUS FUNGUS-BEETLES. DIAPEKID.E 12.5 BolitophaKUS 125 Dinporia 12.') lIoplore]ihala 125 Plat vdema 125 Sect ion 1 1 1. TETRA MERA : Tium XVI. SNOUT-BEETLES. BRUCIIID.E 128 Bnichua 12!t Mvlabria 129 ANTHRIBID^E 129 Tropidere.s 129 Anthribus 129 Crato|iari8 129 15rai'bvt;»r3U8 129 BRENTHID Ji 130 Brenthu* 130 XIV SYSTEMATIC INDEX. PAGE. CTTRCULIONIDiE 131 Ithycerides 136 Ithycerus 136 Cleonides 136 Cleonus 136 Leptopsides 136 Vanscopus 136 Oi)hrya8tos 137 BKACHrDEKIDES 137 EpioitTua 137 Pandeleteius 137 Poly drosus 137 Sitones 137 Tanyniecus 137 Thy'lacites 137 Pachnfpus 137 Barynotes 137 Liichiiopus 137 Platyomus 137 StropliDHDiHus 137 OiKiiaiYNCiiinES 137 Otiorh viuli us 137 Agrapliua 137 Tyloderes 137 CyUNUKORHlNIDEa 137 Listroderes 137 LiXIDES Ki8 Lixus 138 Larinus .138 Otidocephai.ides 138 Otidocephalns 138 MAGDALIN II )E(S 1311 Mngilaliiiiis 139 H viA)Biil)i;s l:!9 Hy lobius ISO Eudocimus 139 Piasodea 139 lleilipus 139 Lrnpyius 139 EKIKHIiNIDE.S 139 Erirhin us HO Endalus 140 Brachjbaiuus 140 BaKoua 140 Balaxim i>es ] 40 BalauinuH 140 Antrkxh.mides 140 AntliDiiDiiiua 141 OuCHRSTIIlEtS 141 Orchestes 141 AlTEI.AlilDKS 141 At tulabus 142 Ivhyiifliites 142 Eutruainptus 142 Apioxidbs 142 A pion 142 Conotuaciielidbs 142 Conotraclichis 142 CRYP rORH YNCHIUES 142 Cryptorliynchua 143 Acalles I43 Psoudoinua I43 Aiialcia j 43 Ceutouiiynciiidks 14A Mononyclius I43 CiBliodos 143 Ceutorhyucluis I43 Phytobi'us I43 Cd'lopiator 143 Khiuoncua I43 BAI!I1)III>KS , .Hi Contrinua !!!!l44 liai iditia 144 Madams I44 (^Al.AXDKIKES ...\44 Kliyncophorua I44 Spheuojdiorua I44 Calandra ! ! . . 144 COSSONI DES .'.'.'.'. ..144 C0S8011US ]45 Klimoolua !!!!!! 145 Diyopthoiiis 145 Lyiuaiites ! ... 145 Pulojopliagufl J45 Tmbe XVn. PAGB. SHORT-HORNED WOOD-BORERS, SCOLTTID^ 145 Platypus 146 Hyhirgua 146 Hylastes 146 Hylesinua 146 Tomlcua 1 46 Scolytus 146 Tribe XVIII. LONG-HORNED WOOD-BORERS. CERAMBYCID^ 150 Prionidbs 151 Parandra 151 Prionua 151 Derobrachna I5i Ortbosoma I5i EiKates 151 Mallodon 15^ Trago.sorna 15^ Sphenosteth ns 1 I5i Ceuambycides 151 Criocepbahia 153 Tetropium 154 Eburea 154 Cbion 154 Elai)hidion 154 Phy aochnemum 154 Batyle 155 Hyl((trupes 154 Clytus 154 Stt^iiaspia 155 Callidium 154 Lepturiues 155 Desmocerus 156 Rha^iura ]5fi Gauiotea isg Aciuapops 156 Toxotus 156 I'acliy ta 156 Ency'clops 156 Lpptura 156 Strangalia 156 Molorclma 156 SteiKipterus 156 Lamiiukb 156 Monobaiuuiua 158 Dorc'bascliema 158 Hippopais 153 Desmophora 158 Spalacopsis 158 Saperda 158 Oiioiderea 158 A detua 158 Ataxia 158 Eupojioniua 158 Psenocenis 158 Acantboderea 158 Graphiaurua 158 Leptoatylus 158 Leiopus 158 Tetraopea 158 Tetr()i)S 158 St(MiF.8 Oileutota Microrhopala . Steuiapa ClIUYSOMELIDyE. r^oE- ClIKVSOMKUDKS: Tyimphorua J°'^ ColaspiVl \l^ Dorypliora }»' ^1 eUcliroma J"" 1 1 otcraspis "* ri.iia.. ]% Xanthonia J"* ...........'..!!!!l69 Chlaniys |^^ Babia '•'■^ Saxiiiis Co.sciiiDptera (Mir> ])lncephalu8 Gai.eui riuES (i:\loiuca Diabnitica I^nponis Bl< ^ili:irida (ICiliDiivchis Ilyi"il:itupi8 1' J ( ',1 ;ii)to(lora ^ ' f Discm vcba "{ (Jn lie.stiis }1\ Loii;;itar8U8 '^| Sv«tf'iia Yl,-, Dibolia }'- Cba'tocneraa ^'~ Ciopiilodcra \l^ I'svlliodes ' ';: '.]!'.".. .174 174 CnUYSOMELID^E. CAKrtimnKrt Pornhyraspis . Cholyiiiorpha FAfiK. 175 176 ■.■.■/.■ 176 I'hysonota J^J^ Casslda Section IV TRIMERA : Trihe XX. TRIMKKOUS FUNGUS-BEETLES. EROTYLID.K 180 181 Languria J?f Dttfmo ^"^ Ischvrus Triplax ENDOMYCIIIDiE.... Kndomycbiis Lvciii>«r*lina .181 .181 .161 .182 .182 .174 Rli""»« ■ iZo Rhy luaphora f°- Mvcota'a Vt^ Alexia ^**^ Tkihe XXI. rL.\NT-LOUSE BEETLES. COCCINELLIUiE 183 Uippodaniia J°' CoccinoUa J°' Cbiloconis }°] nj-pem-Va \ll Scyiunus J" Psyllobora ]l\ CEneis f°' CataloKUO of authors ^™ (ilossary }„J AlpUabotical index ^^^ SYNOPSIS OF THE TRIBES OF THE COLEOPTERA. .. Tiirsi usually 5-jointcd, sometimes 4 or 3-jointed in very small species, slender and sparsely haired, except Tribe XI, and except that the anterior, or anterior and middle t^rsi are sometimes dilated and brush-like beneath in the males. B. Elytra covering the whole or nearly the whole of the abdomen. C. Antennae filiform and simple; outer lobe of maxillte palpiform, giving the appearance of six palpi. D. Legs long and fitted for running, hind trochanters large, egg-shaped and prominent; tarsi always 5-jointed Tribe I. D D. Hind legs flattened and fringed for swimming ; trochanters not promi- nent; the fourth joint of the anterior and middle tarsi sometimes in- distinct in very small species Tribe II C C. Antennae .filiform and usually serrate ; outer lobe of maxillai not palpiform. E. Prosternum prolonged to a point behind and received in the mesosteruum ; body very firm, legs short, tarsi always 5-joiuted, joints not dilated and brush-like beneath, but often furnished with membranous lobes on the underside Tribe IX. E E. Prosternum not prolonged behind. F. Body moderately firm ; legs more or less elongated ; tarsi various : Tribe X. F F. Body soft, elytra thin and flexible; tarsi usually somewhat dilated and brush-like beneath, with the fourth joint bilobed; last joint of palpi sometimes dilated Tribe XI C C C. Antennae clavate or capitate. G. Palpi usually very long, sometimes longer than the sHfert antenuffi; antennae 6 to 9-joiuted, strongly clavate; middle and hind coxae dilated; middle and hind tarsi sometimes fringed; habits aquatic. Tribe III.' G G. Palpi not elongated; antennae 11-jointed, rarely 10 or 9-jointed; coxae not dilated; habits not aquatic. H. Club of antennae pectinate ; mandibles usually strongly toothed or even branched ; size large, or medium Tribe VI H H. Club of antennae lamellate; size often large; sometimes small, but never very small. I. Abdomen wholly covered by the elytra (except Copridae) ; hind legs set far back Tribe VII. I I. Tip of abdomen exposed ; hind legs not set far back . Tribe VIII H H H. Antennae clavate, but with the club neither pectinate nor lamellate, and nearly or quite filiform in the exceptional group of Sub-clavicornes ; size small or very small, (except Silphidw) Tj.jjjg jy^ SYNOPSIS OP THE TRIBES. XVII H B. Elytra much shortened, usually covering less iluiu hulf „f the abdomen; au- tennae more or less moniliforni rp^.^/ . y A A. Anterior and middle tarsi 5-jointed, hind tarsi 4-jointed; the "joints slender" sparsely haired or spinous, sometimes silky or pubescent beneath, but never dilated, brush-like and bilobed as in the remaining sections; except some- times the penultimate joint in parts of Tribes XII and XIII. K. Head as wide as the thorax, and attached to it by a neck; body rather soft and elytra llexible; antennie filiform, sometimes serrate or pectinate; anterior coxte prominent and contiguous; colors various, and often diversified • larva- iisually pantsitic Tribe XII. K Iv. Head narrower than the thorax, and usually partly inserted in it; body firm ; color black or brown ; rarely diversified. I.. Antenme filiform; anterior coxie somewhat prominent, and nearly or quite contiguous; color mostly brown, sometimes iilack; larva) sub-cortical r F A . - Tribe Xin. l.h. Antennae sometimes filiform, but usually more or less clavate; anterior coxae small, depressed, and never contiguous. M. Antennae usually moderately and gradually enlarged towards the tip but sometimes filiform, and usually as long as the head and thorax; body oblong; color black or dark metallic; larv;e mostly terrestrial. vr vr I Tribe XIV. M M. Antenntfi usually short and perfoliate; body short, oval or subquad- rate; color brown, or black with red spots, sometimes metallic; larviB fungivorous Tribe Xv' AAA. Tarsi apparently 4-jointed, with all the joints, except the last, dilated, brush- like beneath, and with the penultimate joint usually bilobed (except Scolytidae.) N. Head more or less prolonged into a snout or rostrum ; anlenuie usually capitate ; larva; fructivorous Tribe XVI N N. Head not prolonged into a snout. O. Antennae clavate or capitate; tarsi not dilated; furm sub-cylindi-ical ; size small ; color brown or black; larvjt lignivorous. . .Tribe XVII. O O. Antennae usually filiform or setaceous; sometimes slightly widened towards the tip; tarsi always dilated and bnish-likc bcneatli, with the penultimate joint usually bilobed. P. Form elongated; antenme almost always long, and filiform or seta- ceous; often as long as the body or longer; size and colors va- rious; larvie lignivorous Tribe XVIII P P. Form short, and more or less oval; antenme filiform, or ii little thickened towards the end, and never much more than half as long as the body; size below medium or small; colors various; larvje herbivorous Tribe Xix' A A A A. Tarsi usually apparently 3-joiuted, sometimes 4 or'o-jointed, the j^oints dilated and brush-like beneath, with the penultimate joint usually deeply bilobed; antenna; usually strongly clavate, rarely sub-clavate Ci. Form oval or oblong; antenme of moderate length; colors red and black usually arranged in large spots or stripes; habits fungivorous . ..Tribe Xx' QQ. Form nmnd.'d, or sub-hemispherical ; antenna- very short; colors mo.stly red and black, arranged in dots ; habits carnivorous Tribe XXI. I —C XVIII SYNOPSIS OF THE TRIBES. NAMES OF THE TRIBES IN THE FOREGOING TABLE. PAGE. Tril)e 1. Predaceous ground-beetles. . 37 Tribe II. Predaceous water-beetles. . 50 Tribe III. Water scavenger-beetles . . 52 Tribe IV. Land scavenger-beetles... 54 Tribe V. Short-winged scavengers . . 66 T^ribe VI. Stag-beetles 76 Tribe VII. Lanicllicorn dung-beetles 80 Tribe VIII. Leaf-chafers 83 Tribe IX. Saw-horned wood-beetles. 93 Tribe X. Aberrant wood-beetles 101 Tribe XI. Soft -winged predaceous- beetles 104 Tribe XII. Parasitic beetles Ill PAGE. Tribe XIII. Heteromerous bark-bee- tles 118 Tribe XIV. Heteromerous ground- beetles 130 Tribe XV. Heteromerous fungus-bee- tles 124 Tribe XVI. Snout-beetles 127 Tribe XVII. Short-horned wood-bor- ers 145 Tribe XVIII. Long-horned wood-bor- ers 148 Tribe XIX. Tetramerous plant-beetlesl60 Tribe XX. Trimerous fungus-beetlesl78 Tribe XXI. Plant-louse beetles 183 OUTLINES OF ENTOMOLOGY INSECTS IN GENERAL. Insects constitute the most numerous and diversified class of the second grand division of tlie animal kitigdom, desiguatt'd by the term Articulata, and so called because their bodies and limbs are com- posed of many pieces, connected together by movable joints or articula- tions. Insects as a class, and in the widest meaning of the word, comprise three divisions, or sub-classes, commonly known as Spiders, Insects and ]Millipedes. They may be distinguished by the following characters : 1st. Sub-class : Arachnida, including Spiders, Scorpions and Acari, or Mites. Body divided into two parts, the head and thorax being united in one ; legs eight in number ; without wings. LM. Sub-class: Insecta, or Insects proper. Body divided into three parts, the head, the thorax, and the abdomen ; legs six ; furnished with wings, in the i)erfect or imago state. 3d. Sub-class : Myriapoda, commonly called Millipedes or Centi- pedes. Body divided into many parts or segments, varying from ten to two hundred ; legs numerous ; usually either one or two pairs of legs to each segment of the body ; never have wings. The exceptions to these characters are very few. In the Arachnida, some of the most minute Acari have but six legs. Insects proper are always six-legged in their last or perfect state, and they also generally have six true K'gs in their larva state; but some larvu' have no legs, ami the larv;e of the Lepidoptera, commonly called caterpillars, have, in addition to their six true legs, several pairs of false legs, or pro-legs, which assist in locomotion. There are a few exceptional ' cases in which insects are destitute of wings. The Fleas (Pulices), the Lice (Pediculi), and the little family of insects known as Spring-tails (Thysanoura), never have wings. In some rare instances the females are wingless, whilst the males have wings. This is the case with some species of the Lightning-beetles (Lampyrida), and with the Canker-worm moth, and the Tussock-moth, and a few other species among^st the Lepidoptera. Similarly excep- tional cases are also found in other orders of insects. The present work will treat only of Insects proper. INSECTS IN GENERAI.. INTERNAL STRUCTUEE OF INSECTS. THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. fFiir- 1 The nervous system of in- sects consists of a double cord extending the length of the body, and lying upon the inferior or ventral side of the internal cavity. The two threads which compose this cord do not lie side by side, but one above the other. The lower thread swells at intervals into lit- tle knots of nervous matter, called ganglia. In insects of an elongated form, such as some of the Neuroptera (e. g. Corydalis), and the larvoe of the Lepidoi^tera, there is a ganglion at each segment of the body, ma- king thirteen in all ; but in most mature insects the ganglia become more or less consolidated. In the But- Nervous .sysleui ol' insects, expliiiiiud iu the text. terfly (Papilio), there are ten ganglia, counting the brain as one; in the Bee (Apis), there are eight; in the May-beetle (Meloloutha), there are live, and in the Cicada there are but two. The upper of the two ner- vous threads runs nearly in contact with the lower, but is destitute of ganglia. Tliese two threads seem to re])resent the double and more compact cord which constitutes the spinal marrow of the higher or ver- tebrated animals. The upper simple thread is supposed to furnish the nerves of motion, and the lower and ganglionic thread, the nerves of sensation. The fibres wliich compose these cords separate at the ante- rior extremity of the body, so as to embrace the oisophagus or gullet, above which they again unite to form the cerebral ganglion or brain, which is somewhat larger than the other ganglia. From the nervous cords, and chiefly from the ganglia, tine lateral threads are emitted, which are distributed to the adjacent i)arts. The nerves thus far described represent what, in the higher animals, is called the cerebrospinal system of nerves, and are sometimes called THE CIRCULATORY AND RESPIRATORY SYSTEMS. 3 tlie uerves of relation, because they control the sensations and motions which associate the animal with the world around it. But in addition to these, there have been discovered a number of very fine nervous filaments proceeding: from the brain, and extondinp: down into the body, and furnished with minute ganj,dia of their own, which are supposed to represent the symi)athetic system of nerves which preside over the in- ternal functions, such as those of digestion and secretion. The foregoing cut represents the nervous system of a butterflj^, {Pa- pilio brassica' — after Herold), A exhibiting that of the larva, B that of the pupa, and C that of the i)erfect insect ; and showing how the nerv- ous system becomes shortened and consolidated in changing from the lower to the higher stages. Fig. D. shows the more concentrated nerv- ous system of a Coleopterous insect, as exhibited in the common English Cockchafer or door-beetle, Melolontha vulyaris, (copied from Straus.) THE CIRCULATORY, OR SANGUIFEROUS SYSTEM. The blood of insects is a colorless fluid, which does not circulate in closed vessels or tubes, like that of the higher animals, but permeates the tissues of the body. The only vessel that can be discovered is an oblong, membraneous, pulsating sack, situated in the upper or dorsal part of the body, and which evidently represents the heart. This is divided into several compartments by cross-valves, which are so ar- ranged as to permit the blood to pass only in a forward direction. The heart is prolonged anteriorly into a narrower tube analogous to the aorta. Through this the blood flows first towards the head, and thence through the body, returning to the heart, which it enters through open- ings at its sides. As compared with that of the warm-blooded animals, the blood of insects is not only colorless, but small in quantity, and must circulate very slowly, as is proved by the fact that when their bodies are wounded no blood escapes. THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. Most of the organs of insects, and their functions, have an obvious analog}" to those of the higher animals, but their breathing apparatus is constructed upon an entirely diflerent plan. In all the vertebrated animals the blood is carried in vessels to a particular i)art or organ of the body, for the purpose of being exposed to the life-giving influence of the air. This part in terrestrial animals, is the lungs, and in aquatic animals the gills. But in insects the process is reversed, and the air is carried to the blood by being distributed to ever}' part of the body in very delicate pearl-white tubes or vessels, which present a beautiful ap- pearance under the microscope. They are called tracheie, or air tubes. They admit the air through little openings along the sides of the in- INSECTS IN GENERAX,. sect's body, called si)iiacles. The spiracles or breatliiiig- pores can be easily seen along the sides of all caterpillars which are not too densely covered with hairs. In the perfect or winged state of insects the branches of the air tnbes are dilated into a great number of little ves- sicles or air bladders, which render their bodies lighter, and thus facili- tate their flight. In some aquatic larvte the trachea3 project from the body in the form of little tufts, analogous to the gills of fishes. The aquatic beetles are under the necessity of rising to the surface, at intervals, for air, in a manner similar to that of the aquatic mammalia, the whales and the doljihins. THE DIGESTIVE OR NUTRITIVE SYSTEM. fFi-. 2.1 The digestive apparatus of insects, like that of other animals, consists of an elongated tube called the aliment- ary canal, extending through the body, j and having a number of enlargements in its course, and in many insects pre- :^^ seiits a particular resemblance to the digestive apparatus of birds. First, 1 there is a short, straight oesophagus or gullet ; this expands into a much larger cavity, resembling the crop ; then follows a smaller muscular part, analogous to the gizzard ; and next, a much larger and longer cavity, which is the true digestive stomach; this be- comes contracted into the intestinal canal, which sometimes runs nearly straight through the body, and in other cases is more or less convolu- ted; the intestine enlarges again before it reaches the end of the body into what is known as the large intestine or colon. As in other ani- mals, the alimentary canal is much longer and more capacious in the herbivorous than in the carnivorous kinds. As a general rule the canal is much more capacious in the larva than in the imago state. In Fig. 2, 0, represents the digestive organs of one of the carnivo- rous beetles, Cicindela aonpestris; a the commencement of the oesopha- gus or gullet; c the crop; d the gizzard ; e the stomach or i)rincipal di- gestive cavity; / the commencement of the small intestine ; h the large intestine; both of these parts are unusually short in this tribe of in- sects; m m the convoluted vessels which are supposed to represent the liver of the higher animals. Digestive organs of iiihocls, uxplaiucd in the text. THE SECRETORY AND MUSCULAR SYSTEMS. THE SECRETORY SYSTEM. The secretory apparatus of insects, thoujj:li atialogjous in fnnction, is very different in appearance from that of the higher animals. Instead of solid glands, like the liver or kidney, it has the form of masses of convoluted tubes, as represented at m in the preceding figure. The sal- ivary glands, the liver, the kidneys, and the testacies are found repre- sented in insects. The gastric and pancreatic liuids are secreted by little cells or follicles in the coats of the stomach. THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. The muscles of insects, like those of other animals, consist of con- tractile fibres, but in their situation and attachments, as compared with those of the vertebrate animals, they are reversed ; that is to say, in the latter, the muscles are situated outside of, and upon the bones, which constitute the supporting part of the body, whereas in insects, the supporting part is the external crust, and the muscles are attached to its internal surface. The muscles are of a pale yellowish color, and are usually presented in the form of thin layers, and sometimes of iso- lated fibres, and are never united into the rounded compact form which they have in the higher animals. By counting the sei)arate tibres, a very great number of muscles have been enumerated. Lyonct counted nearly four thousand in the larva of Gossns lif/niperda, and Newport found an equal number in the larva of Sphinx Ik/ustri. The muscles of insects possess a wonderful contractile i)ower in proportion to their size. A flea can leap two hundred times its own length, and some beetles can raise more than three hundred times their own weight. This remarkable strength u\ay probably be attributed to the abundant sui)- ply of oxygen by means of the myriad ramitications of the air tubes. THE ORGANS OF THE SENSES. Insects are evidently endowed with the ordinary senses which other animals possess, but no special organs of sense, except those of sight, have been discovered with certainty. Sight. — The eyes of insects are of two kinds, simple and compound. The simple or single eyes are called ocelli., and may be compared in ap- pearance to minute glass beads. They are usually black, but sometimes red, and are generally three in number, and situated in a triangle on the top of the head. In insects with a complete metamorphosis, these are the only kind of eyes possessed by them in their larva state, and in these they are usually arranged in a curved line, five or six in number, on each side of the head. We have noticed that in some insects which undergo only a partial metamorphosis, as for examide the common 6 INSECTS IN GENERAL. Squasli-bug- (Coreus tristisj, the ocelli are wauting in the larva and i3upa states, but become developed in the last or perfect stage. The compound eyes of insects present one of the most complex and beautiful mechanisms in the organic world. They are two in number, but proportionately very large, occupying in many insects nearly the whole of the sides of the head, and, in the dipterous order especially, often present across their disks, bands of the richest tints of green, brown and purple. These eyes are found to be composed of a great number of lesser eyes or eyelets, in the form of elongated cones so closely compacted as to form apparently" a single organ. The larger ends of these cones point outwards, and by their union form the visible eye. Their smaller extremities point inwards, toward the brain, to which they are connected by means of a large optic nerve. When one of these eyes is examined through a strong magnifying glass, it is seen to be composed of a very great number of little facets, sometimes square, but usually six sided, each one of which represents the outer and larger extremity of one of the component parts. These facets vary greatly in number in the eyes of diiferent kinds of insects. In the ants there are about tifty in each eye ; in the Sphinx moths, about 1,300 ; in the house fly, 4,000 ; in the butterfly, upwards of 17,000 ; and in some of the small beetles of the genus Mordella, it is said that more than 25,000 facets have been enumerated in one compound eye ; so that if we sup- pose that each of these comi^onent parts possesses the power of separate vision, one of these insects must have more than 50,000 eyes. How vi- sion is eflected, or how a unity of imi)ressiou can be produced by so complex an organ, we are unable to conceive. Hearing. — Insects are evidently affected by loud noises, and moreover, as many insects have the power of producing voluntary sounds, it is reasonable to suppose that they possess the sense of hearing. No or- gan, however, which has been generally admitted to be an organ of hearing, has been discovered. It is the most common opinion of ento- mologists that the antenna' are instrumental in receiving the impres- sions of sound, and that the sense of hearing is located at or near their l»lace of attachment to the head, and this view is much strengthened by the fact that in some of the larger crustaceans, such as the lobster and crab, a distinct organ of hearing is found located at the base of the an- tennai. Smelling. — That insects are endowed with the sense of smell, is proved by the fact that the carrion-fly, and other insects which feed upon, or deposit their eggs ujion, putrescent matter, detect such substances at a distance, however completely they may be hidden from the sight. The bee also discovers honey under similar circumstances, and it is therefore fair to presume that insects are conducted to flowers, in hidden situa- SOUNDS MADE BY INSECTS. tions, more by their odor than by their visible characters. But no organ of smelling has been discovered, ami this sense is supposed, from anal- ogy, to be located in the lining membranes of the spiracles. Taste and Touch. — It is impossible to determine, but there is no reason to doubt, that insects, like other animals, taste and enjoy the food of which they partake ; and the manner in which they frequently touch their food, and the surfaces over which they walk, with the tii)s of their palpi, which, indeed, have received the common ivduie. of feelers, renders it probable that these organs are endowed with a special sense of touch. SOUNDS PRODUCED BY INSECTS. The songs of birds, and the noises made by other animals, are pro- duced by the forcible passage of air through the glottis, which is the narrow opening at the top of the wind pipe, aided by the vibration of certain muscular folds near the outlet, called the vocal chords. But we have seen that insects never breathe through their mouths, and there- fore they never make any oral sounds. But the humming of bees and Hies is produced in an analogous manner, by the expulsion of air through the thoracic spiracles, and the vibration of a delicate valve-like fold, just within the opening. But besides this, insects make a variety of noises, which are produced in ditlerent ways. The singing of the Cicada, which is the loudest noise made by any insect, is produced by the expulsion of air from the first abdominal spiracle, striking upon a large transparent drum-like appa- ratus, situated at the base of the abdomen. The chirping of crickets is I)roduced by rubbing together their parchment-like wing covers. The well known noise of the katydid is produced in the same way, but here the sound is intensified by a thin talc-like plate set into the base of each wing cover. The stridulation of grasshoppers is caused by the friction of their spined shanks across the edge of their wing-covers. The fainter, squeaking sounds, made by mauy insects when caj)tured, are produced simply by the jai)id friction of one part of their bodies u[)on another; in certain Ilemiptera, by the friction of the head upon the pro- thorax ; in the Capricorn beetles, by the friction of the pro-thorax upon the meso-thorax; and in some of the Laraellicorn beetles, by the friction of the abdomen against the wing covers. The more comi)lex and special apparatuses of insects for the produc- tion of sounds, are possessed exclusively by the males, and are supposed to be exercised by them as calls to the opposite sex ; but the sin)pler squeaking sounds are emitted by both sexes, and appear to be mere notes of alarm. INSECTS IN GENERAL. THE METAMORPHOSES OF INSECTS. Nothing in the history of insects is more remarkable than the striking changes of form which many of them undergo, in the course of their development. Whilst other animals progress from infancy to maturity, simply by a process of growth, and by such gradual and imperceptible changes only as their growth necessitates, many insects assume totally different forms in the course of their development, so that they could never be recognized as the same individuals, if this development had not been actually traced from one stage to another. These changes are called the metamorplioses or transformations of insects. All insects, in their growth, pass through four stages, designated as the egg state ; the larva, or caterpillar state; the imjya, or chrysalis state ; and the imago, or perfect and winged state. The metamorphoses of insects are of two principal kinds, complete and incomplete. In the complete metamorphosis the larva bears no resemblance to the imago, and the insect, in the intermediate or pupa state, is motionless, and takes no food. This kind of metamorphosis presents two principal varieties. In some (Lepidoptera and many Diptera), the legs and wings are completely inclosed in the i>upa case. In others (Coleoptera, Hy- menoptera, and some others), the legs of the pupa, though useless, are free, and the rudimental wings lie loosely upon the sides. Moreover, in some (the noctural Lepidoptera, and many Hymenoptera), the pupa is inclosed in a separate covering or cocoon, whereas the majority of in- sects have no such .covering. Pupoe thus inclosed are called folliculate. The term chrysalis, from a Greek word meaning golden, is sometimes ap- plied to the pupa} of the diurnal Lepidoi^tera, because the pupai of some butterflies are ornamented with golden spots. Most insects, in changing from the larva to the pupa state, cast off the larval skin, but in many of the two-winged flies, (Muscidic, Syriphida?, etc.) the larval skin becomes contracted and hardened, assumes an oval form and a brown color, and thus forms a compact and closely-fitting case, in which the pupa proper is inclosed, but distinct. Pupaj thus in- closed are called coarctate, and their cases are analogous to the cocoons of the Lepidoptera. In the incomplete metamorphosis, the insect presents essentially the same form, and is active in all its stages, after leaving the ^gg. The pupa is distinguished from the larva by the presence of short rudimental wings at the base of the abdomen, and the imago or adult stay? is dis- tinguished by the fully grown wings and wing covers. It is only in this last stage that insects are capable of propagation. All the Ilemiptera, or bugs pro[)er, and all the Orthoptera, or crickets, grasshoppers and cockroaches, exhibit this imperfect kind of metamorphosis. THE SEXES OF INSECTS. lu treating- of the development of insects it is necessary to refer to the periodical casting- of the larviil skin. All the growth of insects takes place in the larva state. Consetincnlly no insect incnrases in size after it has acquired wings. The larval skin seems to be an imi)erfectly or- ganized membrane, which does not correspond in its growth to that of the body, but yields to this growth, to a certain extent, by virtue of its elasticity. A time comes therefore when it can yield no farther. The insect then evidently becomes oppressed, ceases to eat, usually retires to some secluded spot, and, if gregarious, huddles together with its com- panions, and there remains a day or two, almost motionless ami with- out food, and in an apparently torpilaoe three or four times in the course of the larval growth, and in a few larvic which continue more than one year in this state, the moul- ting is said to occur from five to eight times. In insects of very rapid de- velopment, on the other hand, such as the maggots, or larva- of the ]\Iuscid;e, no moulting takes place, and it is the larvic of this kind which form coarctate pupte. THE SEXES OF INSECTS. As a gfeneral rule inse(!ts of different sexes resemble each other so closely as to leave no doubt of their specific identity, and in many the sexes can scarcely' be distinguished. But this rule is subject to many exceptions, and the naming of insects has been greatly confused by the sexes of the same insect having been described and named as distinct species. The sexual organs, especially those of the males, are usually conceal- ed so as to be nearly or (]uite invisible ; but the female, especially iu the order of lIymenoi>tera, often have an exserted ovipositor of greater or less length, which reatlily distinguishes them from the opposite sex. An analogous structure exists in many wood-borings beetles which de- posit their eggs in deep crevices in the bark of trees ; and more rarely in insects of the other orders. In the Coleoptera the males are sometimes distinguished by one or two horns, either upon the head or thorax, and many of the predaceous beetles, both terrestrial and acpiatic, have the anterior feet mu«^.h widened, and furnished beneath with a cushion of hairs or bristles. The antennai usually differ in length but little, if at all, iu the two sexes ; but iu the long-horned beetles (Cerarabycidse) the antenna^ of the males are generally considerably longer than those of the females. —2 10 INSECTS IN GENERAI.. lu tliose moths which have bi-pectinate antennoe, these parts are almost always wider in the males. Many insects in the order of Diptera are remarkable for the great size and beauty of their eyes, and these organs are almost always larger in the males than in the females. ^ Q In describing insects it is customary, for the sake of brevity, /< -V to distinguish the sexes by signs, as shown in the margin. male, female. EXTERNAL STEUCTURE OF INSECTS. The classification of insects depends chieiiy upon the structure of the external and visible parts. It is necessary therefore that the student should have a thorough knowledge of these parts and of the names by which they are designated. But as these parts are very greatly modilied in the different orders of insects, we shall reserve a minute description of them till we come to treat of them in connection with the several orders respectively, and shall here give only a general enu- meration of them. The student will be much aided in understanding the following description by comparing it with the figure of Sarpalus caliginosus on a subsequent page. THE HEAD AND ITS APPENDAGES. It often becomes necessary to refer to diflerent parts of an insect's head, and they are therefore designated by particular names indicative of their situation. These are — The Hind-head, (Occiput). The Crown, {Vertex). The Forehead (Frons). The Face, {Fades). The Cheeks, ((rewft'). The appendages of the head are the Horns, {Antennw) ; the Eyes, {Oculi) ; and the parts of the Mouth, {Trophi, or 07'al organs.) The Antennw. — All insects have two more or less elongated and usually many-jointed antennie situated one on each side of the head, and varying greatly, in different kinds of insects, in length and in the form of their component joints. Insects have very short antenna? in their larva state, and in some perfect insects, such as the water- beetles, {Gyrini and Rydrophili), the antennae are not longer than the head, whdst in others, such as some of the longicorn beetles, they are more tlian twice as long as the whole body, and in some of the small moths of the genus Adela, they are five or six times as long. The uses of the antenme are not known, but, as we have stated above, when treating of the senses of insects, they are supposed to be instrumental in the sense of hearing. The most common variations in the forms of the antennae are expressed by the following terms. Figures of mo)«t of these forms are given on a subsequent page, in treating of the Coleoptera. Filiform, or thread -Ule; long and slender, and of the same, or nearly the same width throughout. THE HEAD AND ITS APPENDAGES. 11 iSeti/orm, or setaceous ; bristle-like; long and slender, but tapering to- wards the tip. Monili/orm, or head-like; when the joints are about the same size, and round, so as to resemble a string of beads. ^Serrate, or saw -toothed ; when each joint is somewhat triangular, and a little prominent and pointed on the inner side. rectinate, or comb-toothed ; when the inner angles of the joints are con- siderably prolonged. Bi-pccti)iate, or double comb-toothed ; pectinate on both sides. Clavate, or club-shaped ; gradually eidarging towards the tip. Capitate^ or knobbed ; when a few of the terminal joints are abrubtly enlarged. Lamellate ; when the joints which compose the knob are i)rolonged on their inner side, in the form of plates. The Eyes. — We have briefly described the mechanism of the eyes when treating of the sense of sight. They are uniforndyof a round or oval shape, and sometimes notched on their inner side, to give place for the insertion of the antennae In a few instances they are placed at the end of footstalks made by a lateral prolongation of the head. The Trophi, or parts of the mouth. — The mouths of insects present two strongly marked variations, one of which is fitted for gnawing solid substances, and is called the mandibulate, or gnawing mouth; and the otlier is fitted for sucking fluid nutriment, and is called the haustellate, or suctorial mouth. The mandibulate mouth is composed of six pieces, more or less dis- tinct, and their appendages. First, the lahnan, or upper lip : a horny, usually somewhat semi-circular plate, attached to the anterior and infe- rior edge of the head, and serving to close and protect the mouth in front. Then, the Mandibles, or upper jaws; a pair of very hard, horny pieces, more or less hooked at the point, and often toothed on their in- ner sides, which work together laterally, somewhat like the blades of a pair of scissors. These are the true biting, gnawing, or masticating or- gans. >.'ext are the Maxilloj, or lower jaws; a pair of organs, working lat- erally lilce the mandibles, but softer and more pliable in their texture, generally divided into two lobes at their extremity, which are furjiished moie or less with hairs. The maxilhe uiuloubtedly assist in the opera- tion of eating, but the precise part which they perform is not well un- derstood. Ik'hind the maxilhe is a single piece which partially closes the mouth behind, and which may therefore be considered as the counterpart of the labrum or ui)per lip, and is accordingly called the labium, or lower lip. In the Coleoi)tera this piece is usually attached at its base to the an- terior face of an elevated ridge upon the under side of the head, which 12 INSECTS IN G-ENERAX, forms a kind of wall belihul the mouth, usually deeply uotehed iu the middle, and which is called the mentuni, or chin. When the labium forms a narrow elongated piece, distinct from the mentum, as in most of the Coleoptera, it is now geueraUy called the tongue, lingua or Ik/nla. The Falpi, or appendages of the mouth. — '^ear the base of each max- illa, on its outer side, is attached a movable appendage, usually com- posed of four or five joints, and never more than six, called the maxil- lary palpus ; and near the base of the labium is attached a similar pair of organs, but with a less number of joints, distinguished as the labial palpi. These appendages are subject to considerable variation espe- cially in the shape of their terminal joints, and are made much use of in determining the families and genera of insects. The hausteilate or suctorial mouth consists of a more or less elongated proboscis or sucker, which is sometimes short and fleshy, as in the flies, {MuseUJcc ;) someritues more elongate, horny and pointed, as in the bugs, {Ileiniptera ;) and sometimes very loug and slender, and rolled up, when not in use, iu a spual coil, as in the butterflies and moths, [Lepidoptera.) it is evident that all insects with a suctorial mouth must live exclu- sively upon liquid loud, or the juices of animals and plants. The hauHtclluiii or sucker is not a single organ, as it appears, but has upon its upper side a deep groove, in which are contained usually either two or four, but in some of the carnivorous species (mosquitoes and horse-flies) six needle sliaped i)ieces, which iu these last make a compli- cated weapon with which they pierce the skins of animals upon whose blood they subsist. From a comparison of the hausteilate with the mandibulate mouth, in diflerent kinds of insects, it has been concluded that the apparent sucker, ■which, as we have just seen, forms a sheath for the smaller needle- shaped pieces, corresponds to the labium, and that the contained pieces must represent the mandibles and maxillae, and, where six pieces are present, also the labrum and lingua. In accordance with the i)ropor- tionately great develoi)ment of the labium, we find that its ap])endages, that is, the labial palpi, are also very prominent, whilst the maxillary palpi are very small or rudimental. This is the case in two of the suc- torial orders, the Lepidoptera and Diptera ; but the other order (Hemip- tera) is exceptional in this respect, having neither maxillary nor labial palpi developed. THE THORAX AND ITS APPENDAGES. The thorax is the second, or middle division of the bodies of insects. Though apparently single, it is really composed of three pieces soldered THE THORAX AND ITS APPENDAGES. 13 together. These pieces are more distinct in some insects than in others, but they can always be distinguished by imi)ressed lines upon the sur- face calU'd sutures. The three pieces of the thorax are distin,<;uished as the fore-thorax, the middle-thorax, and the hind thorax; or, in scientitic hmguage, the j^t'o-thorajc, the meso-tk rax, and tlie meta-thorax. In the Colcoptera the pro-thorax is very large, and forms the large upper ])art, or shield, to which we usually give the general name of thorax. In this order of insects, the meta-thorax is invisible above, and the only part of the meso-tliorax seen from above is the triangular piece between the bases of the elytra, called the scntcUum. In many insects {Hymenoptera and Lcjndoptera) the pro-thorax is mrcli reduced in size, and forms only a narrow rim, which is usually called the collar. The under side of the thorax is called the sternum or breast plate. Each of the three divisions of the thorax has its sternum, designated respectively as the pro-, mesa- and meta-sternum. In many insects, and especially the Coleoptera, each section of the sternum is divided by sutures into a middle piece or sternum proper, and a side piece, called the epistcrnum. These parts will be described more particularly in treating of the Coleoptera. » The apjyeudayes of the thorax are the organs of motion, namely, the icings and the legs. The Wi7igs. — The great majority of insects have four wings. The anterior pair are attached to the upper part of the meso-thorax, and the posterior pair to the meta-thorax. The wings are thin, membraneous, transparent organs, in some cases folded when at rest, and sui)ported by ribs or veins running across them. These veins are found to correspond in their number and complexity to the rank of the insect in the scale, and from the ease with which they can be seen, they furnish admirable characters for the purposes of class- iticatiou. In some insects, such as the grass-hoppers, the fore-wings are thicker and less transi)areut than the hinder pair, and have nearly the consistency of parchnjent; and in one large order of insects, the Cole- optera or beetles, the fore-wings become converted into the hard opaque pieces, known as the elytra or wing-cases. The elytra take no part in tiight, but serve only to cover and i)rotect the hinder or true wings, which are folded under them when at rest. In one large order, the insects have but two wings, and are named from this character Diptcra, or two-winged insect;?. In these insects the place of the hind-wings is supplied by a pair of little knobbed append- ages called halteres or poisers. There are a few exceptional cases of two-winged insects in some of the other orders — for example, some of the smaller Day-tlies [Ephemera') in the order of JS^europtera, and the males of the Bark-hce [(Joccidie) in the order of Uomoptera. 14 INSECTS IN GENERAL. The Legs. — Insects have six legs, attached in pairs to the under side of each of the three segments of the thorai. The leg consists of four principal parts ; the hip {coxa), a short piece by which the leg is at- tached to the body ; then an elongated piece called the thigh {femur, plural /emora); then another elongated piece called the shank {tibia)', and lastly the foot (or tarsiis), which is composed of a number of smaller pieces or joints ; of which five is the largest and most common number. The feet of insects terminate, almost invariably, in a pair of sharp horny claws {ungues) ; and between these, at their base, is often one or two little pads {plantukv) by means of which flies and many other in- sects adhere to glass, or any other surface which is too smooth and hard for the claws to catch upon. The Lepidoptera have but one plantula, and the Diptera have two. Besides the parts of the leg here enumera- ted, there is a small piece attached to the hind part of the hip, called the trochanter. This is usually small and inconspicuous, but in the hind legs of the ground-beetles {Garabidcv) it forms a large egg-shaped appendage, which is one of the most characteristic features of this family of insects. THE ABDOMEN, AND ITS APPENDAGES. The abdomen is the hindermost of the three divisions of an insect's body. It is sometimes attached to the thorax by the whole width of its base, in which case it is called sessile. But it is often attached by a slender petiole or foot-stalk, when it is said to be petiolated. The abdo- men is composed of a number of rings, one behind another, each ring usually lapping a little upon the one following it. The normal number of rings or segments of the abdomen is considered to be nine, and this number is actually present in the Earwig {Forficida) and a few other insects; but in the great majority of insects, several of the terminal seg- ments are abortive, and only from five to seven can usually be counted. In the females of many kinds of insects the abdomen terminates in a tubular, tail-like process, through which the eggs are conducted to their place of deposit, and which is therefore called the ovipositor. In some insects the ovipositor is simple, short, straight and stiff, as in some of the Capricorn beetles; but in others, as the Ichneumon flies, it is long, slender and flexible, and composed of three thread-like i^ieces, which when not in use, are separated from each other, giving these insects the appearance of being three-tailed. Capturing and Preserving Insects. Insects which do not readily fly, such as the beetles and the bugs proper {Jlemiptera), can be cai)tured with the fingers, and are easily CAPTimiNG AND PRESERVING INSECTS. 15 killed and also i)reserved, for the time being, by dropping tbeni into ulcobol. For this purpose every collector should have in his pocket one or more small, strong, wide-mouthed bottles, securely corked, and tilled about two-thirds full with alcohol. Tlie connnon morphine bottles an- swer this purpose very well. The quinine bottle can be used when a larger bottle is required. The insects can be left in the alcohol till the collector has leisure to pin them. They can be taken from the bottle with a pair of foreceps, or the alcohol can be turned olf into another bottle, and the insects shaken out on to a newspaper, or what is better, a sheet of blotting paper, which readily absorbs the moisture. Insects which readily take flight, must be captured in a net, which is made like a small dip-net for lishes, by making a hoop of stout wire about ten inches in diameter, with the ends of the wire turned out so as to form a short handle three or four inches long, and this can be length- ened by inserting the ends of the wire into a wooden handle about two feet long. The net is nuide of lace or tarleton muslin, and should be twenty inches or more in depth. Many species which would otherwise escape notice, can be obtained by beating the branches of trees, especially forest trees, and catching the insects as they fall. A common umbrella, inverted under the tree, answers this purpose very well. This is in many ways a very useful implement to the collector. It will serve to protect him from the direct rays of the sun, or from a casual shower ; and the hook at the end of the handle will enable him to draw down branches so that they can be satisfactorily examined. The uml)rella would be improved by being covered with white cloth, upon which small insects would be more easily detected. Most insects except those above mentioned are injured by being im- mersed in alcohol, and butterflies and moths would be ruined by it. These insects can be killed by wetting tliein with benzine or chloroform. The benzine is the cheaper, and the only objection to it is its disagreea- ble odor. Large insects require to be saturated with chloroform several times to destroy life. A very neat way to kill the smaller nu)ths is to i)ut them under a wine-glass and put in with them a tuft of wool sat- urated with chloroform. The moths are killed by the fumes, without being wet or handled, Some use for this purpose a poisonous prepara- tion called cyanide of potassium. In mounting beetles the pin should be passed through the right wing- cover ; other insects are i)inned through the thorax. The i)in should be inserted so far that half of it will i)roject below the body of the insect. The value of a collection of insects is greatly enhanced by having the legs and wings of the specimens displayed in a life-like attitude. For this j)urpose they must be set out with pins, and held so a day or two till they have become fixed. For spreading the wings of butterflies and 16 INSECTS IN GENERAL. moths it is indispensable to have a simple apparatus called the stretcher. It consists of two strips of nicely dressed soft pine wood, 18 or 20 inches long-, two inches wide, and about three-eighths of an inch thick, placed side by side, half an inch apart at one end and a quarter of an inch at the other, so as to accommodate insects of different sizes, and held so by a cleet across each end. The space between the strips must be closed on the underside by pieces of sheet cork tacked to the board. Tlie space between the strips is to receive the body of the insect, the pin being passed through the cork so as to bring the wings on a level with the upper side of the stretcher. The wings are spread by catching them just behind the stout front rib with a pin, or, what is better, a needle set into a little handle, and carrying them forward, till the hind margin of the fore- wings are on a straight line with each other. They can be held in this position either by strips of card laid across them and fas- tened with pins, or by inserting a single small pin through the wing, be- hind the rib, and into the side pieces of the stretcher, which on this ac- count should be made of the softest kind of wood. For very small moths the stretcher must be constructed upon a smaller scale. Insects must be allowed to dry thoroughly before inclosing them in the cabinet. Beetles which hare been permitted to dry with their limbs contracted, can be relaxetl by putting them into hot water. Boxes for the permanent preservation of insects maybe 17 or 18 inches square, two and a half inches deep, outside measurement, and one inch and a half or a tritle more in the clear, made of perfectly seasoned wood, halved together in the middle, so as to have an ui)per and lower part, the former serving as the cover. The lower part miist be lined on the bottom with sheet cork or thin strips of corn-stalk, and the whole cov- ered with soft white paper. The paste with which the paper is attached should have a portion of arsenic stirred in with it, to guard against de- structive vermin. The upper part, or cover, should be cut in around the top, like a window sash, so as to receive a plate of glass, which is to be secured in the usual way with putty. Every insect drawer should have a lump of gum camphor rolled in a piece of muslin and pinned into one corner, to keep out destructive ver- min. The presence of vermin is detected by little heaps of the dust- like gnawings under the infested specimens. Such specimens should be at once removed, and if the drawer is much infested, a teaspoonful or two of benzine should be poured upon the bottom, and the drawer or box immediately closed, so as to retain the fumes. MAaNIFYINa GLASSES. A magnifying glass consisting of one, or, what is better, two lenses, so arranged that they can be used either singly or combined, is abso- lutely indispensable in studying insects. This simple instrument, the THE rNSTINCT OF INSECTS. 17 usual cost of which is one rovisions which many kinds of insects make for the fu- ture subsistence of their young, even in advance of their existence. Instinct is often s]>oken of as an imperfect or partially developed rea- son, l»ut its relation to tlnit faculty can be, at most, only tliat of a very remote anylogy. Jt differs from reason in its invariableness and its al- most absolute infidlibility, but most essentially in its independency of previous knowledge and ex[)erience. Keason acts only by virtue of wliat is already known, and man, who vastly excells all other animals in his )eas(Miing powers, approaches perfection in any complex woik only by long study and piactice ; the hom^y-bee, on the contrary, constructs its lirst cell with such mathenuitical accuracy that it cannot be improved by any subseroportioii of insects in their character of scavengers, wliereby the doconiposition of decayed and ortensive matters, t)oth animal and vegetable, is etiected and accelerated ; and thiidly, in the agency of insects in causing the fertilization of i)lants, especially those witli very deep corrollas, and those wliich have the bar- ren and jHoductive tiowors upon different plants, by carrying upon their legs, in tlu'ir search for honey, the fertilizing pollen from one liower to anotlier. A long cha])ter might bo written ui>on each of these topics, but we have space here barely to enumerate them. DIVISION OF INSECTS ACCORDING TO THE NATURE OF THEIR FOOD. From this point of view all insects may be divided into two classes — the carnivorous insects, or those which eat animal food, [Hniropluuja) ; and the herbivorous insects, or those which subsist upon vegetable sid»- stances, [Vhytophafia). Each of these classes is again divisible according ly as the insects which compose it take tln'ir food in a fresh and living state, or in a state of deiiay. The former are called [)redaceous insects {Aflcphof/n), when they live upon animal prey; and the latter are desig- nated by the name of scavengers [Rypophaija). Those iuse(;ts which eat living animal food, are still further divisible into predaceous insects ])roper, which seize and devour their prey, and parasite insects, which live witliin the bodies of their victims and feed ui)on their substance. Those insects which feed upon decaying animal matter present three divisions : tirst, general scavengers, whi(;h devour particles of putrescent matter wherever they may l)e found; second, those which live ex(;lu- si\ely in or upon the bodies of dead animals, {N'ecropha(fa) ; and thirdly, those which are found exclusively in animal excrement, {Coprophafja). The herl)ivorous insects may be divided in a similar manner into those which eat fresh v^egetable food, {Thalcrophmja)^ and those which subsist upon vegetable matters in a state of decay, {tSaproplKUja). They can also be usefully classified according to the particular parts of the plant which they devour, into lignivorous or wood-eating insects, (Xylophaga); the folivorous, or leaf-eating insects, {FhyUophiuja)] and the fructivor- ous, or fi-uit-eating insects, {Carpopha(in). The abov«' Greek terms in parenthesis have been used chietly in con- nection with the insects of the Coleopterous order, in which these e used in speaking of insects iu all the orders, so far as they are appli- cable. 20 INSECTS m GENERAL. DIPFERENCE OP FOOD OF THE LARVA AND THE PERFECT INSECT. lu attempting to classify insects according to the nature of tlieir food we meet with a peculiar ditliculty, owing to the remarkable cliangc which some species undergo in this respect, in passing from the larva to the perfect state. Most caterpillars, for example, feed upon leaves, whilst the butterflies and moths which they produce subsist ui)on the honey of flowers, or other liquid substances. Some two-wiiigcd ilies {Asilidce) feed upon the roots of jilants in their larva state, but become eminently predaceous in their Avinged state. Another renuirkable ex- arai)le is furnished by certain coleopterous insects {Melolda'), which are parasitic in their larva state, but subsist upon foliage after they have assumed the beetle form. The question therefore arises, to whicli stage of the insect's existence shall the precedence be given in this res[)ect '? At first view it would seem that the i>erfect state ought to govern, but when we take into account that insects are comparatively short b'vod iii this state 5 that having arrived at maturity they require but litth', food ; and that some insects take no food at all at this stage of their lives ; whereas all the growth of an insect takes place whilst it is in the lar\'a state, and consequently it is in this state that they feed so voraciously : when we cousidt^r this, it seems more reasonable that in classifving in- sects upon this basis, the food-habits of the larva should take the pre- cedence. In the following work I have not thought it best to adopt any inllexi- ble rule in this matter, but have been governed by one or the other view accordingly as its importance might seem to preponderate in each particular case. , DISTINCTION BETWEEN NOXIOUS AND INJURIOUS INSECTS. The terras noxious and injurious are often used indiscriminately, but strictly speaking, noxious insects are those which are endowed with some poisonous or otherwise hurtful quality ; aiul these are divisible in- to two classes accoi-dingly as they are hurtful to mankind din^ctly, such as the mosquito, flea, and bed-bug; or are hurtful to the (hMiicstica- ted animals, as the horse-fly, the bot-fly, aiul the various kinds of ani- mal lice. The insects which attack man directly are anno^ ing rather than seriously hurtful, and this is usually the case also with those which molest the domesticated animals; but these sometimes multiply so as to seriously impoverish the animals which they infest. The term injurious, as distinguished from noxious, is properly applied to all those insects which damage mankind indirectly, but often to a most serious extent, by depredating upon those crops upon which we de- pend for subsistence and profit. PRACTICAL TREATMENT — SCIENTIFIC TERMS. 21 NUMBER MORE IMPORTANT THAN SIZE. II is worthy of remark that by far the greabn- inoportion of tlie (laina^c (caused by injurious insects is ett'octed by spiM-ies oC very small size, whilst the hirge sjjecies are j>enerally harmless. The two niosl, serious fruit insects, the (.'odliug-inotli and the i'hnn curculio, are botii l)('h)W the medium size, and the Appk^- bark-louse, the Ap|)leaphis, the licssiau-lly, and the Wheat niid^c, are so minute that (hey would not be noticeable were it not for the wide destruction which they cause to some of our most valuable crops, in consequence of their excessive mul- tiplication. TREATMENT OF INJURIOUS INSECTS. For the tletails of treatment the reader is' referred to tlir jtractical treatises and rei)orts which liavebeen ])ub1ished ujKin this siil»j«'ct. We can give here only an abstract of the methods to be pursued. First, hand-picking and destruc'tion by machinery, as in the case of the Coloratlo j>otat()-be(^tle ; second, poisoning l)y such substances as Paris-green, hellebore, and carbolic acid, as in the cases of the Potato- beetle, and the Currant saw-fly ; third, rendering their food distasteful jind repugnant to them by the ai)pli('ation of such substances as ashes, lime, and whale-oil soap, which are applicable to all foliage-eating in- sects ; fourth, anticipating their attacks by planting at such times as will cause the crops to sprout or to mature too early or too late for them, both of which plans are exemplitied by winter wheat, in its relation to the Ohinch-bug and the Hessian-fly; and hfth, when all other means fail, preventing their ravages by abstaining for a year or two from rais- ing the damaged crops. To these may be added, in certain favorable instances, the transportation and colonization of friendly parasites. An experiment of this kind has been performed by the author by the transiKirtation from the central to the northern i)arts of the State of Illinois, of the minute Chalcis-fly, which is parasitic upon the Oyster- shell Bark-h)use. The above list exhibits the most common methods of contending with injuricms insects, and these methods admit of ahnost indefinite moditi- caiioii. Hut they can be mt)st usefully described in connection with the l)articular species of insect to which they are respectively applicable. USE OF LEARNED AND SCIENTIFIC TERMS. With regard to the use of scien title terms, derived mostly from the Greek and Latin languages, it is to be remarked that though they may a[>pear ditticult and forbidding, at first sight, the student soon becomes familiarized with them, and iinds them to be almost indisi)ensable by enabling him often to express in one or two words what would require a 22 INSECTS iff GENERAL. whole sentence in English. It is also an important consideration that in learning the elements of any science or art, an indispensable pait of such education is to acquire a knowledge of the more common techni- cal terms which pro])erly belong to it, and which constitute its peculijir phraseology, and which the student will continually meet with in all writings ui)ou the subject. In a work intended, like the •present, for the common student, all unnecessary use of such words should, of course, be avoided, and whenever we have found it necessary to use them, we have taken care, as a general rule, to explain their meaning, eitiier directly or by tlie nature of the context. The student must not expect that any science can be so simplified as to remo\e all ditidcjulties ; and especially true is this of so extensive and com[)lex a science as entomology. Nor is it desirable that this should be done. One of the principal advantages to be expected from the stuy nomenclature is meant the giving to these groups and the species which com})ose them distinctive names. This is necessary to enable us either to receive or to communicate knowledge ; and without it natural history could not be raised to the dignity of a science. In a department so extensive as that of insects a very great number of names, not only of species, but of the groui)S in which these are com})rehended, must be necessarily introduced. It is therefore import- ant that the science shall not be encumbered by the creation of unneces- sary genera, or such as are founded upon slight and unimportant char- acters. It is, indeed, often ditficult to determine precisely what charac- ters or combination of characters necessitate or justify the formation of a new genus, or the subdivision of an old one. No definition of the term genus which is universally applicable ever has heen, or perhaps CLASSIFICATION AND NOMENCLATUEE. 23 ever cau be given, inasmuch as the characters which constitute it often possess very diflerent vahies in the ditferent genera and I'aniilies, not only of insects, but of animals generally, and therefore the formation of genera must necessarily be left to the judgment of the author. . It is the natnral tendency of the specialist to attach undue value to tiie minor subdivisions of his pajticular department, whilst he whose studies taken Avider range sees mon^ forcibly the necessity of condensa- tion and. sini])lilication. Much can be said ui)on both sides of this (pies- tion, but perhaps the argument may be condensed into a single sentences by saying that, on the one hand, the minute subdivision of a natnral group tends to give detiniteness and precision to our investigations, whilst, on the other hand, the nuiltiplication of genera or snb-geneia, upon trivial characters, uniu'cessarily encumbers our nomencdalnre, and diminishes the interest and importance which ought to attach to the generic distinction. In writing the nanu\s of insects — and the same rule nj)])lies to ail other dei>artments of natural history — it is the established custom to write first the name of the genus, usually without the author's name attached, and imnuMliately following it the si)ecific name, with the nanui of the original ilescriber, or an abbreviation of it, appended. As no one can carry all the modern genera of insects in his menuny, it is an excellent jn-ai^tice, when space permits, to prelix the name of the older ivnd more comprehensive genus to which such species was formcily re- ferred, and with which most entomologists may be presumed to be fa- milial'. In tliis case the modern genus is included in a paientliesis, and usually with the author's name attached. To illustrate by examples: The conunon rose-slug is the larva of a little, wasp-like insect, known scientiHcally as the ^elatnlria nwr of Harris. This species was fust described by J>r. Harris, who gave to it the specific name rosw, meaning of the rose, it belongs to the modern genus >>!rlan(lri((, which was founded by J)r. Leach, an lOnglish ento- mologist. This genus is a subdivision of the ohl genus Tetitlnrdo^ of liinna'us. The name written in full, therefore, will stand : Tenthredo { /Sel^indria, Ijeach^ nmv, Harris. Our fine large Polyphenuis moth was originally described by Linna-us under the name of Affaciis Pohjithcmus. It belongs to the modern o-enus Telea, made by the German lepidopterist, Hiibner. Its nam<', there- fore, expressed in the simplest manner, is Telea Polyphemus^ Linn.; or written in full — Attaeu,*i CTelca, Hiibner^ Polyphomui^ Linnanis. This is ordinarily all that is ess(Mitial to be known, and any additional synonyms or references should be placed in a subordinate position. 24 INSECTS"lN GENIillAL. . It will be observed that all the family names of iusects end in idw. Tliis is a Greek termination, meaning Wee or similar, and implies that all tlie spoeies in any sneb jj,ronp have a family resemblance to those of the leading genns to which it is affixed — thns: Cicindelidw means Cicin- dela-like insei-ts. in pronouncing these Avords the accent is placed ui>on the syllable preceding this termination, thus : Cicind el-id w, Carab- idfv, etc. It is often tlie case that families, especially those which contain many species, admit of division into a number of natural groui)S of a higher rank tlmn genera, whi(;h are designated as sub-families, and distin- guished bv the termination ide.s. Thus the family ( 'aribidie is divided into a number of sub-fannlies, such as the Bidehinide.s, the ^Scayitides, etc. DIVISION OF INSECTS INTO ORDERS. The class of insects is divided into a number of ]>rimary groups (tailed orders. Between these larger divisions are ceitivin ."jmaller ones, which serve as connecting links between litem, and which some authors have merged in one or the other of the adjoining larger groups, whilst others ha\e. considered them of sufficient importance to be raised to the same rank with the larger ones. Fiom this it has resulted that the nund)er of orders into which the class of insects has been divided has varieer will be still increased if we regard as distinct oiders certain apterous form, such as the lice ( J'edivuli,) and the springtails (Thy- sauura.J Jjut as in this elementary treatise it is the iidention to simplify the classilicalion of insects as mm;h as possible, we have adopted the siualler lunnber of orders, with the single excej)tion of lec.ognizing the di\isioii of the Ilemiptera into llonjoptera and lieteroptera as of ordi- nal value. 1'he onlers of insects are founded primarily upon the nund>er and structure of the wings. This mode of «li\ision was iirst suggested by Aristotle, who gave the names w hich they now bear to two of the or- ders, namely, the Coleoptera and the ])iptera. It was afterwards al- most |K'rtectearts of the mouth are named in the figure, and have been described in the in- troductory part of this work. The under side of the head, behind the mentum or chin, is called the gula or throat. The under side of the thorax is divided into a considerable number of pieces more or less distinct, and separated from each other by im- pressed lines called sutures. The middle portion is called the sternum EXTERNAL ANATOMY. 27 [Fig. 3.) Diaj^TJim illustrating tin' slnictunil jiaits of a beetle. or breast-plate, and is divided into three parts, the 2>rosfernum or fore breast-plate ; the mesosternum or middle breast-plate ; and the mefaster- num or hind breast-plate. Each of these parts has a side piece, called the episternum ; so that there is an epi stern nni of the prothorax ; an episternani of the niesothorax ; and an epistei'nnni of the metathorax ; all of which are labeled in the iignre. Directly behind each episternum is a smaller piece called the cpimeron. These are indicated in the figure by stars ; three stars marking the epimeron of the i)rothorax ; two stars the epimerou of the mesothorax ; and one star the epimeron of the meta- 28 ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. thorax. The epimeron of the mesothorax is very narrow in Harpahis, and scarcely distinguishable without the aid of a lens ; but in a part of the long-horned beetles fSaperda, etc.) and in some others, it is consider- ably wider, and aftbrds valuable characters in classification. The tro- chanters, or little joints at the base of the thighs, are marked t r in the figure, except the large hind trochanters, where the name is printed in full. Behind the me tasternum, and extending outwardly from the hind coxae is a narrow piece marked ex. p. This is the hiiid coxal plate. This is a very narrow piece in Harpalus, but in some of the serricorn beetles (Buprestidw and Elateridw), it is much wider, and furnishes im- portant generic characters, and in Haliplus, a genus of water beetles, it is excessively dilated. The other parts are sufliciently named in the figure. The antennce of the Coleoptera are usually eleven jointed and of mod- erate length, but they are subject to much variation both in length and form, as will appear in the descriptions of the different families. The subjoined figures show their most common variations, and the names by which they are designated. These forms have been more particularly described ou a former page, when treating of insects in general. [Fig. 4.] Antennae of Coleoptara.— 1, filiform or thread-shaped ; 2 and 3, serrate or saw-; eothed ; 4, pectinate or comb-toothed ; 5, capitate or knobbed ; 6, 7, 8, clavate or club-shaped ; 9 and 10, lamellate or plated. — after Lbconti. The palpi, or little jointed appendages to the mouth, also sometimes furnish important characters in classification. They vary chiefly in the shape of tbe terminal joint, which is sometimes much narrower than the others, when it is called acicular or needle-shai)ed, and sometimes much widened, so as to be in the form of a triangle or of a halt^moon, or hatchet. As the terms large, small and medium-sized are often used in speaking of insects, and as these words vary considerably in force, when used in difierent relations, we give below their average meaning when applied to the Coleoptera: An inch or more in length, .... Very large. Three-quarters of an inch, Large. Half an inch, Medium. Quarter of an inch, Small. One eighth of an inch or less, - - - . Yery small. The intermediate sizes are expressed by such phrases as rather large, rather small, or a little above, or a little below the medium, etc. This THE COLEOPTERA PROM A PRACTICAL POINT OF VIEW. 29 stiuidaid a|»i>lies only wlieu speaking of any one group of beetles as compared with the Coleoptera generally. The same expressions will necessarily vary in force when applied to the species of a particular group as conii)ared with each other, accordingly as the species of that group are large or sinall as compared with the rest of the order; that is to say, a small species of a group of generally large-sized insects may be larger than a large species of a small-sized group. LARVuE AND PUP^. The larvcv of the Coleoptera are usually soft whitisli grubs ; naked, or with a few scattered hairs ; with a nuindibulate mouth not very unlike that of the perfect insects ; usually furnished with six short feet and a single terminal proleg, but sometimes wholly footless. They live in se- cluded situations, sometimes in the ground, but oftener in the wood or under the bark of decaying trees, or in putrescent animal substances, antl not unfreijuently in nuts and seeds, and in the pulp of fruits. They are rarely found exposed to the light of day, anil therelbre they never exhibit the beauty of coloration, nor the variety of clothing which gives so much interest to the study of the caterpillars, which are the larvie of the moths and buttertlies. The larvic of most of the families of Coleoptera are now pretty well known, but owing to the circum- stances just mentioned, they have generally received but little atten- tion from entomologists compared with that which has been bestowed upon the perfect insects. The larvae of the several families will be more particularly described in their proper connections. The^^^a- are rarely inclosed in cocoons, but the larvae, before chang- ing, simply form cells bj- turning themselves round and round in the earth or rotten wood, in which they usually undergo their metamor- l)hoses. Jjut some larva*, especially in the families of Curculionid;e ami Chrysomelida', construct regular cocoons of web, not very unlike those of the nocturnal Lepidoptera, which they attach to the plants upon which they feed. The legs of the pupie are always free, but they are not used, the insects being dormant and motionless during this stage of their existence. THE COLEOPTERA FROM A PRACTICAL POINT OF VIEW. In order to show more clearly the connection between scientific and practical entomology, in classifying the Coleoptera we have taken the food-habits of the several species as the basis of classification, it being in the nature of their food, and their methods of obtaining it, that in- sects come into the most important relationship to mankind, whether of an injurious or a beneficial character. We refer to the Coleoptera particularly, because they exhibit a much greater diversity of food- 30 ORDEE, OP COLEOPTERA. habits than auy of the other orders of insects. Indeed this principle of classification is of value just in proportion as such diversity exists; and where it is very limited, as especially in the great order of Lepi- doptera, it ceases to be available. Even in classifying the Coleoptera upon this basis, and at the same time paying the necessary respect to structural considerations, we are sometimes compelled to place insects of similar food-habits in several different, and sometimes remote, tribes. The wood-boring beetles, for example, constitute three distinct tribes, designated as the saw-horned borers fBnprcstida'J ; the long-horned borers fCerambi/cidrtr^s ov pieces. The prefix hetero, in the second section, means different. As a general rule insects have five joints in their tarsi, and never more than five. This may, therefore, be regarded as the normal or tyx)i- cal number, and a smaller number must be taken as an indication of in- feriority or degradation, using this word in its scientific sense. In ac- cordaiu^e with this view, the most perfect and highly organized beetles are found in the pentamerous section; and iu those which have less than five joints, there is usually a little swelling at the base of the last joint, which is supposed to be a vestige of the missing joint. This cir- cumstance has led some authors to give more complex names to these sections, expressive of this character, but with the explanation here given we have preferred to retain the simpler nomenclature of Geoffroy and Latreille. SUGGESTIONS TO AID IN CLASSIFYING THE COLEOPTERA. The student will perceive that the primary di\ision of Coleopterous insects is based upon the number of joints in their feet, or tarsi. This character, though apparently of tri^•ial importance, is found to furnish an index to a more natural classification than can be established upon AIDS IN CLASSIFICATION. 33 any other single character. lu almost all beetles of considerable size, that is, more than a quarter of an inch in length, this character is very nniform, or, in other words, the nuinlx^r of tarsal joints in the insects of any one section or family, is remarkably unexceptional. It also has the advantage, in insects of this size, of being easily determined, if not by the naked eye, at least by the aid of a simple lens. But the insects which are necessarily the most diflicult to examine and classify are the very small ones, and here the character founded upon the number of tarsal joints not only becomes nu)re ditlicult to de- termine, but more exceptional, and therefore of less value. We there- fore give the following suggestions to aid the inexperienced student in cases of this kind. The principal difficulty occurs with respect to numerous fimilies con- taining very small species in the first or pentamerous section ; and these are mostly limited to what are known as scavenger beetles, both the club-horned tribe, fClavicornes,J and the short-winged tribe, (Brachdytra.) In the minute species of both of these tribes the number of tarsal joints is very irregular, one of them being often indistinct or wanting, especially in the posterior feet ; and in three families at least, the r.athridiida', Trichopterygida'; and PselaphidiT!, two joints are want- ing in all the feet, making them apparently but three jointed. The student will naturally inquire, why place these insects in the pentamerous section? The answer is, that they harmonize more closel}' with the insects of this section in their other characters, whilst they do not affiliate with the insects of the other sections which agree with them in the number of tarsal joints. An examination of their other charac- ters will usually enable the student, after a little experience, to refer these insects to their true position ; though cases sometimes occur which puzzle the most astute entomologist. They can hardly be confounded with the Ileteromera, because these are, for the most part, much larger insects, and the exceptionally small species belong mostly to the tribe of Trarhelides, which are distinguished from these and most other beetles by having the head attached to the thorax by a narrow neck. They differ from the Tetramera in the form of the tarsi and also that of the antenna'. Almost all these small species with delieient tarsal joints have these parts slender and simjtle, whilst all the geiuiine Tetramera have the tarsal joints somewhat widened and covered beneath with a dense brush of short hair, and the last joint but one is wider than the others, and divided into two lobes, between which the last joint is in- serted. The only pentamerous beetles which have some of their tarsal joints obsolete, and at the same time have the last joint but one bilobed, are a part of the serricorn family of Clerida'. Some of the short-winged scavengers {StaphyJinlda')^ with an irregular number of tarsal joints, — 5 34 THE ORDEll OF COLEOPTERA. have a part of these joints widened but uot bilobed in the males, but here it is a sexual distinction, and is confined to the anterior feet. These small Pentamera, with variable tarsi, almost always have strongly clavate autenniie, except the Stai)hylini(Ue, and these are dis- tinguished at once by their short wing-covers. The true Tetramera, on the contrary-, have the antennte liliform, or at most slightly and gradu- ally enlarged toward the tip, except the snout-beetles {CuycuUoniike), and these are readily known by their elongated rostrum. If, then, the student have in hand a small beetle W'hose place in the system he cannot determine witii certainty, from the number of tarsal joints, let him first observe whether these joints are slender and sim- ple or dilated and brush-like beneath, with the last joint but one deeply notched or bilobed ; and then let him examine the antenna?, and observe whether they are slender and filiform, or whether they are decidedly enlarged at the end, either gradually (clavate), or abruptly (capitate). 1. If the tarsi arc simple and the antennw Jiliform, the species may belong to some one of a num))er of diverse families (Carahidw, Elater- idce, MordelUd(s, Melandryidw, Cistelida', and a few smaller families) ; but the beetles with this combination of characters are rarely of very small size, and they are, thereibre, the more easily determined by their other characters. 2. If the tarsi are simple and the antenmc clavate or capitate, the in- sect may be referred, with very few exceptions, to some one of the fami- lies of scavenger beetles in the pentamerous section. This rule embra- ces a large proportion of very small- sized beetles, and will, therefore, be found of great use to the student in narrowing the field of his inquiry. A few apparent exceptions exist in the heteromerous families of DiaperidiT2 and Tenebriouida^, but the former can be usually distin- guished by their perfoliate anteunte, and the autenmie of the Teuebrio- nidse are usually so slightly enlarged toward the tip as scarcely to be entitled to the name of clavate. Other partial exceptions are found in the family of Scolytidre, or short horned wood-borers, all of which have strongly clavate antenna?, and some of which have simple tarsi 5 but many of them have the last joint but one slightly bilobed. 3. If the tarsi are dilated and hilohed and the antenmv filiform, the in- sect belongs to the fiimily of long-horned borers (Ceramhycida% or to that of the plant-beetles proper (Chrysomelidce, etc.) The tarsi thus formed are almost always spongy on the under side. Only a fe.w par- tial exceptions to this rule are found, and these are in the heteromerous families of Oi^demerida?, Anthicida?, and a few others ; but in these the tarsi are usually but slightly dilated, and but little, or not at all, spongy beneath. SECTION OP PENTATVTERA. 35 4. If the turn are dilated and hilohed and the aiiteimcv clavate, the spe- cies belou^s to the tribe of suout -beetles {Curculionida'), iu the tetraiae- rous section, or the family of Erotylida', or that of Coccinellidfe, iu the triinerous section. 5. Beetles rcith distinctly serrate antenna; belong almost exclusively to tlie families of Senicornes proper, iu the pentamerous section ; but this rule also has a few exceptions. The pea and beau weevils {liruchida'), in the tetramerous section, usually ha\e the antenna; decidedly serrate; and a few small families of the division of Trachelides, iu the hetero- merous section {RJiipiphoridie and Pyrochroidcc)^ usually have the au- tenna> serrate in the females, and tlabellate or branched in the males. (). All beetles tcith lamellate antenncv belong to the division of Lamel- licornes proper, iu the pentamerous section. Oidy in very rare in- stances the branches of a pectinate or ilabcllate antenna' are somewluit flattened so as to resemble the true lamellate. An example of this is found in the little beetles of the genus Phlceotribus in the family of ScolytidiTi. Section 1. PEKTAMERA. TJsxialhj five joints in aU the tarsi, one or tioo of them being sometimes deficient in very umall species.- aU the joints Uiually slender and simple, eoceept that the anterior, or anterior and m,iddle tarsi are some- times dilated and brush-like beneath, as a sexual distinction of the males. It is seen by this formula that the pentamerous section is distin- guished not only by the number, but also by the form and structure of the tarsal joints, the tarsi iu this, and also iu the succeeding or hetero- merous section being, with but few exceptions, slender and simple, and clothed only with scattered hairs or bristles, whilst in the third and fourth sections the tarsi are widened and covered beneath with a dense brush of short hairs, or hair-like papilla', and the penultimate, or last joint but one, is almost always bilobed. It is important to bear tbis two-fold distinction iu mind, inasmuch as the form and structure of the tarsi often give the clue to the dassilicatiou of snnill species in which the number of the joints is delicient or difficult to be determined, ^'his has been already more fully explained iu the general remarks ou pages 30 to 34. The ambiguity arising from the dilation of some of the tarsal joints in the males of certraiu species, can always be avoidetl by directing the examination to the hindermost tarsi, which are never so dilated. This IS the most numerous section, and comprises, as a general rule, the largest and most highly organized species in this order of insects, though it also contains many snuill species. They can be divided into six sub-sections, founded upon their habits and the nature of theii" food, and distinguished primarily by the struc- 36 THE ORDER OP OOLEOPTERA. ture of their autenuae ', and these sub-sections are again naturally divi- sible into a number of subordinate divisions or tribes. The following table gives a synopsis of the sub-sections, tribes, and families of the pentamerous beetles. The names given to these sub-sections are gen- erally recognized, and in common use, except the first and the third. The term Jilkornes^ though sufficiently characteristic of the predaceous beetles as compared with others of the i>entamerous section, does not sharply distinguish them from some of the beetles of the other sections ; and the term monilicornes, applied to the third sub-section — which is composed chiefly of the family of Staphylinidai, though tolerablj'^ char- acteristic, especially of the larger and typical species — is not ordinarily applied to them, for the reason that the beetles of this division are more readily and strongly distinguished by another character, na'mely, the remarkable shortness of their wing-covers, expressed by the Greek term hrachelytra, by which they are generally designated, or the correspond- ing Latin word brevipennes, which is sometimes, but less commonly used. SYNOPSIS OF THE PENTAMEROUS OOLEOPTERA. Sub-sec. I. Filicornes. Attennaj filiform. Habits predaceous. Tribe 1. Predaceous ground beetles. {Carnivora terrestria.) Geodephaga, MacLeay. Families: Ciciudelidai ; Carabidae. Tribe 2. Predaceous water beetles. {Carnivora aquatica.) Uy- DRADEPHAGA, MacLeay. Families : Dytiscida5 ; Gyrinidje. Sub-sec. II. Clavicomes. Antennse club-shai)ed. Habits mostly putrivorous. Tribe 3. Water scavanger-beetles. {Putrivora aquatica.) Philhydrida, MacLeay. Families : Parnida) ; Hydrophilidae. ■^ Tribe 4. Land Scavenger-beetles. {Putrivora terrestria.) Necrophaga partly, Latreille. Families: Silphidre ; Scaphidiidiie ; Histeridae ; Nitudilidro; Derm^estidae ; Mycetophagidic ; Cryptophagidae ; Byrrhida^; Anisotomidae ; Phalacridic; Trichopterygidaj ; Scydmenidaj ; Trogositidai ; (Jucujidic; Colydiidie ; Lathridiidai. Sub SEC. III. Mo nili comes. AntenntB more or less moniliform or bead-like 5 wing covers very short. Habits mostly pu- ' trivorous. Tribe 5. Short-winged scavengers. {Putrivora hrevi^ennata.) Brachelytra, Latreille. Families : Stai^hyliuidie j Pselaphidae. PREDACEOUS GROUND-BEETLES. 37 Sub-sec. IY. Fectinicornes. Aiitenua' pectiuate or comb-toothed Tribe (J. Stag beetles. Family : LucaiiidiP. Sub-sec. V. Lame Hi comes. Antenuse lamellate. Food-liabits different in the two tribes. Tribe 7. Lamellicorn dun^-beetles. [Exercmcniivora lamcUlcor- nia.) Saprophaga, MacLeay. Families: Copridie ; Aphodiida' ; Geotnipidu' ; Trogidre. Tribe 8. Lamellicorn leaf-beetles. {Uerbivora lamcUicornia.) THALEROPHACrA, MacLeay. Families : Dynastidie ; Rutelid;x> ; Melolonthida^ ; Cetoniida?. SuB-SEC. VI. Serr icorncs . Antenna usually more or less ser- rate or saw-toothed. Food- habits various. Tribe 9. Saw-horned wood-beetles. {Lignivora serricornia.) Sternoxt, Latreille. Families: Buprestidte; Elaterida^ ; Cebrionidje. Tribe 10. Aberrant wood-beetles. {Lignivora aberrantia.) Families: Ptinidie; Cupesidu'; Lymexylonida.'. Tribe 11. Soft-winged predaceous beetles. (Carnivora mollipen- iiata.) Malacodermi, Latreille. Families : Lamjiyridie ; Melyrida ; Cleridai. Fhst Subsection, JFILICOHIVEIS. Anteniiib filiform; jialpi appiireuUy six; habits predaceous. TllIHE I. riiEDAGEOUS GKOUND-BEETLES. Carnivora terresfria. Geodephaga,* MacLeay. This extensive tribe of beetles is distinguished by their slender and filiform, or slightlj^ tapering antenna, in connection with their live- joiuted tarsi or feet, all the joints always being distinct even in the smallest species; by having ai)pareutly six paljn; and by the promi- nence of their large egg-shaped posterior trochanters, which furnish a very distinctive and easily recognized character, and which no other coh'opterous insects possess so conspicuously developed. (See Fig. 3, ou page 27.) Xo insects have strictly more than four pali)i, and the api)ar- ent additional pair which is peculiar to this and the following tribe, are really the outer lobes of the maxilhc whicdi are here palpiform. They are almost exclusively carnivorous in their diet, and pre eminently pre- daceous in their habits, both in the larva and the perfect states. They ♦ From the Greek yf^ the earth, and adrj^dyoq ravenous. 3S THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. subsist chiefly upou the larvte of other iuseots, and are therefore useful in helping to maintain a proper balance of insect life. As their name implies, they are found mostly on the ground. They run with great ra- pidity, and never attempt to seek safety by feigning death, as is the habit with many of the leaf and fruit-eating beetles. The tribe contains two families, distinguished as follows : A. Head large and vertical, wider than the thorax ;* antennae inserted on the front ; eyes large and ijrominent ; mandibles strongly toothed ; wing covers usually marked with yellow : CICINDELIDyE. A A. Head horizontal or a little inclined, usually narrower than the thorax; antennfe inserted under the sides of the front; eyes moderate; mandibles simple or slightly toothed; color usually black; sometimes blue, green or brown; very rarely spotted: GARAJ3IDJE. Family I. CICINDELID^E, (Tiger-beetles.) The CicindelidjTR are readily distinguished from all other pentaraerous beetles, by their large vertical heads ; that is, their heads are so set rrig.o.] upon the thorax that when viewed from above, oidy the vertex or crown is distinctly seen, the face looking directly forwards. In a few large species which vary from the family type the head is not quite vertical, but yet strongly inclined downwards. The common English name of Tiger-beetles express- es very well the character of these insects, and they may be said to represent in the insect tribes the tiger Ck'Indela :— 1, beetle; 2, larva— from Tack- auiougst quadrupcds, and the hawk and eagle amongst ard's Guide. birds. They are the most highly organized and per- fect of all coleopterous insects, and run and tly with equal facility. They are often seen running in hot dusty roads. NVhen pursued they fly quickly, but usually alight again a rod or two in advance. About sev- enty species have been described as inhabiting the United States, in- cluding those found on the Pacific side of the continent. * That part of the body of a beetle which, when viewed from .ibove, lies between the head and the base of the elytra, commonly calliMl the thorax, is found upon dissection to bo only the antoiior section or pro-thorax, which is here greatly developed; all of the meso-thorax, except the little triaiifrtilar piece called the scutelluni, and tho wliolo of the metathorax, beinj; concealed under the basal portion of tjie elytra. Manj' recent writers have, therefore, adopted for this part tho name of pro-thorax, which ,'ittrus lias the advantajjo of greater anatomical lu-ecision. The term thorax, on the other hand, has tho claim of brevity and of lonji established usage, and this brief explanation will relieve it of any ambi- guity that might otherwise be attached to it. PREBACEOUS GROUND-BEETLES. 3!) Tlieir larvi^ dig holes in the sand, often a foot or more in deptli, at the mouth of Avliich they lie in wait for their prey, dragging it, ^vhen [ l.i..^ (1. ] captured, to the bottom of tlieir burrows. The name of the princi- pal genus, CiciiKh-la, is derivi-d from the Latin, Caiukla, a candle or taper, aud was applied by the , , ancients to the glow-worm. The I'Alilr- OF CiClMiElA:—!, lliiul; e. maxilla; 3, men- '*''^*^ *' tuui ; 4, antenna; 5, anterior tersus— alter LeCouto. gpgcies are all of mcdium Or rather large size, and are generally marked with yellow angular spots upon a dark green or purple ground. The Cicindela sexguttata of Fabricius, of a Irilliaiit metallic green color, with two yellow dots at the side, and one at the end of each wing-cover, is one of our most beautiful beetles. It is often seen running over prostrate logs in the forest, in search, no doubt, for wood-eating larvie. Family II. CAKABID^, (Ground-beetles.) The leading characters of this fauiily have been given in the descrip- tion of the tribe to which it belongs. They are readily distinguished l^'-- '^1 from the Ciciudelidie by the position of the head, it being directed forwards instead of downwards, so that the face aud parts of the mouth are fully seen when viewed from , , above. The two families, however, closely ,Mebia are sometimes found on low or herbaceous plants, and sometimes running up the trunks of trees in search for their minute insect prey. The genera Dromlns^ meaning a noino', and Calleida, meaning hcdu- tiftd, have similar habits. Cymindis is found under stones. Cmnonia jH'iuisylranica, an elegant little insect, quarter of an inch long, and re- markable for its slender spindle-shni)ed thorax, is usually seen running upon the ground. The head and thorax are black, and the elytra red, with two black bands. It is not a very rare species. Liptotrachclus also, as its nauu' implies, lias a slender thorax, of about the same width throughout. This genus is usually classed in this sub- family, or near it, but it is exceptional in having the elytra entire and completely covering the abdomen. Uelluomorpha, of which we have several species, and the allied genus MorlOy of which we have but one Southern species, differ from all our other Carabideous insects, in having the antennic stout and almost bead-like, and either enlarged or strongly comi)ressed toward the tip. Subfamily CHL^^NIIDES. The distinctive character of the Chla?niides consists in the structure of the anterior tarsi of the males, which have the three first joints widened, and furnished beneath with crowded points, or hair like papillte [Fig. 12 1 iill of the same length so as to resemble a brush. These Joints are usually more or less rounded at the corners, bear- ing a fanciful resemblance to the patella or Kiwcpan, which suggested to Latreille the name Pntellunnni^ by which he designated this sub-family; mani^ meaning hands, a texm which is sometimes applied by CHL.KMLS PENNSV..VAMCL-8,Say:-«. n.ale iKotlo ; ., front ^-"^'""^^^SJ'^tS tO tllC forC-fcet tnisus of IVniale ; (/. Jiont tarsus of male, .-liowinc the of hpntlps! himaii-iP flin^' -ira rkf widiM.e.l au.l romule.l ..r pat.-llirorm joints = r. im.letM.I.. uf"'' ^*^*-l'*^f'» Ot CaUSC lUty are 01- ^ri!i-r»,' vl"?.'!!!.};'"^;''''''?'^^ ^^"*i = ^' ''»'■• ten constructetl and useddif- ya ot CUL.EMUS — after Cuupuis aud Caudeze. >.»*.. ferently fi'om the others. JJut 40 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. apart from this sexual, and therefore often unavailable character, the Chkeniides can usually be distinguished from the Carabides i)roi)er by the presence of the tibial notch, and by their smaller size and more varied colors ; from the Scari tides by the absence of the gap between the thorax and the elytra; from the Brachinides by the thorax and ab- domen never being of contrasted colors, and by their simple claws ; and from the Ilarpalides by their usually lighter colors and silken surface. But a considerable number of species which are black and hairless, like the Harpalides, are included with the Chlajniides proper on account of the structure of their feet. But these we shall explain more particularly in our references to particular genera. In a strictly scientific point of view, the Chl^eniides can scarcely be regarded as forming a sub family distinct from the Harpalides, but it is a matter of convenience, in practice, to subdivide very extensive groups. If we regarded structural considerations alone, a large proportion of the Carabid* would have to be united in one great division, whilst certain anomalous genera such as Omophron, Ozccna, Morio, and a few others, would really constitute the types of distinct sub-families. A. Body biisute; head 'attaclied by a 'short neck; abdomen pedunculated; size below medium; colors varied with fiilvoua and black PANAOiEUS, 3 sp. A A. Bodj' finely pubescent; head without neck; abdomen sessile ; thorax narrower than abdo- men; si7.e about medium ; colors mostly green or blue-black Ciii.jEVH's, 35. AAA. Body glabrous ; thorax nearly or quite as wide as abdomen ; size medium or above ; color black. B. Body elon;4'atedor elliptical ; anterior angles of the thorax advanced ; elytra cariuated near the margin ; color black, usually with rich violet or metallic tints DictLUs, 21. B B. Bo ly oval; thorax and elytra, ordinary color black. C. Head broad_ and obtuse.- thorax a little narrower at base than elytra; mentum without tooth DirLOCUEILA, 3. C C. Head small and pointed; thorax as wide at base as elytra ; mentum toothed Oodes, 8. A A A A. Body glabrous ; thorax small ; size small ; color light red with black spots. .Badisteu, 8. Fanaga'm contains two N. A. species, the crucigenis and fasciatus of Say, both of which are rare. The generic name means holy, in allusion to the arrangement of the spots on the elytra, in the typical species, somewhat in the form of a cross. GhUvnius contains many species, one of the largest, most beautiful, and commonest of which is the Chlwnius sericeus of Forst. (fig. 12), a fine green insect, with yellow legs, and clothed, like the rest of the species, with a microscopically fine silken down, or I)ubescence, which can scarcely be seen directly from above, but which is quite distinct when viewed side- ways, with the aid of a lens. Diccvlus [two-pitted, in allusion to the hollows on the thorax) contains a number of rather rare beetles, some of which are pure black, but most of them ar^ very richly tinted. They can be distinguished from the black Har- palides by their more elongated form, and more particularly by the shape of their thorax, which is almost square, with its anterior angles advanced, and considerably turned up at the sides. PREDACEOUS GROUND-BEETLES. 47 Tlie next two genera resemble still more closelj' some of the Harpali- dcs, but the structure of tlie tore-feet of the males places them in the l)resent sub-family. They are easily (listin«;uisliL'(l, however, from the great majority of the Uarpalides, by having the thorax nearly or (juite as wide at base as the elytra. The meaning of the generic name Oo^hs. is, resembling the letter 0, the species being of a regular oval form, and the thorax and elytra being of l)recisely the same width and closely applied to each other. In this re- spect they resemble the genus Anuira among the Uarpalides. The genus lindiHter^ meaning a fast icalker^ is composed of a small number of pretty little glossy reddish beetles, spotted with black, a style of coloration in strong contrast with the usually dark colors of the Carabida;. Subfamily IIARPALIDES. The Harpalidcs, as here defined, embrace a very extensive group of beetles, not much inferior in numbers to all the other sub-families com- fFig. 13.] biued; and as they are most- IP /ffxv e / ly of black or dark metallic t^^ colors, and as their size is for the most part limited in its ■r^li -frm-R range from a quarter of an A® ^ li^ y IM) i„^,j to a little more than half Sl-1'1'0sf.1' I.AUVA OF TT.viirAi.us (in the act of devourinf: a . , . , ., , , Cuiciilio larva) :— J?, lieadseen from beneath : j, i, h, marks UU UXe.h lU leUgtll, and When on uiiiler side of abdominal setrmeuts, bcconiing fewer to- i i . .1 • xi j. j.i • wards the tip— after W.al8h. We add tO tlllS that tUCMP most distinctive characters are restricted to the male sex, some idea can be formed of the ditiiculty of classifying them, or of referring any par- [v^'s.u.] ticular species to its proper location. Their distinctive character lies in the structure of the tarsi of the males, Avhich often have both the anterior and middle tarsi dilated, and instead of having a uniform brush ui)on the under side, they are furnished with two rows of little __ transverse plates, or scale-like papillae, and the hairs which border the sides of the tarsi are usually coarser, or more bristly than they are "oeet:-Th7m'd'el^^^^^^^ the Chheulides ; and the angles of the dilated thenndersideoftheai,teri..Ttar. : j^ ,,,0^.^ p,.,„|,i,ient. ThC first SCCtioU, BUS ot the male llarpalns, snow j " 1 ' "'f.iiH^ Nearti.'e "Lw'lhe l^owcvcr, or AuisodactiH, have the tarsi brushed IllErfeiH? tlTe^ihrio^^ undcmeath like the ChliBuiides, but differ from !'n:;ul'd s";:''atiu «;;^?theni in having the middle tarsi as well as the ;u.-ie-afiei Kiiey. antcHor oucs dilated : and they moreover har- monize better with the Harpalides iutheir general aspect. 48 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. 1. Anterior aud iiiidille tarsi of the males with the four lirst joiuts dilated. A. The dilated joints brush-like beneath. B. Tarsi of the males only dilated; first joint not larger than the others ; size never much below medium ; color often inclining to brown Anisodactylus, 37. B B. Tarsi of both sexes dilated ; first joiut much larger than the others ; size small ; color mostly black Gynanduopus, 2. A A. The dilated joints scaly beneath. C. Mentum usually with a small median tooth ; thorax sub-quadrate ; tarsi not bilobed; size usually about medium ; color black, rarely dark brown or green Harpalus, 54. C C. Mentum without tooth ; thorax rounded ; the last of the dilated joints deeply bilobed ; size small; color usually wholly or in part light reddish-brown Stexolophus, 'J4. 2. Anterior tarsi of males with four dilated joints, which are scaly beneath ; middle tarsi not dilated ; mentum toothed ; size and color like Stenolophus ; thorax somewhat square-shaped : Buauyceli-us, 26. 3. Anterior tarsi of the males with the three first joints dilated and scalj' beneath; middle tarsi not dilated ; size about medium or below. D. Anterior tibiiie rather stout and thickened at the tip. E. Body moie or less elongated ; thorax narrower at base than elytra ; size various ; color mostly pure black Pteuostichus, 89. E E. Body elliptical; thorax nearly as wide at base as elj"tra; three first joints of anten- na- cariuated ; size medium ; colors metallic Pcecilus, 13. E E E. Body oval ; thorax wider than long, and as wide at base as elytia ; head small ; color black or blackish A jiaka, 38. D D. Anterior tibi* slender and scarcely thickened at the tip. P. Claws pectinate ; tibia; strongly spinous Calathus, 11. E E. Claws simple ; tibiiu not strongly spinous ; size usually below medium ; often with metallic tints Platynus, OG. 4. Anterior tarsi of males with the two first joints dilated, and scaly beneath. G. Palpi uot acuminate; thorax heart-shaped; size medium or below; color almost always shining black Patrobus, 14. 6 G. Palpi ending in a long pointed joint; thorax various ; size small ; color usually light brown TllECliUS, 6. 5. None of the tarsi dilated ; head rather broad and not narrowed behind the eyes ; size various ; color browuish. H. Anterior tibiae abruptly widened at the extremity ; size large Geopixus, 1. H H. Anterior tibiai normal ; size small Agonoderus, 10. Anisodactylns haltimorieiisis, Say, nearly half an inch loug, with red- dish-brown elytra, and pale legs, is a very common insect, and is often seen Hying in considerable numbers in the first hot days of spring. We have a considerable number of small, activ^e, shining light-brown Cara- bidjB, generally less than a quarter of an inch in length, which belong- mostly to the three genera, Stenolophus, Bradycellus and Trechus. The second are distinguished from the first, in addition to the structure of the feet of the males, by the thorax having distinct angles behind, whilst it is rounded in Stenoloplms. The distinctive character of Trechus is the form of the palpi, tlie last joint being elongate, conical and pointed, and the joiut before it being somewhat similar, but reversed, so that the two taken together form a fusiform or spindle-shaped body. Pterostichus, Bonelli, is now substituted for Feronia, Latreille, on account of the lat- ter term having been previously used in botany. It contains a vast assemblage of species which have been divided into various sub-genera, but without any fixed distinctive characters. We have already spoken of the close resemblance between Amara and Oodcs in the preceding sub- family. The males are distinguished by the structure of their feet, but PREDACEOUS GROUND-BEETLES. 49 the females are scarcely distingiiisbable. The tooth of the meutum is usually simple iu Oodcs and bltid in Amara, but even this character is not invariable. The remark made of rterostichus will apply to Plaixjnm. (Udathm is peculiar in this sub-family for its pectinated claws, and in accordance with this structure its species are often seen on the trunks of standing trees, or under the scales of bark, sometimes in company with 7)rom/?<.s and />e/>m. C. ffref/ariom. Say, is not uncommon. Geopi- nm iiicrassafns, Dejean, has been found in loose soil several feet below the surface. Agonoderm pallipcsy Fab., is one of our most common in- sects. It is often attracted into houses by the lamps, in summer even- ings. The other species of this genus are rare. The following are the literal meanings of the foregoing generic terms : .4 )tiso(1actylus — having d'lHsimilar feet. ihl>iandropus — male and female feet., referring to the widening of the tarsi in both sexes. Harpalus — ravenous. iSfi'nolojjhiis — having a narroio neck or thorax. BradyceUus — slow footed. radius — chaw/eahle^ alluding to their metallic colors, changing in dif- ferent lights. CalathuH — a wicker basket^ probably referring to theii' comb-toothed claws. Flati/n us — depressed. Trechns — a runner. The origin of the terms Amara and Patrobus, is not apparent. Sub family BEMBLDIEDES. This subfamily is composed exclusively of very small species, varying from li twentieth to a little more than a (juarter of an inch in length. Their distinctive character consists in the form of the palpi, the last joint being very small and acicular, the contrast being made the more striking by the preceding joint being unusually large and swollen. The si>ecies are numerous, uj)\vards of one bJJfcilred and forty Xorth Ameri- can species having been described, arranged in many sections or sub- genera. They are almost all of a shining black color, but often exhibit beautitul brown or green reHections. They are extremely agile in their motions. A few of the smaller species are found under the bark of de- cayed trees, but the great majority inhabit wet places. Mr. Ilaliday, an accurate English entomologist, relates that some of the species which frequent the sea-shore permit themselves to be submerged by the waves. —7 50 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. [Fig. 15.] Tribe n. PEEDACEOUS WATEE- BEETLES. Carniiiora aquatica, Hydradephaga,* MacLeay. These insects are distinguished from those of the fii\st tribe by their feet being fitted for swimming, the two hinder pairs being much flat- tened and margined with long hairs or cilise. This tribe contains two families. A. Antennae slender, filiform ; hind legs long, and attachecT fo the breast far behind the other two pairs Dytiscid^. A A. Antennfe very short and i>eculiar; the three pairs of legs attached at nearly equal distances from each other; middle and hind legs very short G yrinidje. Family III. DYTISCID^. This family is founded upon the genus Bytiscus, of Linnaeus, derived from a Greek word meaning a diver, and given to these insects on ac- count of their eminently aquatic habits. They are of an oval and somewhat flat- tened form, and of a brown- ish - bl.ick color, generally with a dull glaucous or sea- green tint. Ih some species the thorax is dull yellow, either with or without black cross-bars. One of their most distinctive and easily recognized characters is the position of the middle legs close to the anterior ones, leaving an unusually long ^ space between the middle DvTisci 8 : — a. larva of J), margivalis devouring a larva ot Ephemera- after Rdsel : t, piipa of same— after Kye: e, X). and tllC hind ISgS. ThCSO fdscivcntrii. Say, the detached figure ou the rifjht sbowiiig _ _ ^ "the iiroovod elytron of the female; (I, the anterior taraiis of inseCtS ai'C eminently a«JUa- the male, under Hide, showing the suction cups; e, same of f«-uiaie— after Kiiey. tic and predaccous, and may be supposed to rei)resent the sharks and other ferocious aquatic ani- mals of the higher classes. They have sometimes been found very troublesome in artificial fish- ponds, attacking the young gold and silver fishes and eating oil" their ^-^v. * From the Greek hudor — water ; and adephagos — ravenous. PREDACEOUS WATEK-BEETLES. 51 fins. The larvje leave the water and make little cavities in the earth, when about to transform. Two hundred and thirty North American sjx'cies have been described, arranged, for the most part, in the fol- lowing' genera : A. Anti'unjp lO-ioiuted; hind coxal plates greatly dilated, so a« to cover half of the abdonipn; legs slightl.T natatorial; size small; , form soniowhat pointed hetbro an. Hind tarsi with one claw ; size very large, exceeding an inch iu length Cyhistek, 3. I) D. Bind tarsi withltwo claws. E. Claws equal, or nearly so ; size large, or very largo DvTisri's, 11. K K. Claws uneqiial. K. 15ody oval, depr&ssod ; size about medium Actl.U'H, fi. V V. Body elliptical ; convex'; size below the medium Hyuaticus, 9. C C. Anterior tar.si of males widened, with the joints oblong and with cups of about equal size; size usu:illy below medium. G. Scutellum distinct ; length between a (luarter and a lialf of an inch. U. Hind claws nne(inal ; formless convex Cm. vmuries, ii. H U. Hind claws equal ; form more convex Aoabl's, 47. G G. Scutel wanting; hind legs stout, oomiircs.sed : Irnglh qiuii ter of an inch or less; LAltOI'HlLrs, 9. B B. Tarsi apparently 4-.ioiuted ; third joint bilobed; scutellum wanting i size very small ; HvuRoroRLs, 91. Family IV. GYKINID.E. Founded upon the genus Gyrinus, a name derived from a (Ireek word meaning a mrclcj and given to these insects on account of their habit of I'iK- 16. swimming round in little circles upon the surface of the water. The auteun:e are very short and peculiar, and of the form called auriculate. The second joint is large and ear shaped, and the following ones form a short spindle-shaped mass. They are inserted in a little cavity in front of the eyes. The middle and hind legs are very short, scarcely reaching beyond the sides of the body, and very broad and Hat like little plates. These inse(;ts are of a medium or small size, c.vuiMs;— 1, beetle; of a shining blue-black" color, and are often seen in 2 larva-after Packard. ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ playing and gyratiiig upoii thc surfuce of still water, dumber of N. A. species, thirty-seven. 52 THE ORDER OF OOLEOPTERA. Second Sub-section, CLAVICOHIVES. Antennm club-sliaped. Subsist mostly upon decaying animal or vegetable substances. Tkibe m. WATER SCAYENGEE-BEETLES. Putrivora aquatica, Philhydrida,* MacLeay. This tribe commences the series of beetles with chibbed autenute, a character which at ouce distinguishes the insects of this tribe from the predaceous water-beetles, with which they might otherwise be confounded on account of their aquatic habits and similarity of form. This tribe is composed of two very distinct sub-tribes. Sub-tribe 1. llacrodaetyla, Latreille. Legs not fitted for swimming. Last joint of the tarsi very long, often as long as all the others united, and for this reason called Macrodactyla, which means long-toed. Palpi of ordinary length. Antennae moderately clavate. Body clothed with silken hairs. Family, Parnida3. Sub-tribe 2. Palpicornes, Latreille. Legs fitted for swimming (except the Sphferidiida"). Palx)i very long, usually longer than the antenna). Autennte strongly clavate. Body glabrous. These insects feed upon decomposing matter in water, and are one of the agencies which prevent water from becoming offensive in a state of nature. But some of them have been observed to be carnivorous in the larva state. The first sub-tribe are semi-aquatic, being found in mud, or adhering to stones under water by means of their stout claws. The second sub- tribe (except the Sphwridiidte) are purely aquatic, but lessrai)id in their motions than the predaceous water-beetles. Each of the sub-tribes is represented by one principal family, the Parnidge representing the first division and the Hydrophilidfe the second. Family V. PARNID.^. These are small sub-aquatic insects which have been sufficiently charac- terized above. The family is comjiosed of three leading genera. Parnus, Fab., having the antennje enlarged at base and at tip, and the hind coxje dilated into a plate for the i)rotection of the thighs ; Ulmin, Latr., with the antennai almost filiform, and the hind coxa3 not dilated ; and Jlete- rocerus, Fab., with the antenna; much like Parnus, but the mouth organs are more strongly developed, and the anterior and middle tibiae are widened and armed with spines on the outer edge, by which they are enabled to burrow in the wet sand which they and their larvae inhabit. *Fiom the Greek ^/liito — tu luce ; and hudur — water. WATEE SCAVENGER-BEETLES. 53 The last genus is regarded by iiuiiiy as constituting the typo of a small family distinct from the Parnida;. Most of these imperfectly aqnatic insects are clothed with fine silken hairs wliich seem to have the property of shedding the water, and of enabling the insect to sur- round its body with a globule of air whilst clinging to the stones be- neath the surface; whereas tlie purely aquatic beetles, the Dytiscida', the Gyrinida> and the nydroi)hilida', which have the faculty of swim- ming and of rising to the surface of the water whenever they need a fresh supply of air, have no such (Nothing. Forty-eight N. A. species are known. A synopsis of the Paruidjc of the United States is given bv Dr. Geo. H. Horn in the 3d. vol. of the Trau. Am. Ent. Society. Family VI. HYDKOPHILID^. |FiK. 1 UYiiKoriiii.rB;— n, larva of IT. piVc»*. Liim. ; «, egg-sase; (i. same opened showing airaujjenipnt of ••UK" ; <^< pui>a— iiftiM- Ulanrhard : b. 11. iriaiKjularix. Say., natural size ; /, antenna ; ;;, anterior tarsiis of female ; h, Hanio of ninlo, all niajjnitieil ; i, sulo view of the sternal spine — after Riley. This family is named from the genus Ilydrophilus, a word of Greek comi)osition meaning a lover of water. They constitute a somewhat ex- tensive series of water-beetles, but less numerous and less eminently aquatic than the Dytiscidai. In swimming they move the hind legs alternately, whilst the Dytiscida- strike with them both together like a frog. Both of these families contain both large and small species, the largest being an inch and a half in length. Many of the larger species of Ilydrophilidir have the sternum or breast bone in the form of a keel, and prolonged posteriorly to a sharp point. They are essentially dis- tinguished from the predaceous water-beetles by their short clavate an- tenna^, and their long palpi, which are usually longer than the antenna*, and are carried projecting forwards whilst swimming. The larvie of Hydrophilus are predaceous. The names of one hundred and twenty- two N. A. species are given in Dr. LeContc's catalogue, inclusive of twenty-one species of the small sub-family of Sphaeridiides. 54 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. A. Middle and hind tarsi with the first four joiuts short ,- tlie last often as long as all the others: body oblong ; thorax furrowed, and narrower than the elytra ; size small Helophokus A A. Midflle and hind tarsi with second joint elongated, first very short ; body o\al ; thorax as wide at base as elytra. B. ^Metasternum keeled and prolonged backward into a sharp spine ; tarsi flattened ; size large or very large H yduoi'HILUS . B B. Metasternura not prolonged ; tarsi not compressed ; size small or voiy small. C. Hind tibia; and tarsi ciliate ; soutollum elongated Beuosus. C C. Hind tibise and tarsi not ciliate ; sciitellum regularly triangular Hyuhohius. AAA. Middle and hind tarsi with the first joint elongated ; body short and sub-globular; size very small; not aquatic ; found in cow-dung SrnauiiDiUM. TiiiBE IV. LAND SCAVENGER BEETLES. Putrivora terrestria, Necrophaga partly, Latreille. This tribe embraces au extensive series of useful scaveugers, whose office it is to hasten the decomposition and removal of dead organic matter. The typical species are found upon dead animals or other de- composing animal substances. Some of the smaller species are found under the bark of dead trees ; whilst others feed upon fungi, especially those which grow upon decaying trees. The only other insects which can be compared with these in usefulness as s(!avengers, is the extensive family of Mtiscidcc, in the tAvo- winged flies. It is interesting to observe the order in which these various tribes of scavenger insects perform their respective parts. First come the IMuscida', which, in the form of carrion flies, deposit their eggs or J1i/-hlou\s upon dead aiiinuil matter at the first moment of decay, and, in very hot weather, almost immediately after life has ceased. Soon after these come the carrion-beetles, the Silpha^. and Necrophori, whose larvie, like the maggots of the flesh-flies, are seen revelling in the putrescent matter at the most olfensive stage of decomposition. AVhen the softer parts have been devoured and only the osseous and ligamentary portions remain, other families of scaven- gers succeed, namely : the skin -beetles, Dermestidw, and the bone- beetles, Necrohii and Nitidula', which adhere to the dried carcass as long as any vestige of animal matter remains. The scavenger-beetles, with a few exceptions, are readily distinguished from the other pentamerous Coleoptera by the form of their antenna', which, in the great majority, are strongly clavale, and sometimes capitate or knobbed. The number of joints in the tarsi are much more- variable in this than any other tribe or section ; and though the larger species very uniformly possess five joints in all the tarsi, in many of the very small species one of the joints, especially in the posterior tarsi, is either rudi mental or wanting. The place of these insects in the system has to be determined therefore by the examination and collection of their other characters.* * See suifgeBtious on pages 30 to 34. LAND SCAVENGER-BEETLES. S6 Indeed, in some of tlio families which are usually classed with the pen- tameious clavicorus, both of the leading characters, the clubbed antenna^ and the five-jointed tarsi, either partially or wholly fail. Some of these insects also depart widely in their liabits from the scavengers proper, and might therefore very properly be separated as a tribe by themselves' were it not for the absence of any very strongly marked community of cliaracters. In order to guard against mistake we have thought it best to throw these exceptional families together, as a sub-tribe, under the title of sub-clavicornes. The tribe of land-scavengers may therefore be divided into two sub tribesMi tiering very considerably from each other, both in structure and habits, and which may be distinguished as follows: 1st Sub-tribe. — Glaviconics, projjer. Body more or less oval ; antenna- clavate or capitate; usually three, sometimes more than three Joints in the club ; usually five joints in all the tarsi, or, at least, in the anterior oiu's ; subsist mostly upon animal or vegetable substances, in a state of decay. This division includes the families Silphida^, Scaphidii(hc, Mis teriihe, Nitidulida^, Dermestidie, Mycetophagida*,, Cryptophagihid.*:. B B. Small insects less than half an inch, mostly less than (luarter of an inch in length. O. Wing-cases shorter than the abdomen. D. Abdomen thick, conical and pointed, first segment very long Scaphldud^. D D. Abdomen rounded behind. THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. E. Head very small and retractile. Body very hard, color shining- black Histerid^. E E. Head moderate. Color usually dull brown, with or without spots NlTIDULID^. C (J. Wing-cases covering the whole abdomen. F. Head inserted in the thorax j thorax as broad at base as the abdomen. (t. Wings not fringed with long hairs. H. Body moderately convex, pubescent. Antennae strongly clavate. J. Prosternum advanced beneath the retractile head Dermestid^. J J. Prosternum not advanced. K. Body strongly ijubescent, often prettily spotted Mycetophagid^. K K. Microscopically pubescent, generally un- spotted Cryptophagid^. H H. Body very convex, or sub-globular. L. Medium or small insects; body thick, ovoid, pubescent, sometimes variegated : Byrrhid^. L L. Very small insects; body glabrous, black, rarely spotted with red. M. Club of antennjB 3 or 5-jointed. Body usually contractile into a ball : Anisotomld^. M M. Club 3-jointed. Body not contractile : Phalacrid^. G G. Wings fringed. Size minute. Tarsi .'^-jointed: Trichopterigid^. F F. Head, free. Abdomen, much wider than the ovoid thorax. Size very small Scydm^nid^. Sub-tribe 2d. Sub-Clavicornes. A A. Body usually elongated. Antennae slightly clavate, or filiform and granose. Tarsi often with less than five joints. N. Body somewhat depressed, smooth. Tarsi five-jointed, first joint very small. Color black, or dark red. .Trogositid^. N N. Body very flat, smooth. Color red or brown . . Cucujid^. ]Sr N N. Body not very flat ; sometimes cylindrical, usually deeply sculptured, or scabrous. Tarsi less than five-jointed. O. All the tarsi four-jointed Colydiid^. O O. All the tarsi three-jointed Lathrldiid^. LAND SCAVENGER-BEETLES. 57 Family VII. SILPIIID.E. This fiimily is founded upon tlio preuus Silpha, a name originally fi^ivon by the Greeks to some kind of f(etid beetle, and ai)i)ropiiated by Lin- nreus to the leading genus of the present family. These insects are [Fig. 18.] SlLl-HA IX.i;iiUAU6, Fill) : — ^1 1 size ; /, .7. h, niaiulible, lalu ' Vii ; t, j. anal pnu'es-s ami . • of the latrral proccs.ses ii' imjia ; e, .same, natural ' / same; c, beetle; k, antMio" Iviley. most readily distinfjuished from the other Kecrophaga by their large size. The species of Silplia are usually half an inch and uj)- wards in length, whilst some of the burying beetles, composing the genus ]Srecroi)horus, are an inch and a half. The other lenate; color black or brown Catoi'S. * A remarkable exception to the asual habits of this family, occurs in the case of a small European species, (Silpha opaoa, Linn.) the larva' of which have been known to feed, to an injurious extent, upon the leaves of the beet and the mangel-wurzel. Curtis' Farm Ia«ects, p 368. ~8 58 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. [Fig. 19. J The Kecropliorus Anicrieanus is nearly au inch and a half in length. The other species do not exceed an inch, and a few of the smaller spe- cies scarcely exceed half an inch in length. Silpha Americana has the thorax broadly margined with yellow ; S. marginata has the thorax margined Avith red; S. inequalis [Fig. 18] is wholly black; S. caudata has adnll bronze thorax, and btack elytra, with many small tubercles. The Necrodes surinamensis is black, with a reddish spot near the end of each elytron, and the elytra strongly carinated or ridged. Necrodes differs from Silpha in having a more elongated ITecropiioiius : - niP : 2, tarsus 3, froTu "heiieath— after form, and the antcnnsB with a greater number of Wostwood. ,. T , • . , perfoliate joints. Family VIII. SCAPHIDIID^. From the genus Scaphidium of Olivier, a name meaning a little sMff or boat, and given to these insects on account of their fancied resem- blance to a boat, being thickest and arched in the middle, and narrowed towards each end, the head being rery small, and the tip of the abdo- men being conical and pointed, and projecting beyond the end of the wing-cases. The first abdominal segment is unusually long. These are small, shining-black insects found in fungi and rotten wood. They move rapidly, but with an uneven or skipping gait. They constitute a very small family, only seventeen N. A. species having been described at the present time. Family IX. HISTERID^. Founded upon the genus Ulster of Linnaeus, a term borrowed from the Latin Jiister, or histrio, meaning a stage actor or mimic, and applied [Fig.ao.j to these insects on account of their *habit of persistently feigning death when captured ; a habit, however, which ,2 they have in common with many other Coleoptera. They are mostly small, short, rounded or somewhat square- shaped beetles, of a verj^ hard consistency, and a glossy black color, very rarely marked with a few red spots. They nisThU:— 1, bee- ,.,'-.. • , -, , , . ,, , n -, . , tie natural are lurther distinguished by their small heads, winch can size ; a, aiiteu- t ■ ' i , . . n(u of same oc rctractcd into the thorax, so as to be nearly or quite in- ter"westwoo(i. visible ', and also, by their truncated or shortened wing- cases, leaving the two last abdominal segments exposed. They live in the excrement of animals, and other decomposing substances, mostly animal, but sometimes vegetable. Number of described N. A. species, one hundred and eighty-four. LAND SCAVENGER-BEETLES. 59 Tlie followiiifj are tlio three ty{)i(;iil gfeiiera : A. Heiul purrected ; iuau(lilile.s:i» loui; ;is the hfiul ; body very flat ; size comparatively lur>!e — HOLOI.EITA. A A. Head retracted ; mandibles short ; body usually convex, (flattened in sub-genns Paronialiis.) B. I'rosteruuiu advanced so that the head is invisible from beneath Uistku. B B. Prosteniuiu not advanced Sapuinub. Ulster is divided by Dr. LeCoiite into ten lesser genera, which De Marseiil has still further subdivided so as to form four additional ones. These divisions are made in accordance with slight organic variations, whi'ih however are sometimes accompanied h^- ditfereuces in size, or l)y perceptible moditicatious of the general form. More recently, Dr. Geo. H. Horn has contributed to the American Philosophical Society (June, 1873,) a valuable synopsis of the Ilisteridie of the Unitetl States, in which all our species are carefully reviewed and described. Family X. NITIDULID^. The typical insects of this family constitute the genus XitUlula of Fabricius, a word literally meaning sldnlng^ or elegant, but which is sin- '^'»^~^-J gularly inapplicable to the insects of this family, as now ^^ constituted, most of which are clothed with a tine pubc- ^ scence, which is incompatible with a shining surface. They are small, somewhat liattened beetles, the thorax having a wide, thin margin, and the wing-cases more or less cut oft" NiTiDiiA :— 1, behind, so a* to leave the end of the abdomen exposed. In 8\"s','i','ant*eM- thc sub-faiuily of Carpophilides, the el^'tra are so short as Weslwood.*' ' to leave two or three of the abdominal segments uncovered, but in the Is'itidulides only the tip of the abdomen is exposed. The fourth tarsal joint is very small, and wholly wanting in the hind tarsi of the males of some si)ecies. Their colors are usually brown or black- ish, with or without dull yellow spots. The insects of this family vary much in their habits. Some are found on cfirrion and others on Howers ; several of the most common species are often met with on apples and other fruit in a state of decay. The larvie of the genera Ips Carpophilus and lihiozophagus, have been shown by the observations of a French author, M. Ed. Ferris, to be car- nivorous, subsisting upon soft,, sub-cortical larva?. Ninety N. A. species have been described, under the following prin- cipal genera : A. Antenna' 11-jointod, club 3-joiuted ; body oval. B. Only the tip of the abdomen exposed. 0. Surface pubescent ; colors dull ; upper lip exposed. D. Body depressed , thoi-ax not overlapping the elytra; color brown, u.sually with obscure yel- low .spot.s XrriuLi.A. D D. Body convex; thorax slightly overlapping the base of elytra. Color brown, usually shaded with black Cychra.mis. C C. Surface smooth and shining; color black, spotted with yellow or reddish : labrum concealed : Ire. B B. Two or three last segments of abdomen uncovered by elytra Carpophilus. A A. AntennailO-jointed; club solid; body elongated Rhizophagls. 60 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. [Fig. 22.] Ir.s FAPCIATl'S :— Lar va iiuil beetle— af- like a COlOll ter Packard. J}m' /((sciatus^ a sbiuing- black species, quarter of an inch long-, with two convspicuous, interrupted reddish bands a(!ross the elytra. Xitidula Mptistulata, a black- ish brown insect, with a yellow dot on the middle of each elytron, one-sixth of an inch long; and Omosita colon^ a little species one-tenth of an inch in length, brown, the elytra pale at the tips with two minute dots, ire the three most common species. Family XI. DERMESTID^. This family is founded upon the genus Denwesfes, of Linnaeus, a name IFig. 23.] Deumestes lakhakius, Linn.: derived from the Greek derma — a si- in, and esthio — to devour, and applied to these insects because some of the species are destructive to skins and furs, and other dried animal substances. They differ from the three precediug families in hav- ing the abdomen completely covered by the wing- cases; but they are more particularly d i s t i n - guished by having the sternum or breast-plate ad- vanced under the mouth like a chin-cloth; by their short and contractile legs and antennre, and by their coloration, which consists of light-colored -a, larva: b, one of the iTr-' spots ou a darker gTouud, the spots being pro- rwiSto-^En^^^^ duced by minute scales which can be rubbed off. The larvtB are rather hard, brown, active grubs, more or less clothed with stiff hairs, which usually form a long brush at the end of the body. Forty-nine N. American species have been described. A. No ocellus or eye-like spot on the front. Size ftom quarter to half an inch in length : Deumestes. A A. Frontal ocellus di.stinct ; less than quarter of an inch in length. B. Middle cox;c not widely separated Attagexus. B B. Middle coxa3 widely separated ; size very small Axthrexus. The Dermestes lardarius, Linn., so called because it is usually found ui)on refuse lard and bacon, is our most common species. It is an ob- long oval, black beetle, one-third of an inch in length, with a broad, brownish -yellow band across the middle of its body, and in the middle of this band a transverse row of black dots. Another species often found in houses, is the Attagenns 'peJlio, which, like the former, was originally an European insect, but which has now become distributed over the civilized world. It is two-tenths of an inch long, black with a white dot on the middle of each wing-cover, which is wanting in some specimens, having probably been rubbed off. The larvie destroy dried skins, furs and woolens, and are said even to gnaw LAND SCAVENGER-BEETLES, 01 linen anhus, Perty, a name expres- sive of the ferocious character of the species, contains but one X. A. species, L. ciiigulatus, Grav. It is of about the same size as the prece- dinji", of a grayish-brown coh)r, indistinctly spotted with black. The end of the abdomen has a golden luster. Twenty-one species of StlUtls. B B. llead attached by a very narrow neck, (except Talaminus) ; size small, length less than a quarter of an inch. D. Body of ordinary form, color Idackish. E. Head s(iuare behind LiTIIOCllAUIs. E E. Head naiTowed behind Snucis. D D. Body very elongate and slender; color wholly or partly yellow. r. Head oblong, obtuse, horizontal, pedunculate Si'NlL'8. F F. Head short, titinsverse, sessile Palamixus. The names Cryptohium and Lath rob ium are expressive of the concealed modefc of life of these insects under stones or dead leaves, or similar situations. The species of the former genus are usually more, and those of the latter less, than a third of an inch in length; but this rule has a few exceptions. The C. j)j/.sj7/jo//, Lee, is but two-tenths of an inch long, and on the other hand the L. yrande is four-tenths. 72 THE OKDEB OF COLEOPTERA. Cri/ptolnum, Maun., is most readily recognized by its strongly genicu- late or elbowed antenute,, the first joint being nearly as long as the three following oues united. This character, together with their oblong heads, and reddish coloration, give them a resemblance, as we have above re- marked, to Xantholinus, in a former section; and this affinity is in- creased by the bilobed labrum which occurs exceptionally' in this and the following genus. But in Cryptobium the siDecies are usually larger, and the autennjiB longer and more strongly elbowed, in addition to the clavate i^alpi. Pwderus, Grav., is at once recognized by the variegated colors as stated in the table. The species are few in number, but one of them, the P. Uttorarius, Grav., is common and widely distributed, being usually found under stones in wet places. The other genera have but three or four known species each. StiHcus, Latr., is distinguished by its head narrowed behind, and the ovoid thorax narrowed in front, so that the two parts are united by a mere point, giving to them the aspect of small ants. Palaminus testaceiis, Erichs., not quite two-tenths of an inch in length, and of a pale yellow color, is not uncommon. They attract attention by their very slender shape and their vermicular or snake-like motions. Sub-family STEXIDES. This sub-family is composed almost wholly of the genus Stenus of La- treille, a word meaning narroic, and expressive of their slender form. The species are less than a quarter of an inch in length, of a grayish- black color, and are at once distinguished from all other Staphylinidse by their large portuberant eyes, which cause the head to be considerably wider than the thorax. The antennte are small and widened at the tips ; the maxillary palpi long and club-shaped, with their first joint unusually elongated ; and the ligula or tongue is capable of being remarkably ex- tended. The species, are usually found running on mud, or in other wet situations. About two dozen species are enumerated in Dr. Leconte's catalogue — closely resembling each other and distinguished chiefiy by the sculpture of the surface. The 8. colon, Say, is distinguished by a yellow semilunar spot on the middle of each elytron. Sub-family ALEOCHAEIDES. This subfamily contains a numerous assemblage of small, or very small species, rarely attaining a quarter of an inch in length, and often being less than half that length, and ordinarily of obscure black or brownish colors. Their distinguishing characters are sufficiently stated in the table under the letters B B and F. The antennse are short, rather robust, usuallj- a little thickened at the end, and are inserted upon the front at the inner margin of the eyes. Their habits are A^arious, some being found under stones or fallen lea^'es, some in the fungi on trees, SHORT -WINGED SCAVENGER-BEETLES. 73 and a remarkably large proportion of theiu in ants' nests. The habit of raising tlie end of the abdomen whilst running, which is sometimes practiced by the larger Staphylini, is almost universal in this sub-family. A compilation of the descriptions of all the known Xorth American spe- cies of this group, amounting to eighty-one in number, is published by ]\Ir. James II. B. liland, in the fourth volume of the Proc. of the Ent. Soc. of Philadelphia. They are arranged in seventeen genera, many of whicli contain but one, two, or three species. The following six genera contain a very large proportion of them : A. llcad as wiilo as the thorax and attachoil to it by a distiuct nock FALAf;iiiA. A A. Head narrower than tliorax and partly inmierst-d in it. B. Thorax widely hollowed in front for the reception of the hood. Antennsc filiform and longer than to the end of the elytra Atemeles. B B. Thorax not hollowed in front. Antennae not nearly reaching the end of the elytra. C. All the tarsi five jointed; labial palpi four jointed; length an eighth of ;in inch or more: Ai.EOCHARA. C C. Anterior tarsi fonr jointed, the others five jointed ; length an eighth of an inch or less, n. Labial palpi three jointed; eyes depressed, finely granulated. Color black, or black and brown. E. Antenna- slender ; abdomen narrowed iii front Tachvusa. E E. Anteunie robust; abdomen not narrowed Homalota. 1) 1). Labial palpi two jointed ; eyes large, convex, coarsely granulated ; color black and light yellow G VKor II a;n A. The anomalous little genus Falagria, Mann, is placed in this sub-fam- ily b^' systematists on account of the i)osition of the antenna', and the exposed prothoracic spiracle, though it departs widely from it by its large pedunculated head. They are only about a tenth of an inch long, and of a reddish black color. Atemeles, Stephens, is of much larger size and still more anomalous, and indeed bears no resemblance to the fam- ily of Staphylinidai except in its shortened wing covers. One ]^orth American and three European species are all that are known. They inhabit ants' nests. Our species the A. cava, Lee, is nearly a quarter of an inch long, and one third part as broad, and wholly of a rust-red color. Ah'ocham, Grav., contains a few comparatively large sjiecies, being usually nearly or (juite two-tenths of an inch in length and of a broad oval form. Honialofa, Mann, contains a great number of small obscHie species, being mostly black, with the elytra often tinted with retldiJ^h brown. Tiie little genus (tijropJui'na, Mann, contains six »le- scribed X. A. species, none of which exceed one line or one-twelfth of an inch in length. The most common species are light yellow, with the head, a part of the elytra, and the tip of the abdomen black ; but some minute species are black varied with reddish-brown. The name Gyroph- ana comes from the Greek guros — a circle, and pliaino — to appear or rcM'm- hJe, and alludes to the habits of these little insects of carrying their abdomens forwards on their backs, and at the same time bending their heads luider their breasts, so as to resemble a little ball. -10 74 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. Sub-family TACHYPORIDES. In addition to the characters given in the table, we may add that the tibice are strongly beset with spines, which distinguishes them not only from the Aleocharides but from nearly all the species in the other sub- families except the Osytelides. The abdomen also is often bordered and terminated with divergent spines. The antennjie are inserted under the sides of the face, behind the mandibles, aild are generally slightly thickened towards the tip. They are considerably numerous, fifty-seven if. A. species having been described. A few of them are of medium size, but the great majority are considerably less than a quarter of an inch in length. They are usually shining black, with the elytra often tinted with dark red, rarely inclining to yellow, but this is a style of coloration which is very prevalent in the whole family of Staphylinidie. It has been observed that the S])ecies of this sub-family never turn their abdomens upwards, as is so generally done by the Aleocharides and some other Staphylinidie. They inhabit fungi, boleti, dung and other decayed matter. Some are found under dead bark. The following table exhibits the principal genera into which this group has been di- vided : A. Antennas eleven jointed ; tarsi five jointed ; size various. B. Elytra longer than the thorax, minutely and irregularly punctured. C. Abdomen with a narrow margin ; surface glabrous. D. Body obhmg, somewhat depressed, moderately tapering, maxillary palpi fllifoi-m ; length from one-eighth to more than a quarter of an inch Tachinus. D D. Body short, convex, abruptly tapering; maxillary palpi sometimes swollen, subulate or pointed at the end ; length less than an eighth of an inch Tachypokus. C C. Abdomen without a margin ; surface flnelj' pubescent, form conical, size small ...Coxosoma. B B. Elytra about as long as thorax ; smooth or with three rows of punctures. E. Maxillary palpi filiform ; length from an eighth to more than a third of an inch : BOLETOUIUS. E E. Maxillary palpi swollen, subulate at tip, size small Mycetopokus. A A. Antenna} ten jointed ; tarsi four jointed ; size extremely smaU nYPOCVPTUb Tachinus, Grav., meaning swift, and Boletohius, Leach, meaning liv- ing in holeti, contain, as ^seen by the table, all the larger species, but they vary much in size. Conosoma, Kraatz, contains but three species, about a tenth of an inch or a little more in length. They resemble Tachyporus in the convex conical shape of the body, but they are finely pubescent or silk^'^ on the surface, and the abdomen is rounded at the sides, without the narrow sharp margin which is common to all the other genera. Mycetoporus, Mann, is very closely allied to Boletobius, but the species are usually smaller, and more linear in their form. The names of the two genera mean essentially the same thing. Hypocyptus, Schup., contains the smallest species in the family of Staphylinida;, and some of the smallest in the order of Coleoptera, or in the class of insects, being about the twenty -fifth of an inch in length, and some of them not more than a fiftieth. The generic name is derived from the Greek hupo — SHORT-WINGED SCAVENGER-BEETLES. 75 under, and lupfos — henf, in allusion to their habit of IxMidinpj the head inider the body, which, together with their convex form, <,ave.s them the appearance of little globes or balls, much like the genus Agathidium referred to above in the family Anisotoinidim, and also like Gyrophtena in the preceding sub-family of Aleocharides, but in the last the eft'ect is produced in a different manner. The genus Coprojjorus, Kraatz, does not seem to be sufficiently distinct from Tachyporus, nor Byroporus from Boletobius, to render the formation of these genera necessary. Snb-fiimily OlIALIIDES. Founded upon the genus Omalium, Grav., from the Greek omalos — leiwl, on account of the comparatively broad and depressed form of most of the species. Their most essential character is the presence of two ocelli, resembling minute glass beads, on the back part of their heads — a character peculiar to this sub-family, with but two or three known ex- ceptions. But their most conspicuous character is the comparatively greater length of the elytra, which also has a few exceptions. The large depressed elytra give to some of these insects an obvious resemblance to the Nitiduliie, in the preceding tribe ; but in these only the tip of the abdomen is usually exposed, and their knobbed antennje at once distin- guish them from any of the Staphyliuidae. The species of the present sub-family are of obscure brown or yellowish colors, and small size, never attaining a quarter of an inch in length, and often being less than an eighth. Q'heir habits are various, some being found in wet places, under stones, or under decayed bark, whilst others are found on plants and tlowers, and Mr. Walsh bred some of them from fungi. Upwards of fifty X. A. species have been described, most of which are contained in the following genera : A. Maiuliblos tootheil ; lioad entirely froo ; thorax licart-shaped, narrow behind. B. Last joint of palpi thrco times as long as the preceding Lestbva. ]? 15. Last joint of palpi not elonpited Antiioiti agu8. A A. JIaiuliblos simple; head partly inserted ; thorax not narrowed behind. C. llind tarsi moderately elongated ; elytra covering the greater part of the abdomen ; tibie not spinous OLofHUii-M. C C. Hind tarsi short, the four first joints combined not longer than the fifth. D. Tibia^ finally .spinous; elytra covering about half of abdomen Omai-ivm. 1) D. Tibi;e not spinous; elytra almost or quite covering abdomen AN'niomuM. Anthophagus, Grav., scarcely differs generically from Lesteva, Lati. ; but their habits are different — the former being found on llowers, and the latter amongst wet herbage, near the water. They are easily dis- tinguished from all other Staphylinida^- by the heart-shaped thorax, which, together with the free head and prominent eyes, gives them a remarkable resemblance to some of the smaller Carabi(l;e. There is a small yellowish species in the Walsh cabinet, labeled '■'■Anthohinm pro- tectum, LeC, from Mass.," in which the abdomen is completely covered by the elytra. 76 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. Family XXIV. PSELAPHID^. This is a family of minute beetles, generally less than a tenth of an inch in length, and is founded ui^on the genus Pselaphus, of Ilerbst, a term derived from the Greek pseJcqjhus — to feel, in allusion to the greatly [Fig. 30.] developed palpi or feelers. They are found in the same situations as the Staphylinidte, and resemble them in the shortness of the elytra, which usually cover only about half of the abdomen. In their form, however, they are wholly different, being short thick-bodied beetles, with the abdo- men much larger than the thorax. The antenua3 are clavate or capitate, and the maxillary i^alpi are very long and cla- vate, often equalling the antennae in length. The tarsi are PsELAPHus:—!, apparently two-jointed, but really three-jointed, the first beetle ; 2, maxilla- . , . ,, t -, /^ i i i o. i ry palpus ; 3, tar- joiut Dcing vcry Small. Like some of the larger otapliy- sus, showing rai- ,, . i . , . nute basal articn- linid?e, thesc vcry Small insects are predaceous in their lation, all matriiiti- , . . *" • -, ■, • • ^ ed— after AVestw. habits, subsistiug iipou acari and other mmute animals. Some of them are found in ants' nests. A synopsis of the Pselaphidae of the United States is given by Dr. E. Brendel, in the sixth volume of the Proceedings of the Ent. Soc of Philadelphia, where eighty species are briefly described. Fourth Sub-section. f'ECTIlVICOIlJNTES. Antenna; pectinate or comb-toothed ; subsist mostly upon the sap of trees. Tribe VI. STAG-BEETLES. This sub-division and tribe are composed of the single family of Lu- canid* or Stag-beetles, distinguished by their pectinate or comb-toothed autenuie, which are also strongly geniculate or elbowed ; by the project- ing mandibles, which, in the males, are often enormously developed and branched, from which these insects have received their common name of Stag-beetles ; and by their size, which is never below the medium, and is generally large or very large, some species being upwards of two inches in length, including the mandibles. These insects are closely allied to the Lamellicorn beetles which fol- low, and are considered by many authors as holding the rank of only a subdivision or family of the latter. Most modern authors, however, treat them separately. The principal differences may be expressed as follows : Pectinieornes. Antennae elbowed, the club composed of fixed trans- verse teeth. Mandibles of the males often greatly developed. The ner- vous ganglia distributed through the abdomen as well as the thorax. LarviB without transverse wrinkles upon the segments ; anal opening lengthwise. STAG-BEETLES. 77 LameUicorncs. Anteiintc not elbowed, the club composed of inovojiblo plates. Maudibles of the males not remarkably developed. Xervous ganglia consolidated in the thorax. Larvae with transverse wrinkles npon the sej^ments. Anal opening crosswise, except in the subfamily of Passalidcs. We have the more readily adopted this separate classification of these insects as it enables us to discard the discordant element of Lucaiiid;e from the otherwise comparatively homogeneous group of lamellicorn beetles, with neither of the two great tribes of which can they be made to harmonize. Family XXV. LUCANID.E. [Fig. 31.1 ,,(:?=-^«=>V LucANAS DAJLv, Fabr.: — larviraml cocoon-after Tack' The characters of this family have been given above sufficiently for their LICA.MSDAMA, Fabr.:-aftcri'ackani. recognition. Notwithstanding their conspicuous size, but little is known of the habits of the perfect insects. The few observations on record go to show that their ordinary food con- sists of honey dew, or the exudations of the leaves and bark of trees, which last they are said to pierce with their pincer-like mandibles, but the force wuth which these organs are brought together does not seem to bo sufficient for this purpose. They have been known to feed readily, in con- finement, upon moistened sugar. Thelarvaj are found in rotton wood, and some of them have been known to bore into the solid roots of trees. But in this country they have never been known to be seriously injurious. A. Ligula elongated and attached to the anterior face of the mentum; antenna} usuallj'- elbowed ; first joint nearl\- or quite as long as all the others united ; abdomen moderately pedunculated; scutellum normal and distinct. B. Body moderately convex; head unarmed, and in the males nearly or rjuite as wide as the thorax ; club of antennae 4-j()inted with the first joint small. C. Antenna^ geniculate or elbowed; anterior coxte approximate. D. Mandibles pointed; eyes notched by the margin of the head. E. Elytra smooth, slightly cui'ved at the sides; size very large. . .Lucvirus. E E. Elytra striate and ijunctate ; sides parallel ; size above medium. Doners . D D. Mandibles thickened, obtuse, and many toothed at the end ; eyes scarcely notched ; size medium Piatyceuus. 78 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. c c. Anteuiipe not geniculate; anterior coxas contiguous; size medium. Ceruchus . B B. A A. [Fig 33] Body cylindrical ; head much narrower than the thorax, and prolonged into a horn in the male, and tubercled in the female ; size medium. SiNODENDRON. Ligula broad, and filling the quadrangular notch of the mentum; antennsE not elbowed, first joint moderate; scutellum broad but indistinct, situated on the iDcduncle; elytra parallel and deeply furrowed. Size very large. Passaltjs . Lucanus contains three I^. American species ; the L. elapJins, a South- ern species, the male varying in length from one and a half to more than two inches, with large branching mandibles, larger than the head and thorax ; L. dama, our common innching beetle, of a mahogany-brown \ color, and from an inch to an inch and a half long; and the L. placidus, an inch long, al- most black, with the tooth of the mandibles bifid at the tip. JDorcus has but one generally Passalus coj^NUTUS:— a, larva; 6, pnpa; c, beetle; d, kuOWn SpCCicS, the JXiraUcJuS, underside of .thoracic ioints, showine; atrophied hind leg • ■, -, ^ ^ of larva ; c, same eulaiged— after Kiley. of Say, brOWUlSh-blaCK, and eight or nine- tenths of an inch in length. The Platy cents quercus, four- tenths of an inch long, of a brownish-black color, is a widely distributed, but nowhere a common species. CerucJius piceus, dark brown, and half an inch long, is occasionally found in considerable numbers in rotten wood. Sinodendron is not known east of the Eocky Mountains. Fas- salus cornutus, a large, oblong, depressed beetle, an inch and a quarter long, of a shining black color, sometimes with a dark-reddish tint, and with a short horn bent forwards, on the top of the head, is not an un- common insect about the roots of decayed stumps and other similar situations. The genus Passalus contains many species, most of which inhabit S. America, but the P. cornutus is the only species found in the United States. Meaning of generic terms : Lncanns — the stag, alluding to the large branching mandibles of some of the males. Dorctis — the antelope. The males of some foreign species have large toothed mandibles. Platycerus — having wide antennae. Ceruchus — bearing a horn. Sinodendron — injuring trees. Passalus — a 2)ost or peg, referring to the horn on the head of some species. STAG-BEETLES. 79 Fifth Sub-scction, L^-VlMKLLICOIilVJES. Autcnna' lamellate. Habits of the two tribes dilVerent. Tliis is the extensive and natural group of Coleopterous insects, gen- erally known bv their scientitic name of Lamellicornos, or Lamellicorn- beotles, and so called Iroiii the peculiar construction of their antenna', which terminate in a club formed of moveable plates or leaves, which, with a few exceptions, are three in number. In some of the insects of the Clavicoru division, the club of the antenna is also coini)()sed of thin flat joints, constituting what is known as the perfoliate antenna, but here the axis of the antenna passes through the plates, which are im- movable ; but in the lamellate antenna, the plates are attached to the axis by only one of their sides, which leaves them free to open and shut like the leaves of a book. These plates are sometimes thin and similar; sometimes the tirst is thick and hollowed out to receive the other two, and sometimes the two outer ones are thickened and enclose the inter- mediate one. In the dead si)ecimen these plates are generally closed together. One of the most conspicuous and invariable characters of the family is the form of the anterior tibiie which are constructed for dig- ging in the ground, being broad and compressed, and strongly toothed and scalloped on their outer edge. The larva? are white, six-footed grubs, some of which are found in manure and others in rotten wood. A few of the larger species have been seriously injurious, both in Europe and in this country, by feeding ui)on the roots of grasses and other plants. They are usually seen lying ui)on one side in a curved position. Tliey are gross feeders, and the hinder part of their bodies is usually tilled with black excrementitious matter, which is partially visible through the semi-transparent walls of the abdomen. The common ichite grub, which is the larva of the May -beetle, is a familiar exam})le of these larviie. With respect to their food habits these insects are divided into two large, somewhat equal, and well marked tribes. They were all included by Linnauis in his genus Scarabaius. Tribe 1st (or 7th of the whole series), Excrcmcnfirora. Elytra (exce[>t in the first family), covering the whole of the abdomen. Legs stout, tlie hind legs set far back, behiml the middle of the hind-body. Live upon j)utrescent or decomposing matters, chiefly the excrement of animals. Families : Coprida?, Aphodiida?, Geotrupidai and Trogida^. Tribe 2d (or .Stli), Ilcrbirora. Tip of the abdomen always exposed. Legs (except in the Dynastida') rather slender, and with the hind legs attached at or before the middle of the hind body. Live upon fresh vegetable food, either leaves or flowers. Families : Dynastidic, Kutelidie, Melolouthidte and Cetoniidte. 80 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. Tribe VII. LAMELLICOEi^ DUNG-BEETLES. Excrementivora lamellicornia. Saprophaga, MacLeay. These beetles, as tlieir name implies, are found almost exclusively in the dung of animals, mostly that of horses and cows, upon which they feed, and the decomposition of which they hasten, and thus constitute an important wing of the great army of useful insect scavengers. The tribe is composed of the four following families : A. End of tlie abdomen exposed. Middle legs wider apart than the others ; hind tibite with a single spur; antenuse 8 or 9-jointed; size various Coprid^. A A. Abdomen wholly covered by elytra. Middle legs not wider apart than the others; hind tibiae with two spurs; antennie 9 to 11-jointed. B. Abdomen with six venti-al segments. Anterior thighs not dilated. C. Antennae 9-jointed. Body almost cylindrical ; size small ApnODiiDiE. C C. Antennae 11-jointed. Mandibles robust and exposed; body oval or roun- ded ; size various GEOTRUPiDiE. B B. Abdomen with five ventral segments. Anterior thighs greatly dilated ; body rough ; size small to medium TKOGiDiE . Sub-family XXVI. COPRID^. This family contains the lar- gest species in this tribe of Lamellicorns, the Copris Caro- lina being upwards of an inch in length, two-thirds of an inch in width, and half an inch in thickness. But it also con- tains small species. Tlie Ohw- ridium capistratimi, a shining, mahogany-brown insect, is scarcely a quarter of an inch in length, and some of the Onthophagi are still smaller. Many of the males have a horn or tubercle on the top of the head. In this division is the common tumble-dung beetle, CoprisCarouna, Linu.:— (I, larval; fc, a section of tlio (<7a«i/r07l loivis^ Drury. ) A hollow excremontitioue ball in which tho insect iiurtcrgoes • i? j.i • i. • rt. ita transformations ; c, pujia of C. makginatck (from De- pair Ot thCSC inSCCtS IS OltCn haan) : d, lenialp boctlfi : c, tho siyiraclc, or breathing poro of , . . j. i Lijva;/, tho manlCORN DUNO-IJEETLKS. 81 ill wliidi to bury it. Mr. Riloy informs me that the coiniuon notion tliat the egg is rolled up in the center of this ball is an erroneous one, and that the egg is in reality deposited in a cavity at one side, made for the purpose after the ball is sunk. The young feed upon the half decomposed matter of whicii the ball is composr.se and dcpre.ssed. Size Dmall ; color brown ClM'.KinilTM, 3. C C. Anterior eoxii- large, conical and luoinini'Ut. Size large or medium ; color black or metallic: Conu.-*, 10. 1! B. Labial j)alpi ^jointed. Anterior coxiv laige and conical ; size small ; color black: Ontuopiiagls, 10. Family XXVIT. APHODIID.^. These are small beetles found in great abundance in the fresh ma- nure of horses and cows, into which they burrow almost as soon as dropped from the animals. They never much exceed a (piarter of an inch in length, and are usually black, but sometimes with red or brown elytra. Nearly a hundred N. A. species have been described, and divi- ded into a number of sub-genera, but they may all be included in the genus Aphodius of llliger. The following are among our most common species: The A. /imetariun, Fab., nearly three-tenths of an inch long; head and thorax shining black, and elytra red ; the A. ohlongus^ Say, is equally long, rather more slender, and wholly black; the A. terminalis is less than two-tenths of an inch long, black with the tip of the elytra and legs reddish ; the ..1. scrval, Say, is of tlie same size, black, with the elytra dirty white, with three sub-quadrate black spots and a lateral double or beetle; 2, an triple irregular interrupted black stripe on each. feiina— after i o x jr Westwood. Family XXVIIT. GEOTRUPID.E. These are distinguished from the two preceding families by their ro- bust horny mandibles which project visibly beyond the ui)per lip. Their average size is above medium, but the IJolboceri fall considerably below it. The (ieotrupes (more correctly spelled (Jeotrypes) are very common insects, found under cow-dung in pastures, often burrowing into the ground beneath. —11 82 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. The following are the two principal genera : A. Club of autcnuiu small witli the plates of equal thickness ; size medium or above : color dark me- tallic {jieen or purple, sometimes black Geotuyi-ks, 7. A A. Club of antennm large and compact with the plates of unequal thickness ; size below medium ; <'olor brown BousocEitus, 3. The G. splendidus, Fab., is our most common species, usually about seven-tenths of an inch long, but varying considerably in size, and varying also in color from dark metallic green to purple. G. excrementi, Say, is a little more than five-tenths of an inch in length, and of a bronze-black color. G. opaciis, Hald., is of a dee^) black color, and varies in length from a little below to a little above half an inch ; it is much rarer than the other two species. The elytra are not furrowed like the others, but only marked with lines of minute punctures. The Bolbo- beetie; '2,"mandi. cerws farctus, Pauzcr, is half an inch long, brownish-yel- blew : '■i, antenna, .,,,.-, • n,ivi j.i i.i showing the large low, With the hind margin of the thorax, the sutural il'oso°ciub'',"'a^idliiie, and the broad tips of the elytra black. B. Lazarm^ joint is eLased in Panzer, Is four-tcuths of an inch long, and wholly of a after westmwiT mahogany-brown color. B. Jilicornis, Say, three-tenths of an inch long, of the same color as the last, and distinguished by a slender horn on the top of the head of the males, whilst the others have only tubercles. The last species has been separated from the others under the generic name of Odonfceus. It is also distinguished by ha\ing the eyes completely divided by the lateral margins of the head. Family XXIX. TROGID^. These insects are readily distinguished by their coarsely pitted thorax and ridged elytra. The other characters given in the foregoing table [ Fig. 37. ] are also very distinctive. They vary in size from more than a half to less than a quarter of an inch in length, t n u B^m""] u ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^ uniform slateblacl:, or i//#^^^*«k^ brownish-black color. Their habits *« K ^'^apr K are but little known, but they are iisu- «' "^ ally found in sandy situatiojis, and tkox PUSTULATU8, LeC.:-a, larva: 6, pupa; c, sometimes u])on the carcasscs of eds, being, as a general rule, the most bulky of coleopte- rous insects, and exclusively vegetable feeders. They generally feed, when in the beetle state, upon the leaves of trees, but many of the smaller species devour the petals and pollen of llowers. The Anli<(h(, Latr., forms a coniiectin"; link lietweoii this laniily and the liu- teliihe, all the species being of medium size, of a lijj^ht-yellowish cohn', and with the head and thorax wholly unarmed. In its neneral aspeet, therefore, it resembles the latterj but it wants the ine(iuality of the tarsal claws, widch is the most distinctive character of the Kutelida-, whilst the clypeus is almost consobMated with the front, and thelabruin is hidilen beneath it as in the Dynastiihe. Family XXA'I. MELOLONTHID^. This is much the most numerous family of [jamellicorns in the Morth American fauna. They can be easily <^stiii<;uished, for the most part, J, ^ |i'"i;:-3'>.| 1,,^- tiieir oblonj^-, somewhat cylindrical form, their n n i - formly brown color, and by the hooks of the tarsi, whicli are of equal lenjrth, and bifid or forked at the e.vtrennty. The genus .Melolontha proper, (Polyphylla, ITarris,) dillers from all our other Lamelli- corns in having seven leafets in the club of the antenine of ^ the males, and five in those of #. the females, whilst almost all liamellicorns have but three iMivi.i.oi'iiACA (LAfiiNnsiKUNv) iirscA, FnM : .|iKitciNA, in botli scxcs. They also dif- ICii.: — I. iniii!! ill its eiirtlicn fpll ; 3, larva : H. 4, IxH'tle, ,. „ ,... ,. .i • •, n i, , si.i.aiMi iKi'k vi.vv-aii.r Kiiey. '1*1 troui the majority of Melo- lonthides in being ornamented with spots or stripes which are produced by prostrate white hairs. The s[)e(;ies of the genus Ih)plia are also vju'icgated with patches of minute white scales; and JMacrodactylus, with scales of an ochreous i^olor. The bifid tips of the hooks at tftend of the tarsi can be easily seen with a simple lens, and furnish one of the most distinctive characters of this sub family. The tarsal hooks of lloplia, however, are anomalous. The bind feet have but a single hook which is generally entire ; in the four anterior feet the hooks arc double as usual, but unecpnd, the outer one being larger ami bifid at the tips. This genus is also peculiar in having but one spur at the end of the tibia>. The remarkable genus lAchnanthe is regarded by some as forming the type of a distinct subfamily. 86 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. The followiug- table shows the principal N. American genera of Melo- lonthides, east of the Eocky Mountains : A. Elytra narrowed and sometimes separate at their tips ; tarsal claws equal and simple ; whole hody, except elytra, covered with long dense haira LicH-N.vsthe, 4. A A. Elytra not dehiscent ; some or all of the tarsal claws bitid ; body not conspicuously hairy. K. TibiiP with one spur, and hind tarsi with a single entire claw Hoi'Li.v, 11. B B. Tibiif with two spurs ; all the tai-si with two bifid claws. C. Club of antennte with seven leafets in the male and six in the female ; body spotted or stri- l)('d with short, prostrate, whitish hairs I'oLyi'HYLLA, 7. C C. Club of antenna' with 3 leafets ; color generally uniform. D. Claws chelate or capable of being folded down ujion the last tarsal Joint, minutely cleft at the end, the teeth lying side by side; body parallel and dejiressed.. .Dkiielonvcii.4, 14. D D. Claws not chelate, strongly bifid, one tooth above the other; body convex. E. Anterior coxiv not prominent ; ventral segments soldered together with their sutures indistinct ; medium or large insects, usually more than half an inch in length : 9 PHYLL01'II.\(;.\, 66. E E. Anterior cosie elongated and prominent; ventral segments distinct; small species; le.ss than half an inch in J^gth. E. Body densely clothed wi^Fochreous scales ; tarsi very long I^Eacuodactviais, 3. E F. Body usually clothed with a fine silken pubescense; ventral segments six; hind coxa) very broad Skrica, 16. E F r. Body naked; glabrous; ventral segments five; hind coxa' normal : I)ii-lotaxi.s, 39. Lk'hnanthe rulpina, ITeutz, is a little more than half an inch long, and is at once distinguished by its elytra being narrowed and separated at their ends, and by the body being densely clothed with long rust- yellow hairs. It is quite a rare insect. The L. liipma, LeConte, found on the Atlantic coast, is much smaller tlian the above, and less densely clothed with cinereous hairs. The ely- tra in this species do not separate at the tip. The iroplia frifasciata, Say, is about a third of an inch long, reddish brown, and more or less covered with whitish scales, which are so ar- ranged on the elytra as to form three imperfect transverse bands. //. iH(>(Irsf<(, llahl., is smaller and paler, and the clothing of the elytra resembles hairs more than scales. The other species are more rare, and several of them inhabit California. Two species of Polyphylla are found in the Eastern States : P. occidentalism Linn., in the Southern At- " laiitic States — often more than an inch in length, with the white down on^lie elytra arranged in regular stripes ; and, P. variolosa, Uentz, Ibund in the Middle States, and as far North as Massachusetts — less thau an inch in length, and haAing the elytra irregularly spotted in- stead of striped. The club of the antenuie is much longer in the males than in the females, a character not peculiar, however, to this genus. J)ichelo>iycha, Kirby, is composed of a considerable number of small, elongated, depressed species, usually having the elytra more or less tinted with brassy-green, and often requiring a close examination to distinguish one species from another. Our two common species are the cloiKjata, Fab., and the linearis of Gyllenhal. They differ slightly in LEAP-CHAFERS. 87 color and in the form of the thorax j but as these (jliaracters are varia- ble ill both species, it would, perhaps, be more correct to regard them Old}' as varieties. The g^enus rhyUophufia^ Harris, {Laclnwsferna, Hope,) is very numer- ous in species, many of which, liowever, bear a close resemblance to each other. It is emi)hatically, but not exclusively, a North American <;enus, (!G of the IKJ known species bein*j' found in this country. Tlicy ma> be divided into live groups, accoi«iiug to the dotliing of the body. In the first and most numerous group, of which the common May-beetle, /*. fusca, may be taken as the ty])e, the upper side is smooth and sinn- ing. The second group contains but one species, the P. lanerolain. Say, found mostly west of the INIississippi river, and remarkable for having the body ch)thed with snnill lance-shaped cinereous scales. In the third grjuip the body is more or less clothed above with soft erect hairs. 'J'wo spec'ies of this grou]) are common in some localities, the P. hlrtindu, Knoch, and the L. Georgicana, of Gyllenhal. In the former the hairs on the elytra are an-anged mostly in three rows, whilst in the latter they are eipially distributed. The fourth group contains a small num- ber of large species, in which the whole upi)er surface is densely clothed with short lu'ostrate hairs or down. The P. ilicis, Knoch, is the tyjx' of this group. The (ifth group is composed of comparatively small si)e- cies, about half an inch in length, of a pale color, partly smooth above, but with the thorax and base of the elytra densely clothed with long hairs. The P. tri.siis, Fab., the same as the P. pihsicolUs^ Knoch, the type of this group, is not uncommon. One other species is found in Texas. There is also a number of small ])ale s]>ecies, half an inch or less in length, with the body glabrous, which might constitute a sixth group. The P. loiigitarsis, Say, is the type of this group, remarkable, as its name iniplies, for the length of the tarsi. Itnuistbe remarked that all the species of this genus are densely hairy on the under side of the breast, as indicated by the generic term Ijdihnosterna, of Hope. The common llose-bug, {M. s)(hs])iuo}ius, Fab.) is the tyj)e of the genus Mdcnxldctylusy Latr., a word nuMiiing long tarsii.s. The Kose-bug is ix'- tween three and a half and four-tenths of an inch in length, covered all over with minute ochre-yellow scale like hairs, which are not distinctly visible without the aid of a magnifter. The thorax is also somewhat densely clothed with short upright hairs. A specimen fr<»m Georgia, with the hairs more conspicuous, has been described by Dr. [jcC^onte under the mime setiilosus. Another species, the angustatus, I'al. de Beauv., found iu the Southern States, is distinguished l>y its longer thorax, and the absence of the erect hairs. The genus is exclusively H8 THE OKDER OP OOLEOrTERA. American, but most of the species are found soutli of the Gulf of Mexico. The genus Serica is distinguished by the soft silken pubescence with which the body is covered, and which is beautifully iridescent, that is, reflecting the colors of the rainbow. Where this character is deficient, as it is in a few species, they can be readily determined by the remark- able widening of the hind coxie, which form a broad idate covering the base of the abdomen, and which are at least as wide as any two ab- dominal segments. The ground color is dark reddisli -brown, or almost black. We have three rather common s]»ecios : the i8. sc'Hcm,. I Hi ger, between three and four tenths of an inch in length, of a dark purple tint; the S. iricolor^ Say, scarcely three-ten tlis of an inch long, almost black, and distinguished by the erect hairs with which the thorax is clothed ; and the S. vespertina^ Sch., of the same size as the sericen, but destitute of the iridescent pubescence. Diplotaxis, Kirby, contains a large nnml^er of small species, from three to five-tenths of an inch long, and of a reddish l)rowu or black color, and often closely resembling each other. They reseml)le the genus serica in general appearance, but are distinguished by the hind C0X8B not being unusually dilated, and the want of pubescence ; one species, however, the sordiila, Say, forms a connecting link, in this re- spect, by being clothed with erect hairs. Family XXXII. RUTELID^. Pkijdxota i-r n( /, ley;; d, tip »>!' iilxloinen ; h, jtujia, iu its cell, tlio walls The most distinctive charac- ters of the Kutelides arc their unequal tarsal claws, and their usually fine or brilliant colors. But our most common species, the Anomahi', though glabrous, are not brilliant, and might be inistaken for MclolonthiC ; but the unequal and uncleft poste- rior claws readily distinguish them. Most of the insects of this sub-family are tropical. IS^ine- teen N. A. species are known, more than iialf of which belong to the uenus Anomala. This >iV wliich' are composed of particles of wood and excre- i £. • ■ .-i^ ^i i^rp/.p/liniT iiient ; c, beetle— after Eiley. {sUU-iamJi;> , ilKt} lue IJieVvCUJiio LEAP-CHAPEES. 89 one, contains a number of species which are seriously injiirions to the horticulturist by tlevouring the leaves of both ornamental and fruit trees, and especially those of the grape vine. The table of genera is as follows : A. Elytra with a very iiaiTow inoiiiliraneous margin. One of the anterior am) middle claw8 cleft. Size below mediiini. B. Elytra stronjjly finrowed, with a small notch at biwe. Thorax impresseil, and hairy: Strigoderma, 2 B B. Elylra puacto-striate, and without notch. Thorax plain, and nearly or quite hairless: Ano.mala, 10 A A. Elytra without membrane. Claw.s all simple. Size above medium. C Clypeus separated from the front by a distinct suture COTALPA, 5 C C. Clypeu.s not distinct from the front Pelio.nota, 2 The StriginUnna arboricola, Fab., is four-tenths of an inch long; head, disk of thorax, and tip of abdomen blackish ; elytra and broad margin of thorax yellowish-l)rown. We have two common species of Anomala, the varians and the Inci- cola, of Fabricius, which have been much confounded by authors. Ac- cording to the diagnosis of Burmeister, probably founded, as Ur. Le-' Conte suggests, upon the Fabrician types, the species so common on grape vines at the West, having the elytra faintly striate, and si)otted with black so as to form two imperfect bands, and with the mesosternum only slightly carinate, is the true r«rm/<« of Fabricius, whilst the lucicola has deeply striate elytra without bands, and the mesosternum strongly l)rotuberant. JUit the lucicola usually has the vertex and di.sc of the thorax black, and individuals of both species sometimes occur which are wholly black. The type of the genus Cotalpa is the common goldsmith beetle, Co- talpa lanigera, of Linnwus. The Peliilnota punctata^ Linn., (Fig. 40) is also a large and common si)ecies, found feeding upon the leaves of the grape vine. It is nearly an inch long, of a bay color, with three black spots on each wing-cover. Its larva, as Mr. Riley has ascertained, feeds on the decaying roots and stumps of various trees. Family XXXIII. CETONIID^. [Fig. 41.1 Gymxetis (A1.1.OKHIXA) NiTiDA. Linn.:— «. larva: b. pupn ; c. male beetle; rf. e, /, «7, mandible, an- teujia, leg and maxillary palpus of larva — after Riley. —12 90 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. In addition to the characters given in the table of families, the Ceto- niidjB are distinguished by being somewhat flattened, or nearly level on the back, whilst the Lamellicorns generally are regularly convex ; the elytra are a little narrower at the tip than at the base, and in the Cetoniides proper the side pieces of the mesothorax are continued up- wards, so as to form a little piece which is easily seen at the shoulders, between the thorax and the elytra. The scutellum is longer than it is broad, and almost always triangular and pointed, whilst in both the Melolonthides and Eutelides it is as broad as it is long, and rounded behind. The Cetoniides proper are one of the most splendid groups of Coleopterous insects, and some of the tropical species vie in magnitude with the Dynastides. Indeed the GoUathus giganteus, of Lamark, from the west coast of Africa, is x>robably the largest Coleopterous insect known, being upwards of four inches in length, and two inches in breadth. The Cetonioe do not raise their elytra in flying like other bee- tles, but spread their wings out laterally from beneath them, the elytra being a little hollowed behind the shoulders, to facilitate the operation. These are pre-eminently flower-beetles, and the mouth organs are fur- nished with a brush of hairs with which they collect the pollen. Many of the Cetonine dififer in their habits from the majoi'ity of herbivorous Lamellicorns, by being actively diurnal, being often seen feeding upon pollen, and flying from flower to flower, in the heat of the day. We have in N. America eighteen sjiecies of Cetoniides proper, and twenty species belonging to the aberrant genera. Our species of Cetoniides form six genera, which are very unlike in color and general appearance. A. Side pieces of the mesothorax visible above ; thorax somewhat triangular or trapezoidal, aud nearly as wide at base as the elytra. Cetoniides proper. B. Thorax with a lobe behind representing and covering the scutellum GrMNETis, 2 B B. ScuteUum distinct Euiuomia, 14 A A. Side pieces scarcely or not visible above ; thorax roundish or square, and decidedly' narrower than the elytra. C Body almost naked ; color black. D. Thorax squaT'e, with prominent angles. Clypeus turned up in front. Size medium : CliEMASTOCIlILUS, 13 D D. Thoi-ax joundish, with obtuse angles. Clypeus pl.iuo. Size very large : OSMODKKMA, 3 C C Body densely clothed with hairs or scales; colors various. E. Hind coxiB contiguous. Body hairy ; colors variegated Ttticmus, 5 E E. Hind coxre wide apart. Body covered with minute .scales ; ground color dark brown : Valgus, 3 The iJymnetu nitida, Linn., (Fig. 41) is a beautiful velvetty- green bee- tle, three-quarters of an inch long, the bodies margined all around with orange-yellow, found throughout the Eastern States. Its larva has been found by Mr. l?iley feeding on strawberry roots, and when out of the ground crawls with ease on its back. Tlie Uuryomia fulgida, Fab., is a glossy green species, two-thirds of an inch longj the elytra tinted with LEAP-CHAFERS. 91 l);ile bronze, and with an irregular number of minute white i)oint.s and four hirge white s])ots on the tip of the abdomen. Jt is found on llowerinji- sluubs, and is not uncommon at the west. The l^ur. Inda, Linn., is our most common species of Cetonia. It varies in length from half to two- thirds of an inch; it is of a yellowish-brown color, the elytra s[)rinkled all over with small irregular black spots. It is sometimes troublesome by burrowing into ripe fruit, ami also by feeding upon sweet corn in the milk, riic larvae, probably, like those of other known species, li\'e in rotten wood, as the perfect insects are often seen tlying over chip-yards, probably in search of a convenient nidus for theii- eggs. The E. mclan- vholica is a much smaller species, almost black, with irregular transverse white lines on the elytra. CnmasforJiilus, Knoch, contains a considerable number of rather rare si»e(;ios, half an inch or a little less in length, of a deep black color, sometimes with a few small white marks on the elytra. The mouth is l>eculiarly constructed. The clypeus or anterior margin of the hevid is thickene»l, and turned up, and the nuMitum is nuu;h enlarged, project- ing forward so as to almost close the oral cavity, and its sides hang down like two curtains, which suggested the generic name, which means luuKjinij lip. They have been found under stones beneath which were ants' nests ; but their natural history is imjierfectly known. (hmoilcrma contains three American and one European species. I'he (). eremk-ola^ Knoch, is upwards of an inch in length, black, with a faint chestnut tint, and with a smooth shining surface. The 0. scabra, V. de 13., is an inch long, black, the elytra being rough, with irregular, coarsely punctured striie. Tyiehius, Fab., is composed of a number of closely allied species or varieties, the type of which is the T. lunulafus^ Fab., a very common and pretty insect, oft«n seen upon llowers in our gardens, basking in the hot sunshine, but readily taking to flight. It is a little less than four- tenths of an inch in length ; the thorax dark brassy green, the elytra more or less reddish on the disc, widely bor- dered with black, and with two transverse white marks on the side of each elytron. The under side is densely hairy. \'((h/iis contains three small brown species, densely covered with mi- luite whitish scales. They are easily distinguished by their distant i)os- terior coxa', and their much shortened elytra. Sixth Sub-section. WKRKICOPINKS. Antenna; serrate or saw-toothed. Food-habits various. This sub-section of beetles with five-jointed feet is primarily distin- guished, as its na^ie implies, by the serrate or saw-toothed character of tiie antenna\ The serrate antenna is similar to the filiform in being- slender, and usually of the same width throughout j but diflers from it iu 92 THE ORDER OF, COLEOPTERA. having each joint project more or less inwards, that is, towards the anten- nae of the opposite side, so as to give it a saw-toothed appearance; and this projection sometimes extends so far as to form what is called the pectinate or comb-toothed antenna ; and when these processes are nearly as long as the antenna itself, they form what is called the flahellate, or branched antenna. But in many of the insects which are naturally classed in this sub-section this character of the antennse is either wholly wanting, or so slightly developed that it can be scarcely distinguished from the fili- form, and therefore it canuot be relied upon by the student without the aid of other characters. The only other insects of the pentamerous section, however, with which they could be confounded are the Filicornes proper of the first subsection, comprising the predaceous Ground-beetles, Ciciudelidce and Carabidse, and the predaceous Water-beetles or Dytis- cidse. From the latter they are distinguished, not only by the want of any general resemblance, but more definitely by their legs not being- fitted for swimming. And the ground beetles are distinguished by hav- ing apparently six palpi, and more conspicuously by their large egg- shaped posterior trochanters. The Serricornes, as a whole, do not constitute a natural division, being composed of two very dissimilar tribes, viz : the saw-horned wood-beetles, comprising the families Buprestid^e and Elaterida^, and the soft-winged carnivorous beetles, Lampyrid.e, Telephorida', etc.; and in addition to these a number of small groups (Ptinidte, Lymexyloiiidte, Ehipiceridee and Cupesidse,) which do not strictly belong to either of the leading tribes, but which are usually classed with one or the other to avoid the creation of a great number of primary grouj^s.* In accord- ance with our plan of classifying insects, as nearly as possible, accord- lug to their habits and the nature of their food, and at the same time leaving the two large and natural tribes just referred to undisturbed by discordant elements, we have adopted the expedient of throwing to- gether a number of these small and heterogeneous families, under the title of Aberrant Wood-beetles. Thus arranged the Serricorn Coleoptera will form three tribes, which may be designated as follows: 1st Tribe. Saw-horned ivood-heetles. Sternoxi, Latreille. Head in- serted in the thorax as far as the eyes. Antenna^ serrate or filiform. Pro-sternum advanced in front, and also prolonged behind into a point which is received into a cavity of the meso-sternum. Body elongate, or elliptical, moderately convex, and of a very hard consistency. Legs short and retractile. Anterior and middle coxae small and globulus. Families : Buprestidaj, Elateridae and Oebrionidae. * " The creation of new families is a measure which should not be resorted to except at the last ex. tremitv."— Lacoi!Daii!E, Genera d(?8 Col., IV, 258. SAW-HORNED WOOD BEETLES. 93 2(1 Tribe. Aberrant icood-beefles. Xyloteogi partly, Latreille. Body short, with the head bent uuder the thorax, or elougate, with the heail tVeo. AiiteiiiiJi' various. I'^imilics : Ptiiiidii', Lyiiu'xvlouida', Ivhii»i('e- ridii' and (.'ui)esi(h«'. .'5(1 Tribe. Soft-ichuied prnhiccous hertlrs. MalacodeK3J1, Latreille. Head free, but often jtartly or wholly <'«)vered by the thin anterior mar- gin of tiie thorax. Antennie serrate or tilifonu. Botly more or less elongated, and depressed, soft, and with flexible elytra. Anterior coxte conical and prominent, with large troeliautius.* Families: Lampyridte, Telephoridie, Melyrida^, Clerithe, Dascyllidae. Tribe TX. SAW HORNED WOOD BEETLES. Lignivora serricornid. Steknoxi, Latreille. The teim Sternoxi, meaning shnrp-hrcastefl^ given to these insects by Latreille, refers to their most eeii found in the Noithern States. They comprise the three following families : A. liody very lirm ; prosternal jioiut elougated; alulomcn willi live st'irinonts. 15. Prosteiuiil i)oint imm"'^^^^^^^^^ somctinu's Wanting. Tho. ISuprestida^ are Xerifie'-^''"^'''' '''^'"'tio-pj.g.,.,„j^,<.,^l^ly a tropical family, and in those tor- rid regions they attain a large size, and reflect the light from their pol- ished bodies with an almost dazzling brilliancy. The larVfC present two very distinct forms. The usual form is at once distinguished from all other Coleopterous larva^ by the enormous development of the first segment of the body, into which the head is partly retractile. The other segments are narrow and slightly flattened. This form of the larvai has caused them to be compared with tadpoles, and the French authors describe them as resembling a pestle. They are wholly destitute of legs. These larviiti usually reside under the bark of trees in a state of inci- pient decay, but some of them penetrate into the solid wood. Some of the smaller species inhabit the stems of small trees or shrubs, causing them to enlarge so as to resemble galls. An exami)le of the former is the flat-headed borer of the apple and soft maple trees; and an exami)le of the latter is the raspberry cane borer, or larviie of the Agrilm ruficollis'. The other form of Buprestide larva is that of the Brachyides or short- bodied ljU})restid;Te. In these the first segment is not enlarged, the body is slender and tai^ering, and each of the three first segments is furnished with a pair of very small feet, placed wide apart. These spe- cies are all very small, and such of them as are known are leaf-miners. Ill an economical point of view, the Buprestidai occupy a peculiar po- sition, intermediate between the genuine wood-borers (Cerambycida? and Scolytida-), which bore into the solid wood of trees, and those kind of wood -beetles which (like the Elateridie and many of the Heteromer- SAW HORNED WOOD-BEETLES. 1>5 (MIS beetles) inhabit wood aud bark iu an advanced state of decay. In accordance with this position, they are usually the first insects to attack trees which have been injured by sun-scald, or wliicli have otherwise liiid their vitality weakened. The following" are the genera of 15iii»'(Sii,la' : A. Himl coxal plates* much widuiiod at their inner extrouiities. JSody oblong ami soniowliat tin- preaseil, and more or less elliptical or uannwod al the two extremities. Si/.o usually large or uiediuiu. {JUiijrcxlides proper.) V>. The epiinera (or binder side pieces) of the raetasternuin triangular and exposed; prosternuni acutely angulatod behind. C. Me.sosternum and nicta.sternuni united williout suture. Fir.st Joint ol' the bind tai-si a.s long •M» the second and tbird united. Size large or very large ('llAl.coi'liouA, 7 sp. C C. Mesostemal suture distinct ; size ratbei' large or medium. I). Elytra tapering to a jHtiut and slightly separated at tkeir tips ; Istjoint of hind f aisi scarcely longer than '2(1 DlCEltf A, 'ii sp. U I). Elytra moderately narrowed behind. 1st tarsal Joint ehnigated Blll'lilcsTls, 'ill sp. H 1{. ICpinieraof the meta-sternum partly covered by an anterior prolongation of the margin of I ho abdomen. Prosternuni acutely angulatetl behind. E. Front with a pit or dopressiou for the insertion of tlie ante^na^ Size moderate: C1IKY.SOHOTIIKIH, 4:1 sp. E. Front without pit. Size snuvll. F. Thorax weaving at its Junction with tbe elytra Mki.anoiiiii.a, 1ft sji. F F. Thorax cut straight across behind Antuaxia, 14. A A. Hind coxal plate.s but little widened at their inner extremities. Size never alio ve medium ; usually .small or very snuill. G. Front without pits for the insertion of the autouine. Thorax straight behind. Scu- tellum none. Body clothed with short erect hairs. Colors often variegated : ACM^KODKUA, 2:j sp_ G G. Front pitted for antennas. Thon-vx angulated behind. Scutellnm distinct. Jiody not hairy. II. Body elongated, narrow, almost cylindrical. Prostenuim without grooves for the reception of the antenna} Agrilus, 40 sp. H H. Body short and broad. Prostemum with grooves for the antenna\ Tarsi very short. I. Body ovate; scutellimi small; tibia- slender Bkachys, 8 sp. I I. Body sub-triangular; scutel large; tibia; dilated Mktoxiits, 2 sp. The largest N. A. species of Buprestis is the Chalcophora vin/imensis of Drury, nearly or quite an inch in length, of a dark coppery or black- ish color, and a very uneven surface, caused by elevated linos and div j)resse. lurida, Fab., the larva of which inhabits the hickory. The Chri/.sohothri.s fcmorata, (Fig. 42) an obscure bronze-black species, rather less than half an inch in length, is the parent of the well known Jiatheaded borer, so injuiious to apple trees, and also to the soft maple. * The hind coxal plates are the flat and uaiTOW transverse pieces which border the under side of the thorax behind, and are separated by a suture from the metasternum. They are marked C X P in Fig. 3. 96 *HE ORDER OF OOI.EOPTERA. The genus Acmmodera, Esch., contaius a number of small species of a bronzed-brown color, sometimes with purple and green reflections, and the elytra prettily spotted with yellow. The colors are somewhat ob- scured by the surface being clothed with stiff erect hairs. The A. tubu- Jus, Fab., and the A. iJulcheUa, Herbst, are the most common species. They are often found in abundance on the flowers of the Coreopsis. The genus Ayrilus, Sober, is easily recognized by the elongate, slen- der, and cylindrical form of the species. The raspberry borer, Agrilus rujicolis, Fab., may be taken as the American type of this genus. It is three-tenths of an inch long, black, with a coi)pery-red thorax. Buprestis, including Anchi/Ioehira, Esch., is composed of species mostly between a half and three-quarters of an inch in length, of a brassy- green or a brassy-black color, and often ornamented with yebow spots on the elytra; some also have yellow spots on the sides of the venter. The species of Melanophila, Esch., are from three to five-tenths of an inch in length, black, sometimes with obscure bronze or purple tints. Some species have four yellow dots on each elytron. The species of Anthaxia, Esch., are less than three-tenths of an inch long, brassy-black, and without spots. The head and thorax are sculp- tured with shallow punctures, with the intervening lines forming a fine net-work. We have two common species of Brachys, Sol., the ovata, Weber, and the cerosa, Melsh., fterminans ? Fab.^l ; and several rarer species, some of which may be only varieties or races of the first. The B. ovata is two-tenths of an inch or more in length, of a bronze color, variegated with spots and imperfect transverse waving bands of whitish and cop- per colored pubesence. The B. terminans is smaller and less distinctly variegated, but most readily distinguished by the i)ale tips of the elytra. Metonius^ Say, {Packyscelus, Sober,) has two species, about an eighth of an inch in length; the Iwvigatus, Say, wholly black; and the purpurea, Say, black, with dark-blue elytra. Family XXXV. ELATERID^. The term elater applied to these insects by Linnteus, and the name ship-jacks, sometimes given to them by English authors, have reference JF'K '';^__ to their most striking peculiarity, that of having the faculty, when placed on their backs, of righting themselves by a spasmodic Jerk, by which they are thrown several inches from the surface upon which they are placed. In this oi)er- ation the sharp point which projects backwards from the pro-sternum is thrown violently into the corresponding- socket in the meso-sternum. Elater. SA.WHORNED WOOD-BEETLES. 97 The}- are distiugiiislied from the allied Buprestidai, not only by this saltatory power, but also by the posterior angles of the thorax being prolonged backwards to a i>oiut, so as to f^'^'s- ^^ embrace the base of the elytra, and by the bases of the thorax and of the elytra slop- "'"^ larva of elateu. ing downwards towards each other, which, in addition to a slight sepa- ration between them, permits the freedom of motion which these parts have upon each other. The thighs moreover are almost or entirely des- titute of the accessory joint at their base called the trochantin. The elaters are also readily distinguished by their usually dull brown colors, very rarely changing to black or red, and by their surface being almost always clothed with a line pubescence. The larvie are elongate, slender, of the same width throughout and of a hard and almost horny consistency, and furnished with short legs. The last segment is sometimes forked at the extremity, sometimes 3- toothed, and sometimes entire. They bear a strong resemblance to the meal-worms or larvie of Tenebrio, but differ in the structure of their mouths. These larvfe go hy the common name of wire-worms. With respect to their food they may be divided into two classes : those which live in rotten wood, being frequently found under the bark of decayed stumps and prostrate logs, and sometimes, but rarely, penetrating into solid wooi i"8, 15. G G G. Second and third Joints lobed DiCKEi'iDics, P. C C. Hind coxal plates gradually and but slightly dilated inwardly and often without a sharp posterior angle ; claws sometimes pectinate. H. Front convex ; mouth inferior Agriotks, 12. H H. Front flattened, and with an elevated margin ; mouth anterior. I. Claws pectinate Melaxotu.s, 47. I I. Claws simple. K. Eyes prominent ; 1st joint of hind tarsi as long as the 2d and 3d united : Athous, 25. K K. Eyes small ; 1st joint of hind t.arsi less elongated LiMoxit'S, 39. H S H. Front flattened, without elevated margin ; mouth anterior. L. Size large ; color shining black Mei.anactes, 8. L L. Size moderate ; colors various Couymbetes, 93. The Elaterides proper constitute an extensive series of comparativ^ely homogeneous insects, the great majority of which are of a uniformly brown color, and varying in length between one-quarter and three qnarters of an inch; though there are a few large or very large species. The de- termination of the genera and species of this family requires, therefore, an amount of study and an aptness for observa- tions of this kind, which can scarcely be exi)ected from any but professed entomolo- gists. We M ill only refer to ;i few species which are re- markable for their size, or lor their exceptionally varied coloring. Our largest and most strik- iiig species is the well known I'Jlater (Alaus) occnhdus, of Linnaius. It is usually nearly an inch and a-lialf in length, Mbi.axactes ricKt's, DeG.— a, snpiMisid larva, as sc. II by ^ • ^^ ■ t ^ 4. day ; t, same as seen by night ; c, beetle ; d. enlarged head thOUgll UUllVKlUalS are HOt and parts; e, enlarged leg of same— after liiley. „ ^, ^ unfrequently seen if which scarcely exceed an inch. Its gray color is produced by a dense sprink- ling of small whitish spots and lines upon a black ground. These spots are composed of minute whitish scale-like hairs. But its most couspic- 100 THE ORDER OF COLEOrTEEA. uous character is the two large eye-like spots on the top of the thorax, which are expressed by the specific name. The larva inhabits partially decayed wood, and is often found in the trunks of old apple trees. The EJater rubricollis, Say, is a little more than half an inch long, black, with a light-red thorax, bordered and pointed behind with black. The Mater sanguinipennis, Say, is black, with light-red elytra ; three-tenths of an inch in length. The E. ajncatus, Say, is similar, but larger, being nearly half an inch in length, and the elytra are tipt with black. The E. mgricollis, Say, varies from less than half to three-quarters of an inch in length ; black, with whitish elytra. The E. linteus, Say, resem- bles the last, but is distinguished by having the suture and tip of the elytra black. E. scapularis, Say, is a little less than four-tenths of an inch long, greenish-black, with the base of the elytra and the hind jioints of the thorax, clay-yellow. The tarsal joints are lobed beneath. It is now included in the genus Atlious. The Limonius armus^ Say, is also light-red on the shoulders of the elytra, but the thorax is wholly black, the tarsi are simple, and the length is only a quarter of an inch. Several species of Corymhetes have the elytra brownish-yellow with transverse zig-zag black bands. C. MeroglyphtGus, Say, half an inch long, has two bands ; and C. hamatus, rather smaller, has but one band near the tip. The Melanotus JissiUi^, Say, fcinereus, Weber y and the M. communis, Sch., plain brown species, usually about half an inch in length, but subject to considerable variation in size, are amougst our most common beetles. The two vspecies closely resemble each other, but the latter is a little smaller, and the thorax is proportionally longer and less convex. They are distinguished from other and somewhat similar Elaters by their pectinate claws. They are sometimes found under the bark of dead trees, having probably recently emerged from the pupa state. But they are also found upon the leaves of trees, to which their pecti- nate claws enable them to adhere. We have repeatedly seen them at rest in the enclosure formed by the tying together of the leaves of the black walnut, by the larvae of the little moth, Phyeifajuglandis, LeB. j but for what purpose was not apparent. The Melanactes piceus, DeG., (Fig. 45) is a large glossy black species, an inch or more in length. It is not uncommon in the latitude of south- ern Illinois, where it is sometimes jarred from peach trees upon the curculio-catcher. Mr. Kiley has found and figured its supposed larva, which is one of the most beautiful objects, and often attracts the atten- tion of the curious in the southern part of the State, byits luminosity ; the amimal glowing in the dark with a beautiful green light as repre- sented in the figure. ABERRANT WOCfo-BEETLES. 101 TuiiiE X. ABEERANT AVOOD-BEETLES. Li(/)i i vara a berra n tia. Under the title of aberrant or exceptional Wood- beetles, as stated in the genei'al remarks upon the Serricornes, we have included, for the Sjike of brevity and convenience, a number of small families, some of which have but a remote relationship to the others, but which cannot naturally be united with any of the larjj^er tribes. This tribe contains two very dissimilar groups. Tn the first, which is composed of the family of Ttiuidu', including the sub-family of Bostri- chides, the body is rather short and thick, or moderately elongated and cylindrical, and the head is bent down and mostly or wholly concealed under the vaulted or hood-like thorax. In the other group, which includes the small families of Lymexylo- nida% Cupesidie and Lyctida*, the body is much elongated and often depressed, and the head is free and exi)osed, and sometimes attached to the thorax by a short neck. These three families combined do not contain more than a dozen known American si)ecies, most of Avhich are rare, and are found mostly under the bark of decaying trees. Many authors include them in some one or other of the larger families. Family XXXVI. PTTNID.E. This is a family of moderate extent, composed of small insects, rarely exceeding a (juarterof an inch in length, and often onlj^ about half that length, and usually of a cinnamon-brown color, sometimes black and some- times ornamented with jiatches of whitish scales. Their most distinctive character is the vault- ed or hood-like form of the ante- rior part of the thorax, the head being bent under it or j^artly re- tracted within it, so that it can be scarcely or not at all seen when the insect is viewed from above. The antenna^ are gener- ally filiform, but in Bostrichus they terminate in three larger joints. The tarsi are simple. The larva^ resemble those of the Lamelli- corn beetles, in miniature, being soft and white, and usually lying in a curved or semi circular position. They have six legs, but do not use them in crawling in the usual way, but draw themselves along upon their sides. a, AsoitirM PANirKfM, Fub. : 6, itH antouuii' NTS DUiNSKis, Dufs. — after Kiley. c, Pti- 102 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. Tlie Ptini proper subsist ui)ou substances in a state of incipient decay, and are often found in cellars and out-buildings. The Anohii are usually found in wood more or less decayed; but the Bostriehi bore into solid wood, and are often seriously injurious, more especially to forest trees. Indeed, the last mentioned insects bear so striking a resemblance, both in their short cylindrical forms and their eminently wood-boring habits, to the short-horned wood-borers fScolytidwJ, in the tetramerous section, that one feels strongly tempted to place them in the latter tribe; but in the details of their organization they are more closely allied to the more highly organized Ptinidai, especially in the more fully developed anten- nal club, labrum, and maxillary palpi. The larvse also have six feet, whilst those of the Scolytid?e are footless. The following are the principal genera: A. Antennai flliform, sometimes branched. Tibial spurs very small or wanting ; tarsi distinctly 5-joiuted. B. Head and thorax much narrower than the elytra ; antennae filiform and simple and inserted upon the front, and about as long as the body Ptinus, 8 sp. BB. Form cylindrical or sub-globular. Antenna) usually either branched or with the three last joints longer than the others, and inserted before the eyes. C. AntenniB simple, but with the three terminal Joints elongated Axoisir.M, 22. C C. Antenna' branched iii the male, serrate in the female Ptilinus, 3. A A. Antennip terminating in three larger and somewhat serrate .joints ; tibial, spurs distinct j tarsi apparently 4-jointed. Thorax asperous. Elytra often truncated and toothed behind : BOSTKICHUS, 19. The Ptinus fur^ Linn., is three-twentieths of an inch long, light brown, with two whitish bands across the elytra, interrupted in the middle. The thorax is uneven, having a tubercle on each side and two on the back. This insect feeds upon almost all kinds of dried animal matter, and is often very iujurious in museums of natural history. It was originally a native of Europe, but has become disseminated over the civilized world. We have a very similar species in this country, the humcralis, of Say, which is regarded by some as only a variety of the European species. We have also another common species, often found in company with the others, in cellars and out-buildings. This is the Ptinus hrumieus, and is distinguished at once from the others by being wholly of a light-brown color, and destitute of the bands on the elytra. Our most common species of Auobium is the A. tenuestriatum, Say, scarcely three-twentieths of an inch in length, of a uniform, cinnamon- brown color, with a microscopically fine silken pubescence, and the elytra with fine impressed lines or striiTe. This species is also ii^jurious to cabinets and herbaria. It may often be caught upon the wing in or about our houses. The genus Bostrichus contains a number of small species, which, in their larva state, are genuine wood-borers, and some of which are se- riously injurious both to fruit and forest trees. The B. hicaudatus, a ABERRANT WOOD-BEETLES. 103 l)lain, grayish-brown species, tbree- teiiMis of an iiicli, or a little more, in lenj^tli, with one tooth at tin' end of each wing-cover, is very common at the West, where it sometimes excites seri- ons apprehensions in the s])riiig, by bo- -^ / — — ' ring into the twigs of a[ti»U' trees ; bnt BosTnirnus (S.noxvt.on) j^a.u.uL, sa^ : *^«"" "^^^y is of a transient character. a, larva; b, pupa ; c, bei'tle-alter Uiky. rphc B. haSllariS (Fig. 47) is tWO-tcnthS of an inch in length, black, with reddish antennie, and each elytron with a large red spot on the base, and three teeth at the end. The larva of this species is usually found in the shag-bark hickory, which it some- times destroys, by riddling the solid trunk with innumerable holes. It also sometimes infests fruit trees, and has been found in the grape vine. Family XXXVII. LYMEXYLONIDJE. A small family of anomalous insects, founded upon the genus I/ymexy- lo)i, Fab., a term deriveendages. We have but few X. A. species, all of which are rare. The Lumvxyloii nivale is notorious for the extensive destruction sometimes produced by its larva' to the ship timber floating in the docks in the northern part of Europe. At the suggestion of Linnauis the timber was sunk under water at the time of the year when the females deposit their eggs, and was thus preserved from their attacks. Family XXXVIII. CUPESID.E. This is another small anomalous family, containing but four known species, two of which inhabit N. America, one is found in Chili, and the other in the Phillipine Islands. The form is elongate, the elytra are strong, sculptured with longitudinal ribs and scpiare dei)ressions be- tween them. The antennjTe are filiform, and the head is tuberculate be- hind, and attached to the thorax by a distinct neck. The Ciipes ciiwrm, of !Say, is widely distributed but of rare occurrence. JNIr. !Say, however, speaks of it as being sometimes found in considerable numbers about old frame buildings. 104 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. Tribe XI. SOFT- WINGED PEEDACEOUS BEETLES. Carnivora moUipennata. Malacodermi, Latreille. The insects of this tribe are distinguished from most other Coleoptera, and from all others in the pentamerous section, by their soft bodies and their thin and flexible elytra. The antennae are usually more or less serrate; the palpi terminate in a widened triangular or hatchet-shaped joint; the thorax is usually surrounded with a thin projecting margin; and the fourth-joint of the tarsi is more or less bi-lobed. The term Malacodermi, meaning soft-skinned, given to these insects by Latreille, expresses their most remarkable character, and is in general scientific use. They are exclusively carnivorous in their diet, both in the perfect and the larva state, feeding upon small worms, larvjB and snails, and are therefore one of the agencies for checking the excessive multiplication of other insects. The larva3 are elongated, flattened, usually a little tapering toward each end, of a tough or leathery texture, and of a brown or black color, and often clothed with short hairs. They are furnished with slender, sharp and projecting mandibles, with which they sieze their prey. They are sometimes found on trees, but usually on the ground or under the bark of dead trees, in search for small wood-eating larvae. A few are found in ants' nests. This tribe comprises the three following families : A. Bodj^ and wing cases flexible ; thorax almost level, with a thin margin all around. Antennae not enlarged at the tip. B. Antennae inserted upon the front or upon the base of the rostrum ; front without membraneous suture; 4th joint of tarsi more or less bi-lobed; palpi clavate LAMr\'RiD.*;. B B. Antcnnaj inserted laterally before the cj-es ; epistoma separated from the front by a membraneous suture; tarsi entire; palpi usually filiform. Melyiud.e. A A. Body rather firm ; thorax convex, without a sharp margin or with a very nar- row one, low down upon the side ; antennae generally widened at the tip ; palpi clavate Clerid^. Family XXXIX. LAMPYRID.E. This family contains the well-known fire-flies, or lightning-beetles, and the family name, from a Greek word meaning to shine, was intended to exi)ress this quality. This property is possessed both by the larva? and the perfect insects, but only a small number of species are endowed with it. Their principal characters have been given in the foregoing table and in the general description of the tribe. They are usually medium sized, SOFT-WINGED PREDACEOUS-BEETLES. 105 sometimes small, but rarely very small. They are mostly i)lain insects witlioiit brilliant colors ; usually black or brown, and many have the thorax margined with red or yellow. The Lampyrida? comprise three sub-families, wliich may be character- ized as follows : A. Elytra reticulutcd ; middle coxix; sc'])ar:ito ; head partially covered by tiie ante- rior margin of the thorax Lyoides. A A. Elytra not reticulated; middle coxie contiguous. 15. Head nearly or quite covered by the thorax; antenna' usually apiiroximate; side pieces of metasternum rather Avide JyAMPvuiDES. n II. Heaeliinvith the margin of the thorax, and the tips of the shouhlers, yellow. The antenni^^ are strongly pectinate, or branched. It is the type of the genus CWnia, of Newman. IJros, Newman, contains many species, the most conspicuous of which is the E. eoceinatns, Say, four-tenths of an inch long, and of a bright scarlet color. Subfamily LAMTYIIIDES. The remarks made above upon the present tribe of soft-wingetl Car- nivora, and upon the family of rjampyrilace is to a j^reat extent supplied by a very similar but much smaller species, the F. sclntillans, Say. The 1*. anyulala^ Say, is as large as the piifulis^ and is distinguished by its generally paler color, the wider yellow mar- gin of the elytra, and by the extreme margin of the thorax being clouded with i)lack. Certain species which (like the P. pcnsulvanlca, of DeCleer), have the head but partially covere last very long and tlat Ei.AS.MOCERrs, I .sp. C C. Antenna' ll-.jointod ; serrate bnt little enl.arged at tip. D. Eyes lincly granulated Tii.i.us, 1 . 1) D. Eyes coarsely granulated C ym.vtokek a, 17. B P.. First tarsal .joint usually small and concealed beneath the second ; body moderately elongated. E. Eyes notched, and of moderate size ; bead not wider than thorax, l'". All the palpi enlarged at the tip ; body coarsely punctured and very hairy : antennal clul) triangular TlUcilOl 'Ks, 6 . F F. Only the labial palpi enlarged ; body moderately punctured and hidry ; antfunal club long and loose Cr-EKUS, 29. E E. Eyes very large and entire ; head much wider than the thorax Hydnoceua, '.?2. A A. Tarsi l-jointed; thorax with a narrow but distinct lateral margin. G. Antenna' strongly serrate at the end E.voi'liim, 4 . G G. Antenna' terminating in a 3-jointed flattened club Nkcuoulv. 5. The genera Clerus and ITydnocera are the most numerous in si)ecies, some of which are sutticiently common. CleriiSj Geollioy, with which we include Tha7ummns, Latr., and Thaneroclerua, Spin., contains a inim- ber of prettily marked species, which are sometimes seen running over prostrate logs in the forest, in search probably of small wood-eating larvai. The CIcrus duhius, Fab., is a little more than three-tenths of an inch long, of a steel-blue color, the elytra crossed by three ornnge bands. The C. nujrifron.s, Say, is upwards of two-tenths, of a tawny yellow color, the elytra cinereous behind, including a broad bhick band ; there is a black spot on the front, and the venter is black. C. nif/rqu's, Say, is very similar, but the frontal spot is wanting and the venter is red. The C. miifjuineus, Say, is of the same size as the last, with the tliorax brown and the elytra scarlet. The llyduocera' are small and obscure insects, less than a (juarter of an inch in length, but easily distinguished by their large prominent eyes, which cause the head to be wider than the thorax. They are often beaten from the leaves of forest trees. The genus Trichodcs, llerbst, contains a number of very hairy and prettily banded species, the larva' of which (U'-vour the larvje of certain kinds of bees. Some are found in the nests of the mason-bees, antl the I^uropean T. ajyiarius has been known to be very destructive to the hive- bee. The Xccrohia viol(ic(^, Uliv., a small dark-blue or greenish beetle, three-twentieths of an inch in length, has been imported from Euroi^e. 110 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. It is sometinieis fouud in houses, but more commonly ou the carcases, and especially the bones, of dead animals. The have even been found under the wrappings of Egyptian mummies. Tlie iV. {Cory^ietes) ruJipeSj \ DeGeer, has also become spread over the whole globe. Section J^ HETEROMEEA. Five joints in the anterior and middle tarsi, and four joints in the hind tarsi, the joints being usually slender and bare, or at most, sparsely haired or s])inous. The Heteromera constitute the second principal division of Coleopte- rous insects, distinguished i>rimarily, as the name implies, by the diverse luunber of joints in their tarsi, or feet. This character is remarkably uniform, only two or three exceptional cases having been detected in all the known insects of this section ; and as but lew of them are of ver^' small size, the number of tarsal joints is usually easily determined. It is also seen by the above formula that the tarsal joints in the insects of this, as of the preceding section, are usually sleuder and clothed, at most, with scattered hairs or bristles, thus strongly contrasting with the dilated brush-like and bilobed tarsi of the two succeeding sections. This section embraces an extensive series of beetles, though less numerous than the first and third sections. Although most of them are vegetable feeders, at least in the imago state, comj)aratively few subsist upon growing plants, and but few, even of these, have been known to increase to such an extent as to become injurious to cultivated croi^s. The ])rincipal exceptions to this statement are the common meal- worms belonging to the genus Tenebrio, and the Lyttte or Cantharides, w hich are sometimes seriously destructive to the foliage of vegetables, csi>ecia]ly that of the potato. The Heteromera comprise two very diverse groups of beetles, which have, indeed, scarcely any characters in common except the number of tarsal joints. The first division, of which the well known Cantharides may be taken as the leading type, is distinguished by having the head wider than the anterior part of the thorax and attached to it by a short neck 5 by the elytra being comparatively thin and flexible ; by their frequently diver- sified colors ; their active diurnal habits ; and the i)arasitic character of many of their larvie. The other section, which may be represented by the common black Tenebrio or meal-beetle, is distinguished from the foregoing by having the head partially immersed in the thorax 5 their hard and inflexible elytra ; their obscure and mostly black or brown colors ; and by their being vegetable feeders in both the perfect and the larva states. The first of these divisions contains a considerable number of suffi- ciently distinct and well marked families ; but many of the minor groups PARASITIC-BEETLES. Ill of tlie second dh-isiou are so intimately connected l)y intermediate f;ra(l('s, tliat Laconlaiie and other recent antliors liave united a lar. Anterior coxa? small, depressed and separate ; antenuai usually moniliforin, or sub-clavate and perfoliate. C. Antenna' usually more or less moniliform, and olten a little thickened towards the tip, and as long as the head and tho- rax. Color almost always black ; habits terrestrial : Tribe 3d (or 14th.) JLeteromerous gnnind-beetU's. C V. Antenna? usually shorter than the head and thorax, and strongly clavate and peifoliate ; head of males often Avith two horns. Colors brown or dark metallic, sometimes black with red spots. Habits fungi vorous : Tribe 4th (or 5th.) Meteromerovs funffus lnrtlts. TltTliF, XII. PATIASITIC-P.EETLKS. Heteromera parasitica. Trachelides, Latreille. The name Tracheliflca^ from a Creek word meaning « 7irc/.', was given to these insects by Latreille to express their most striking character, that of having the head attached to the thorax by a visible neck ; where- as in most beetles the head is inserted in the thorax nearly or (juite to the eyes. The exceptions to this rule, however, in the Coleojiterons order, are not very uncommon, of which the families of TeleplH)rida?, Lepturida', and portions of the Carabldie, are some of the most conspic- uous examples. Hut the name was intended to contrast them more par- ticularly with the other beetles of the heteromerous section. 112 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. The antennae, in all the Trachelides are of nearly or the same width throughout, sometimes simple or filiform, sometimes serrate, and some- times pectinate or branched, especially in the males. The elongated coxse permit great freedom of motion to the legs ; and their frequently bright or diversified colors show that they live exposed to the light of the sun. Accordingly we find that in their matured state they are active diurnal insects, often frequenting plants and flowers. We have designated the insects of this tribe as parasitic beetles, a title which preeminently, but not exclusively belongs to them. The term parasite literally means one who sits at the table of another, and lives at his expense, and is now very commonly applied to those insects which either inhabit the nests of other insects and subsist upon the food prepared by them, or which infest the bodies of other insects, feeding upon their substance, and ultimately causing their death. This para- sitism is found to be very extensive in the insect world, and to consti- tute one of the most efiicient agencies by which the excessive increase of many kinds of insects is kept in check. The great majority of parasitic insects is found in the order of Hymenoptera, where they comprise some of the most numerous of tbe families of insects. In the order of Coleop- tera the parasitic species are comparatively few, and outside of the pres- ent tribe, are mostly limited to a small number of minute species in the families Staphylinidne, Pselaphidje and Scydma?nid:e. The parasitic character is therefore the more distinctive of the i3resent tribe, most of the families of which are parasitic in their larva state ; though it is pret ty well determined that a few of them are lignivorous, and the larvjp. of some of the families are but little known. The Lagriidre and Anthi- cidse, from certain observations which have been made upon them, are supposed to be carnivorous, and Latreille considered the latter to be par- asitic. The Rhipiphorida3, Stylophida?, and MeloidtTi, including the sub- family of lloriides, are known to be parasitic. The larviie of the Pyro- chroida^. and Mordellidie are found in wood, upon which, therefore, they are supposed to feed. Mr. Eiley has found the Mordella 8-punctata, and its larv;v, (Fig. 50) in very rotten oak stumps, and he states there can be no doubt of its lignivorous habits, as he has found the larv;e in their own burrows, extending through the wood in all directions. He has likewise bred a smaller sj)ecies from the green stems of ambrosia, and other herljacious plants. In a strict classification according to the habits, therefore, the Pyrochroida^ and Mordellidie would require to be separated from the parasitic fannlies, but there appear to be no organic characters which these two families i>ossess in common, which author- izes us in x>lacing them in a tribe by themselves. It is one of the many remarkable facts in the natural history of insects that the same species often differs greatly in its habits and the nature of its food, in the different stages of its existence. We have had occasion PARASITIC-BEETLES. 113 to refer to some of tlie most coimnou instances of this cliange in the introductory part of this work, and the same is strikingly dhistrated in the history of the prtjseut tribe, in which the same species is often parasitic in its hirva state, wliilst it feeds upon the flowers or foliage of plants in its perfect or imago state. The following is a table of the families of the Traehelides : A. Constriction of the neck gradual and slight ; anterior coxal cavities closed behind.* Size medium LAGRiin.K. A A. Neck distinct and al)rupt; anterior coxal cavities always open behind. B. Thorax with a lateral margin ; abdomen usually tapering to a long point; hind legs long and Hat. Size small MoRDELLiDiE. 13 IJ. Tliorax rounded at tlie sides; abdomen not pointed. C. Tarsal claws deeply cleft. Size large or medium MELOiD-t:. ("C. Tarsal claws entire. D. Tliorax narrower behind than the elytra. E. Antennse almost always filiform and simple. Size very small. Anthicid^. E E. Antennaj usually' branched in the male, serrate in the female. Size medium or small PYiiocnROii)^. D 1). Thorax as wide behind as the elytra. Size small HhipipiiohiDxE. A A A. AVilhout visible neck — structure very abnormal. Size very small. Styloiubjj:. Family XLII. LAGRIID^. This family is comprised of a small number of medium sized beetles, which furnish a connecting link between the Trachelides and the Teue- brionida' ; having an imi)erfect neck, and being rather soft and llexi- ble like the former, but having the anterior coxal cavities closed behind, like the latter. Mr. Westwood states that he has found the larva of the European />((riety of their separation. The perfect insects are found on liowers. The larvoe are parasitic in the nests of wasps, and a foreign species is known to infest the bodies of cockroaches. Twenty-two N. A. species have been described. Family XI.VllI. STYLOPIDJC. A family of minute insects of so anomalous a character that it is very difficult to determine their proper location in the natural system. But few species are known, all of which are parasitic in the bodies of bees. Five genera haxe been described, two of which have been found in JS. 118 THE ORDER OP COLEOPTERA. America: Stylo2)8,K.\rbj, with the antennae six-jointed; and Xetios, Eossi, having the auteunne four-jointed. For a detailed description of these insects the reader is referred to Westwood's Introduction, Vol. ii, page 287 ; or to Packard's Guide, page 481. Tribe Xm. HETEROMEROUS BARK-BEETLES. Reteromera corticicola. Stenelytra partly^ Latreille. This tribe includes all the Stenelytra of Latreille except the family of Helopida3, which are now united to the Ground-beetles. The word Sien- elytra means having narroiv wing-covers, and was given to these insects on account of their more or less elongated and narrow forms. They are distinguished from the i)arasitic beetles by the absence of a visible neck and by the head being narrower than the thorax; and from the two following tribes by the usually longer and more slender antennjc, by the anterior coxic nearly or quite touching each other, and by their coxal cavaties being open behind, excei)t in Cistelidas where they are slightly closed. The larvae of all these insects are found under the bark or in the decayed wood of trees which have been long dead. The per- fect insects are generally found in the same situations, but some, especi- ally the Cistelidrt', are often seen upon leaves or flowers. , The following are the families of bark-beetles : A. Thorax rouuded at the sides, or without a sharp lateral margin, uarrower behind than in front, and narrower at base tlian tlic elj'tra. Ji. Head gradually narrowed behind, and usually somewhat prolonged in front; last joint but one of tarsi slightly bilobed O^^demerid^. BB. Head not narrowed behind; sometimes prolonged in front into a snout; tarsi entire Pytiiid.e. A A. Thorax witli a lateral margin, not narrowed boliind, and usually as wide at base as the elytra. C. Maxillary palpi terminating in a hatchet-shaped joint; claws serrate: ClSTELID^E. C C. Maxillary palpi usually long and pendulous, with all their joints more or less enlarged ; claws simple Met.andkyid.e. Family XLIX. ffiDEMEKID^. A small family of heteromerous beetles, with elongate, narrow bodies, the head and thorax somewhat narrower than the elytra, ami rather long filiform antennae. The elytra in some of the foreign species are narrowed and separated behind. Our most conspicuous species is the Nacerdes meJanura, which is more than half an inch in length, of a yel- lowish-brown color, with the elytra tii)ped with black. nETEROMEROUS BARK-BEETLES. 119 CisTKi.A : — 1, beetle ; 2, tiirsiiH ; 3, tarsiil claw — .iftor Wostwood. Family L. PYTIIID^. Another small family coiitaiiiin<; less than a dozen North American species, the most remarkable of which belong to the genns Salpingus, which ditlers from all other Coleoptera except the Curculionidie, in hav- ing the head prolonged in front in the form of a snont, sometimes of considerable length. The two leading genera are Fytho, Latr., and 8al2>in(jus, lUiger. Family LI. CISTELID^. This is a family of considerable extent, and some of the species are amongst our most common insects. They are smooth, oval beetles, of moderate or rather small size, and are generally clothed with minute hairs, which give a silken gloss to the surface. Their most distincti\'e character is the pectinate or comb-toothed claws at the end of the tarsi. This, like most other minute characters, can be best seen by holding the insect up against the light of a window and examining it through a lens. This character is very rare in the Coleoptera, and therefore quite distinctive where it occurs. We have already seen it to exist in the genus Lchia and a few other Carabidir, and a modifica- tion of it occurs in the families JMeloidie and Mordellidie. Our most common species of Cistelidio are plain, brownish beetles without spots. Thirty-five species have been described, most of which are contained in the genera Cifitehi* and AUevula of Fabricius; the former having merely simple tarsi and the latter having the anterior tarsi somewhat dilated, and all of them with the penultimate joint bilobed. Family LII. MELANDRYIDJE. The insects of this family were called Serropalpi by Latreille, to express their most remarkable char- acter : that of having the joints of the maxillary palpi — which are usually long and pendulous — more or less enlarged in the form of saw-teeth, the last melaxduya :-i, beetle Joint being the largest, and usually hatchet-shaped. siimvtnV'h^nio si/'e^^ It is a family of moderate extent, containing forty- thJl^V.Vn.iian-.ints of five N. A. species. They never much exceed half llr weHtlvood/'"''''""' »" inch iu length, and some are less than half that * This name— ilerived from the Greek Au'c— a chest, appears to have been given originally bj' Geof- frov to the insects of the genus liyrrhim, Liim., to the short and tliick bodies of which it was not in- applicable. IJut Linna'us having given the name liyrrhus to this genua, the name Cistela was trans- ferred by Fabricius to the present group of heteronierous beetles, where it has now become established by general acceptance and long usage. 120 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. length. Their colors are black or brown, and some of those of the lat- ter color are ornamented with yellow markings. The following are the principal genera : A. Head without a neck. B. Antenna? with the four last joints abruptly enlarged '. Tetratoma. B B. Antenna; filiform or slightly and gradually enlarged. C. Anterior coxte contiguous. D. Middle coxa) contiguous, with distinct trochantins Mei.andkya. DD. Middle coxa? separate, without trochantins Sekropaltus. C. Anterior coxa,' separate. E. Head horizontal : Stnchkoa . E E. Head vertical EusTROi'iius, Hai.lomenus, Orchesia. A A. Head with a short neck ; eyes coarsely granulated and deeply notched Scraptia. We have space to refer to only a few of the most noticeable species. We have two species of Tetratoma, which depart from the ordinary habits of the family by being inhabitants of fungi. The Melandrya^ striata, Say, is six-tenths of an inch long, pure black, the thorax with a middle furrow, and a depression on each side, and the elytra deeply striate and punctate. Serropalpus 4:-maculatus, Say, is a third of an inch in length, of a deep brown color, with two angular yellow spots on each elytron. Hypnlus trifasciatnsj Melsh, is quarter of an inch or less in length, yellow, with three irregular brown bauds across the elytron. These, like the other species of the family^, are found under the loose bark of trees in an advanced state of decay. One of the most common larv;e found in such situations is that of the SyiicJiroa punctata, Newm., a plain light-brown species about half an inch in length. This larva is of an elongate cylindrical form, with six short legs, and two horny l)oiiit8 at the posterior extremity of the body. The genus Penthe, of Newman, is placed in this family by LeConte, but in the sub-family of Helopides by Lacordaire. The palpi are rather long and robust, but not hatchet-shaped at the end like most of the Serropalpi. It contains two rather large, oval, depressed beetles, up- wards of half an inch in length, and of a deep black color : the P. ohll- quota, and the P. pimelia, of Fabricius ; the former being distinguished by having the scutelluin clothed with rustred hairs. They are common species, being found under the bark of decayed trees and in rotten stumps. Their sub-cortical habits furnish an argument for retaining them in the present tribe. Tribe XIV. nETEROMEROUS GROUND-BEETLES. Heteromera terricola. Melasoma, Latreille. This tribe contains a large and diverse assemblage of beetles, distin- guished chiefly by their heteromerous tarsi, their usually slightly cla- HETEROMEROUS GROUND-BEETLES, 121 vate and iiioiiiliform antenna', and tlicir nnifoiinly dark or black colora- tion. The above name of Latrcille, meaning hlftck-hodied, is expressive of this character. As a jjeneral rule they are rather large beetles, many of them being above the medium size, and few much below it. They are found almost exclusively upon the ground, and mostly in sandy situ- ations. Scarcely any observations appear to have been made respect- ing the food-habits of these beetles, with the exception of a few common species which inhabit houses and granaries, the larvie of which are some- times seriously injurious to flour and meal of ditferent kinds. The larva) of a few species have been found in rotten wood. All the known larvie are very similar in form and structure, and are well represented by the common meal-worm which is the larva of the Tenebrio moUtor, Linn. This is a long, slender, cylindrical grub, of a wax-yellow color, and a hard consistency. In its motions it seems to drag its body along by means of the six short legs attached to the three anterior segments, its comparative intiexibility incapacitating it for the vermicular motion by which the softer larvic effect their i)rogressiou. A comparatively small proportion of the insects of this tribe inhabit the northern and eastern sections of this country. Their geographical center is in the tropics, and they constitute a leading feature in the in- sect fauna of California, and other portions of the Pacific slope. The several groups of which this tribe is com^tosed are found to pass so insensibly into each other, when the species from all parts of the world are compared together, that Lacordaire, in his great work on the genera of Coleoptera, unites them all in the one large family of Tene- brionida", in which he also includes the fungus-beetles {Diapcridcv). In this course he has been followed by our own distinguished coleopterist, Dr. John L. LeConte, and more recently by ])r. George 11. Horn, of IMiiladelphia, who has published an elaborate monograph of the N. A- species of this family. In speaking of the unusual difficulties which are met with in classify- ing this tribe of insects, M. Lacondaire makes some remarks which are so pertinent to the case, and at the same time so comprehensive, that we here introduce them : " Our classifications of insects are based, not ui)on isolated characters, but upon combinatious of characters. In order that they may admit of easy application it is necessary that the characters thus combined shall be neither too many nor too few. There are some families, such as the Elaterida', where the latter is the case ; they are too homogeneous. Others, even more numerous, as the Carabidae, for example, hold a just medium in this respect ; their species possessing a common basis of or- ganization which is stable, or which varies but little. We here, there- fore, have to deal Mith a restricted number of organs, which admit of —10 122 THE OKDER OF COLEOPTERA. only a moderate quantity of combinations. From tliis it results that the groups superior to genera can be characterized in a few words, and their limits are, in general, sufficiently well defined. With the Tenebri- ouidfe, on the contrary, an instability without limit is the rule ; not a single organ, even the most insiguificaut, escapes. If, as we ought, we take all of them into account, the number of combinations to which they give rise is so great that it is impossible to bring any of them to the front, and for each group we are obliged to pass in review almost the entire organization. If to this we add the InseMsible transitions between the forms of organs which are themselves equally unstable, we shall understand how the groups thus constituted absolutely refuse to admit of any precise definition." Vol. V, p, 289. But, notwithstanding the difiiculty of dividing this tribe into minor groups by any sharp lines of demarkation — a difiiculty which we are continually encountering, in a greater or less degree, in all our attempts at generalization in natural history — they may still be arranged in sev- eral divisions which will facilitate the determination of species. Thus regarded, this tribe will constitute the family of Tenebrionidie, which can be divided into several minor groups which will take the rank of sub-families. Family ElII. TENEBRIONID^. This family having been already sufficiently described in treating of the tribe which it constitutes, we proceed to designate the sub-family into which it may be divided : A. Antennse longer than tile head and thorax united, slender and of nearly or quite the same width throughout; front separated from the labrum by a membra- nous clypeus; body often with a metallic or brassy tint Helopides. A A. Antennte usually about as long as the head and thorax united ; gradually en- larging towards the tip, and with the joints usually more or less round or moniliform; front articulating directly with the labrum ; color black: Ticnkbrionidp:?. AAA. Autonnie usually shorter than the head and tluu-ax united, wilh joints wider than they are long, or more or less perfoliate; middle coxte without tro- chantins ; color generally brown Ulomides. Subfamily HELOPIDES. The name Helops appears to have been originally given to a harmless species of serpent, but was appropriated by Fabricius to a sub-division of the coleopterous genus Tenebrio, of Liunjcus. We use the family name here in a comprehensive way to include a considerable number of species distinguished from the Tenebrioniche proper by the characters given in the foregoing table. The larvue resemble those of Tenebrio, HETEROMEROUS GROUND BEETLES. 123 and are foiiiid in rotten wooil. Tlie perfect insects are sometimes fonnd upon the j,aound. They are usnally of a medium size. The following are the principal genera : A. Lateral anil ant wior margins of tlio front continnous ; body oval ; sides of the breast beneath, often striated lon-itudiiiiiUy UELOrs, 1'4 Hp. A A. Lateral luarfriii of the front elevated, obliquo, and abbreviated. B. Body elongated '. Sthoxoyuim, 2. BB. Body very convex MniiACUMiiA. 1. Siil.-faniily TEXEBRIONIDES. Darkling beetles. Founded upon tlie genus Tenebrio, of Linuaius, a name derived from the Latin tenebne, meaning tiarlaic.ss, and given to these insects on account of their universally black color. The family is very extensive, but, as former- ly remarked, the great majority of N. American species inhabit the western slope of the coutineut, but some species are found in great abundance upon the arid plains which extend eastward from the base of the Kocky mountains. The typical and most common species is the Tenehrio moUtor, a plain black tkmukio uivscuui-^ Fab.: v^eetlc, six-tciiths of ail iiu;h in length, whose hard, — fl, larva; b, pupa; c, beetle; "^ >■ i ;-> 7 ' dautoniia of larva: <-, max- ^^.y^x-colored larva is oftcu fouiul upou the Hoor ilia; /.labium; g, terminal • segment «howiug the dual ^yi^^jr^. oralu and uical are stored. Most of these iu- proleg tuUy extended, ot c> same— after raiey. sccts are fouTul Oil tlic gi'ouud, but somc live under the bark of fallen and decaying trees. The following are some of the principal genera : * A. Ventral segmeiit.s entirely horny ; tarsi .sjiiuous beneath. B. Middle coxie without trocliaiitins ZoruERUS. B B. Middle coxa' with di.stinct trochaiitins. C. Tlunax transversal, its hind angh s prominent and embracing the base of the elytra AsinA. C C. Thorax heart-.shaped. its hind angles not prolonged PelecyI'HOKUS. A. A. Ventral segments 3 and 4 with tlie hind margin membranous. D. Elytra embracing widely the sides of the abdomen ; tarsi bristly beneath.. BlaP8. Eleodes. D D. Elytra not embracing widely the side.i of the abdomen. E. Eyes divided in two by the margin of the head : tarsi bristly beneath Blapstinus. £ E. Eyes not divided. r. Tarsi with a silky golden pube.scence beneath Uris. F F. Tarsi with coarse pulnscenco TENF.nitlO. The general remarks made in describing the present tribe, apply par- ticularly to the uumerous species of this sub-family. Subfamily ULOMIDES. This sul) family includes a small number of heteromerous lieetles, which are closely allied to the Tenebrionides in their general characters, but differ from them chiefly in their shorter and more or less perfoliate antenna^, the absence of trochantins in their middle legs, and their usually reddish-brown color. The anterior tibiiv are more or less dila- ted, and sometimes toothed on the outer edge, and the last tarsal joint 124 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. is often as long as all the others united. They are mostly found under the bark of dead or decaying trees. The larvne of some foreign species of Uloma have been found in flour and in bake houses, like those of Tenebrio proper. The species of the genus Hypophloeus, as the name implies, live under the bark of trees. These, which are our two most common and typical genera, maylbe thus distinguished: A. Labrum attached directly to the front ; anterior tibae dilated and toothed on the outer edge ; size about medium TJlojia. A A. Labrum separated from the front by a membranous clypeus ; anterior tibai somewhat widened but without teeth ; size small HvpornLtEUs. Uloma contains five N. American species. The U. impressa, Melsh, is a common insect, found in old logs and stumj^s in an advanced stage of decay. It is between four- and five-tenths of an inch in length, and of a deep mahogany-brown color. It was formerly considered identical with the U. culinaris of Europe. The U. imherbis and the JJ. punctulata, Lee, are similar, but only about three-tenths of an inch long, and of a lighter color. The former is distinguished by having the last joint of the anteunre obliquely truncated and pointed. The other two species have not been found east of the Mississippi river. Hypophloeus contains three species. They resemble Uloma in form and color, but are only about three-twentieths of an inch in length. Tkibe XV. HETEEOMEEOUS FUi^GUS-BEETLES. Heteromera fungicola. Taxicornes mostly, Latreille. The insects of this small tribe so closely resemble the heteromerous ground beetles in their organic details, that they are merged by Lacor- daire in his comprehensive family of Tenebrionida3. They are, however, usually easily distinguished by their general form and color, and their short perfoliate antennae, besides the other characters mentioned in the general description of the tribes of the heteromerous section. But they are especially distinguished by their fuugivorous habits. The only other insects in this section which are known to us, in this country, having similar habits, are the two species of Tetratoma, in the family of Me- landryidie. They are usually found, in all their stages, in the fungi which grow upon trees ; but they are sometimes found under decayed bark, where they are sui)i)osed to feed upon the small fungi which grow in such sit- uations. They comprise the family Diaperidae. HETEROMEROUS FUNGUS-BEETLES. 125 Family LIV. DIAPERID.E. This small family is foimded upon the genus ; I Dioprris, of GeottVoy, a toriii derived from a prri^ Greek word meaning to pass through., and suggested probably by the perfoliate charac- ter of the antenme, in whicli tlie axis ai)pears to pass through the dilated joints ; or, the name may have had reference to the habits of the larviT?, in perforating the fungi u])on which they feed. The short and more or less BlAil'.Kis HYPXI. Fabr. :— rr, larva; . ft, bf.tio: <-. un.i.m.iooi- hca.i of lai- perfoliate cuaractcF ot the antennje, distin- va : rf, k»<; (if sanio; .e, aiiteuiia of bietie— after Riley. guislu'S tlicsc iiisects irom all the other lleter- omera except the sub-family of Ulomides. Their other leading ciiarac- ters have been ^already described in speaking of the tribe which they constitute. The following are the principal genera: A. Body srtmewhat square-shaped and rough. First joint of tarsi very short. (Sub-familj J?<'^7o- }iha(jides) BoLITOl'll Alius, 4 hj). A A. Body oval and smooth. First joint of tarsi usually longer than the second. (Sub-family i>ia- periden.) B. Antenna' .shorter than the thorax, and perfoliate. La.st joint of maxillary palju eloncjatcd. C. Head unarmed. Ist joint of hind tar.si as lent; as the 2d. Length of body quarter of an inch or upwards. Colors black, with reic animalcula, but here the superiority in number would probably be found to be in individuals only, and not in distinct species. The number of species of Curculionida', specimens of which actually exist in the collections of Europe and of this country, does not vary much from 20,000. The number of North American spe- cies enunu'rated in ^Ir. Crotch's check list of 1S73, is -41 1 ; and this cata- logue undoubtedly falls far short of the whole luimber, especially of the smaller species. The prolongation of the head anteriorly, in the form of a slender snout, generally serves to distinguish the beetles of this tribe from all others. But in a considerable number the snout is so short and broad as not to aiford a very distinguishing feature. In cases of doubt, there- fore, the student must take other characters into account. The most important of these is the usually rudi mental state of palpi, and the four- jointed, cushioned, and bilobed tarsi. The antenn:e, in the great ma- jority, are knobbed at the end, and geniculate or bent like an elbow near the middle. * 128 THE OEDEE, OF COLEOPTERA. Tbe Ciiiculioiiid?e are generally small beetles, probably not averaging more than a quarter of an inch in length, and a great number being less than half this length. A few of the tropical species, however, are amongst the giants of the beetle tribe, some of them attaining a length of from one to two inches. The larvte are soft, white, footless grubs, and almost always inhabit the substance of plants, more especially the fruit in its various forms of seeds, nuts, and pulpy fruits. The larvfe of a few foreign genera, how- ever, (Ilypera, Coniatus and Clonus,) live upou the surface of leaves, the pulp of which they devour. These, living exposed to the light, pre- sent somewhat variegated colors; and they have two or three simple eyes, or ocelli, on each side of the head. When about to transform, they attach themselves to a leaf or its petiole, and enclose themselves in a thin gauze-like cocoon; a curious anomaly in the Coleopterous order. The larvce of some of the more minute species belong to the class of leaf-miners, and others inhabit the stems of herbaceous plants, causing them to enlarge into the excrescences known as galls, and which bear a certain resemblance to unripe fruits. As a tribe, there- fore, the snout-beetles are i)re eminently the occupants and devourers of fruits, and as otlier tribes of tetramerous beetles are known by the Greek names of Xylophago, or wood-eaters, and Phytophaga, or plant- eaters, the snout- beetles might be properly styled Carpophaga, or fruit-eaters ; but we have retained the name by which they are generally known, and which is so happily expressive of their most distinctive character, namely : Ehynchophora, or snout-bearers. This tribe of beetles comprises the four following families : A. Labruin and palpi normally devcloijed ; anteuniB not elbowed ; snout short and thick. B. Antennaj Sfaw-toothed ; eyes notched '. Bruchid^. B B. Antennre clavate ; eyes round or slightly sinuate Anthribid^. A A. Labrum and palpi obsolete. C. AntenniB straight and filiform ; proboscis pointing directlj' forwards ; body elongated Buentuid^. C C. Antennae clavate and usually elbowed; snout various Curcxjlionid^:;. Family LV. BRUCHID^. This is a small family of small-sized beetles, always less than a quar- ter, and sometimes one-eighth of an inch in length. The only tetramer- ous beetles with which they could be confounded are the Currculionida) and the Chrysomelida^ ; but they difier from the former by having the labrum and palpi of the ordinary form, and the head is but little pro- longed anteriorly; and they differ from the great majority of tbe latter in their short, serrate antenuic, and in having the tip of the abdomen uncovered by the elytra. But a few aberrant genera of Chrysomelidie, .SNOUT-BEETLES OE WEEVILS. 129 [ *'>«• .'■.'J. ] {Bahia^ Saxinis and Coscinoptcra,) resemble them iu these characters, thus showing the close relationship between the two families. The present family contains the well known pea and bean weevils, which are often very seriously injurious to these crops. The pea- bugs make their ap]iearance and dei)Osit their eggs iu the early part of tlie summer, and as they have but one brood in a sea- BiaiCIIl'8 nsl, Linn.:— a, bcolle on- i ■ • ■• n , , . larjied, the small onlline .sliowinji SOU, WC CaU ObtaiU SOUUd SeCd OJ plautHlg natnral size ; /). a iM'a tVoni \\ hiili the , i ii i ,■ -r beetle has oscaiH'tl— alt. r Kiley. pCas aS late US tllC farst Ot JUUC. The family contains but a few genera, and all our injurious species belong to the genus Jinichus, Linn.* The most notorious species are the pea- weevil {Briichm pisij Linn.); the bean- weevil {B. ohsolettis, Say), and the grain -bruchus {B. granarius, Linn.) The latter is a I'uropean species which has been imported in small numbers into this country. Family LVI. ANTHRIBIDJE.. This and the following family are really only subdivisions of the great Curculio family, from which it is distinguished by the presence of an upper lip aud palj)!, and the straight antenme. The larv;e inhabit the seeds and stems of plants, and some have short but well developed feet. The larvu' of the genus Brachytarsus, which is composed of very small species, are fouiul under the scales of bark-lice, and are supposed to be parasitic, thus presenting a remarkable anomaly in this tribe of beetles. The species are much more numerous than the Bruchida', but none of them have proved injurious to cultivated crops. The name is derived from the Greek antJios — a floicer, and tribo — to destroy. The following are the four principal genera : A. Thorax witb a transverse riilgc in front of the posteiior margin Tuoi'Idekkb, 2 s|i. A A. Thorax without trauaverac ridgo. B. Body oblong oval ; rostrum with parallel sides. C. Anterior coxib rather widely separated ; eyes small and tinely granulated Anthkimu8, 2. C C. Anterior coxa' but slightly separated ; eyes large and coarsely granulated. . .Ckatopaius, 3. B B. Body short; size small; rostrum cut obliquely Brachvtahsub, 5. *In Mr. Crotch's Check list the generic name Mylabri-g, of Geoflfroy, is substituted for Bruclmg, Linn. The fonuer tenn. d»>rived from the Greek mu-le — a grain-mill, was applied by the Greeks to some kind of insect found in mills and baking houses, and supposed by some lo have been a species of Blatla, or cockroach, and by otiiers, the cominou meal-worm or larva of the 7en<;6no moUtor : but was applied by Geoflroy to the beetles of the present family. A few years later, LinmiMis, having overlooked the name given by Geotfroy, re-described these insects under the name ot Bruchwi, also an ancient Greek name of some kind of insect, supposed to have been a species of locust, but which cannot now be deter- mined with certainty. As these iusect,s feed upon grain and other seeds, the name given by Geotln)y has the claim of appropriateness, :is well as of priority, but the term Bniehujt has become established by universal adoption and Fong continued usage, so that, like many other words, it may be said to have acquired a meaning of its own, independent of its origin. —17 130 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. Family LVII. BRENTIIID^. This, like the preceding family, might be regarded, more properly perhaps, as one of the sub-families of the Carculionidie. It agrees with them in the important characters of the elongated snout, the undevel- oped labrum and palpi, and the spongy and usually bilobed tarsi. It differs from the great majority of them in its non-elbowed antennae, and the uniform absence of the minute terminal joint, which forms a twelfth or super- numerary joint in the antennae of many of the Curculionidte ; and also in the LFig. 60. greatly elongated form of the body, especially in some of the foreign spe- cies. The family is considerably nu- merous, upwards of six hundred species being known to exist in cabinets, most mSwli;'^h^.i^?',S^!'niegaudOf which are found in tropical regions. Snier-ate? iil^^y!"' "^ Only a siugle spccics is known to inhabit the continent of Europe, and but three species are found in North America, north of Mexico, and of these only one inhabits the more northern parts of the United States. This is the species com- monly known as the Northern Breuthian, which is figured in all its stages in the accompanying cuts. Much interest has become attached to this species from its being the only one of the Breuthian family whose lar- val history has been traced, and also from the uncertainty in which this Mstory has been involved. In a Eeport upon the Insects of Massachu- setts, published in 1838, Dr. T. W. Harris gave a history of the habits of this insect, together with a description of certain larvjie found in com- pany with the perfect insects, and communicated to him by the Rev. L. W. Leonard of Dublin, New Hampshire. As these larv.T vrere likewise accompanied by pupa^, having the characteristic snout of the Brenthian, bent down between the forelegs, it seemed to be almost demonstrated that the insect in all its stages was here exhibited. But as these larviie departed widely from the Curculionide type, in having well developed legs, and an anal proleg, subsequent authors have generally held the opinion that some mistake must have occurred in the matter. These doubts have recently been cleared up in Mr. Kiley's Sixth Annual Report upon the Insects of Missouri. It therein appears, from specimens communicated to the author by Mr. Wm. R. Howard, of Forsyth, Missouri, that the larvm of Brenthus do not differ essentially from other Curculionide larvai. Mr. Riley concludes that the larvae sent to Dr. Harris by Mr. Leonard, must have appertained to some one of the Tenebrionidns ; sim- SNOUT-BEETLES OR TSTEEVILS. 131 ilar larva- haviiiji: been found by liimself in company vitli the Rrentlu- ans, anil which he conjectures to be those of the Str(i)i;ii/liinn frmiicolh'^ Say. The Northern lUenthus isfre(|uently found uniU'rtlie harkof dilU'rciit kinds of oak, in an incipient state of decay, but the hir\ le are genuine wood-borers penetrating into the heart wood, usually of dead, but some- times of living trees. The beetles vary from one third to two-thirds of an inch in length. They are of a mahogony-brown color, with the elytra deeply grooved, and marked with linear spots of a tawny-yellow color. The male and female differ remarkably in the shape of the snout, as shown in the accomjjanying tigures. The species was first described by Drury from a small specimen, under the name of Brtntlms minutiis, and it is now included in the sub-genus Uupsalis of Lacordaire, which the author admits to be scarcely distinct from Arrhe>i(Hh;s, Sch. It has usually been referred to under the appro- priate name of Brenthns (Arrhenodes) septentrionvi, (or more properly, srptrntrionalis) of Ilerbst, which is equivalent to the common name of the Northern Breuthus. Family LVIU. CUHCULIONIDJ':. This is the extensive family of snout-beetles, proi)erly so called. The statements made in describing the tribe of Khynchophora, of which they comi)ose by far the larger part, had reference chietiy to the Curcu- lionidie, * and ueed not be here repeated. Their bodies are always of an oval form, never being very much elongated or depressed. The snout varies extremely, being sometimes short and broad, and sometimes as long as the body and almost as slender as a hair. Their most important organic character is the negative one ot the absence of the labrum and the rudimental condition of the i)alpi. Like all the plant-eating Tetra- mera their tarsi are clothed with a dense brush of short stiff hair on the under side, and the last joint but one is strongly bilobed. Another very distinctive character is the bent or elbowed form of the antenna', which is caused by the first joint behig much longer than the others, and form- ing an angle with them. The anteniue are almost always knobbed at the end. The larva' are soft and white, slightly narrowed at each ex tremity, and usually lying in a curved position. They are always desti- tute of feet, but in their place we often find little elevations or papilhe which are sometimes surmounted by a coronet of line bristles. They always occupy the substance of jdants, and therefore require but little locomotion. Though they are emphatically the occupants of fruits and * Curculio was the ancient name of some kind of com-wonn. 132 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. fruit-like galls, yet there is no part of a plant which is not inhabited by the larvje of some one or other of their numerous species. The snout-beetles consequently furnish a greater number of species which are injurious to the agriculturist than any other family of beetles. In depositing their eggs the females first puncture a hole with their snouts, then drop an egg at the aperture, and lastly with the aid of the proboscis push the egg to tlie bottom of the cavity. In harmony with this mode of egg-deposit is the organic character observed in many spe- cies, of the female having a proboscis considerably longer than that of the male ; of which our Apple-curculio {Anthonomus 4:-gibhus) furnishes an example. * The classification of the Curculionidte, on account of their great num- bers and the small size of the great majority of them, taken in connec- tion with the rudimental state of some of the organs, namely, the labrum and the i)alpi, which, in other insects, often furnish valuable generic characters, presents a difficult study which will tax both the patience and the ingenuity of the student. Tbey are divided j)rimarily into two large sections, according to the length of the rostrum or snout, and the point of insertion of the anten- nas and designated as the Brevirostres or short-snouted Curculios, and the Longirostres or long-snouted Curculios. These sections not being sharply separated from each other in nature, Lacordaire has adopted, as the basis of the primary division of the Curculionidse, the relative position of certain parts of the mouth ; but these parts are often so minute and obscure that the characters derived from them are very difli- * In a paper on the systematic value of the Ehynchophora, read before the National Academy of Sciences, at Washington, Jan. 24, 1867, Dr. LeConte adduces this habit of the Curculiouida? of pushing their ova into the cavities prepared for tliem by means of the rostrum or beak, as an evidence of deg- radation or inferiority of type. " It was reserved," he says, "for the Khynchophora to exhibit a degra- dation of type, by which a function, peculiarly appropriate to the posterior extiemity of the body, is performed by the head : the elongated beak becoming in fact the o\ipositor." Dr. George H. Horn, in an article upon the Curculiouida^, conti-ibuted to the American Pliilosophical Society, Sept. 19, 1873, in describing the species of the genus Balaninus, states that the females have a slender ovipositor, which they are capable of extending to half the length of their bodies, and that he possesses a specimen with the ovipositor protruded, and an egg seized by its tip. From this he infers that the Balanini, and probably other Curculionida* also, use their beaks only to make the perforation into which the egg is to bo deposited, but that the act of inserting the egg is done in the ordinary way by the ovipositor. The fact, however, that many, (if not all) of the Longirostres, or long- snouted Curculios, use their beaks to force their ova to the bottom of the cavities prepared for them, is too well attested to admit of question. Several species of Ehynchites and Authonomua are described as thus ovipositing, in Kol- lar's Treatise,. (page 238, et. seq.); and the common Plum-curculio, (Gonotnichehis nenuphar), is known to practice the same method. (See Practical Entomologist, vol. 2, page 115.) But the argument above stated to prove the relative inferiority of the Ehynchophora, appears to me more fanciful than real. The great majority of Coleoptera have neither beak nor ovipositor, and simpl deposit their eggs upon the surface of tlie substances ui)oii wliich, or within which, their larva^ are to reside. The additional precautions taken by the Ehynchophora to ensure the preservation of their eggs and the welfare of their otl'siuing. would seem to furnish a more certain proof of superiority of instinct, than of anj' systematic degradation. SNOUT-BEETLES OE WEEVILS. 133 cult of ai)plication. We have therefore followed the more popular class- ification of Latrcille and Schu'uherr, so far as respects this primary division. Section 1. Brcvirostres. Eostrnm short and L)roa«l, never much loiijivr than the head; scrobes extending to the end of the rostruu), and the an- tenn;e inserted at or near their extremities. Anterior coxic contiy:uons. Elytra covering the whole of the abdomen. Section 2. Lonyirostres. Kostrum usually much longer than the head, narrow and cylindrical; scobes very rarely reaching the end of the rostrum, and the antenna* usually inserted at a greater or less dis- tance from its extremity, generally near the middle, and sometimes at its base. Cox.t and elytra various. The Longirostres, which are much the most numerous, are divided by Lacordaire, into two sub-sections accordingly as tlie anteiior coxic touch each other, or stand more or less ai)art. The former he names iSynmerides, meduiWgX thighs contiguous,- and the ]iitt*^r Aposta.simerides, (which we have contracted to Apomcridrs), meaning thighs seimrate. The word scrohc, used in describing the Curculionidic, is the name given to the channel on each side of the rostrum for the reception of the antenna'. The term occuJar lohcs refers to the form of the anterior and lateral margins of the thorax, which, in this case, curve forwards so as to touch or partly cover the eyes. iScape is the same as j^edice/, and is the name of the elongated first Joint of the antenna^. The rostral canal is the name of the groove in the prosternum of some species for the re- ception of the rostrrm when it is bent under the breast in repose. It is necessary to bear in mind that as the Curculionidie are, for the most part, small insects when comi>ared with the Coleoptera in general, tlie terms large and small, when applied to particular groups or si)e- cies, have a modified significance. A curculio half an inch or upwards in length, is comparatively large ; one a (juarter of an inch, is medium ; and one an eighth of an inch or less, is small or very small. The following tables exhibit the principal groups or sub families into which this extensive familv has been divided : Section 1. B r e r i rostres. A. Auti'umc straight; eyes round ITIIYCERIDES. A A. Antenna' sliffhtly elbowed; eyes oblong, narrowed interiorly . .C'LEONIDES. A A A. Antenme strongly elbowed. IJ. Eyes large, depressed, transverse, pointed at the lower extremify. Prothorax with ocular lobes; scrobes directed inferiorly LEPTOPSIDES. B H. Eyes round or oval. D. Prothorax without ocular lobes; eyes generally moderate — sometimes round, sometimes oval. 134 THE ORDER OP COLEOPTERA. E. Mentum large, concealing the maxillte ; sternum not hollowed in front. F. Scrobes linear directed beneath the rostrum ; scape rarely extending beyond the posterior border of the eyes, often not reaching it : BIIACHYDERIDES. F F. Scrobes often dilated, forming winglets {pterygia) on the sides of the end of the rostrum, never linear and directed beneath ; scape extending beyond the ej^es (except in Brachystylus,) : OTIORHYN CHIDES. E E. Mentum small, not concealing the maxillas ; sternum more or less hol- lowed out in front to receive the rostrum. G. Scrobes deep, linear, reaching the mouth. H. Scrobes reaching the eyes. Rather large insects, either glabrous or pubescent MOLYTIDES. H H. Scrobes various in length ; small insects clothed with hairs or fine scales HYPERIDES. G G. Scrobes short, curved, sub-basal ATERPIDES. D D. Prothorax with ocular lobes ; eyes generallj'^ large, oval and transversal. I. Tarsi hispid, not spongy beneath; third joint, not dilated nor bilobed BYRSOPSIDES. I I. Tarsi spongy; third joint bilobed. K. Rostrum Avidened and hollowed triangularly at the end ; scrobes confluent on the under side of rostrum : PROMECOPIDES. K K. Rostrum more or less enlarged, but not notched at the end ; scrobes shallow and incomplete posteriorly : CYLINDRORHINIDES . Section 2. Longirostres. First Sub-section — Synmerides. Anterior coxae nearly or quite contiguous; never with a groove between them for the reception of the rostrum. A. Antennje elbowed, first joint much longer than the others. B. Body oblong, cylindrical, covered with a fine powder; tarsal claws soldered to- getlier at base , Lixiues . B B. Body not cylindrical and pulverulent ; ungues free. C. All the tibise terminated with a claw. D. Tliorax longer than wide, swollen anteriorly; narrowed behind ; eyes round Otidocepjialides . D D. Tliorax narrowest in front; eyes oval or oblong. E. Body rough; eyes almost or quite contiguous above; abdominal sutures very deep Prionomekides . E E. Body smooth, glabrous or pubescent. F. Body elongate, sides parallel, glabrous, punctured ; usually black or blueish Magdalinides. F F. Body oval; usually Ijrownish and pubescent, and often variegated. G. Tibiie slightly compressed and hollowed on the inner side; rather large insects ; inhabit pine trees Hylobiiues. G G. Tibiae round ; small insects ; usually found on low plants : Ebirhinide^ C C. Tibia; unarmed or simply mucronate at the end. SNOUT-BEETLES OE WEEVILS. 135 II. Rostrum very long and slender; prosternum w<'ll advanced in front iJAI.ANINIDKS. I MI. Kostnini not excessively long; prosternum very short in front of anterior coxa>. I. Eyes rather small, round ; liiiid ihi^lis not thickened: ANTnONOMIDES. 1 I. Eyes contiguous ahove; hind thighs enlarged for jumping: OllCilESTIUES. A A. Antennae straight, first joint not niucli longer than tiie following ones; ante- rior coxiv elongated. Iv. Rostrum short or moderate, more or less widened at the end ; tij) of abdomen exposed Attki-amides. K K. Rostrum long and slender; abdomen wholly covered by elytra; body pear-shaped Ai'Ionides. Second Sub-section — Apomertdes. Anterior coxa; more or less distant from each other, and fre(|Uently with a groove, or rostral canal in the prosternum, between them. A. Capitulum of antenna; ordinar}^ with transverse incisions ; tarsi spongy beneath ; third joint bilobed. B. Anterior coxiu exceptional, being nearly or (juite contiguous; rostral canal very short, but distinct; thighs often with a tooth Conotk.vcueudks. IJ ii. Anterior coxie separate. C. Antenme elbowed. I). Hind margin of the abdominal segments straight. E. Rostral canal wanting; anterior coxaj large, sub-globular and wide apart; tip of abdomen largel}- exposed LEMOSAtinES. E E. Rostral canal distinct; anterior coxaj ordinary; tip of abdomen little or not exposed. F. Rostrum thickened at the end (ex. Analcis); abdomen ordinary; eyes large, oval, not contiguous above CK\TTORHVXCiiinES. F F. Rostrum slender; venter turned up behind; eyes contiguous: ZTGOPrOES. D U. Hind margin of second and sometimes third and fourtli abdominal segments arched or angulated. G. Rostral Ciuial short or wanting; scutcllum indistinct or wanting; colors various Ceutoriivn( hides. G G. Rostrum often thickened and compressed at base; rostral canal wanting; scutel distinct; color black or bronze. .Bakidiides. C C. AntennsE straight, veiy short; first joint short and obconic; rostrum short. II. Eyes on the front, sub-contigU(nis ; hind legs very long ; hind cox;« very widi- aiiart Tacuvgonides. II II. Eyes lateral; legs ordinary ; tip of abdomen largely exposed: Pteuocoijdes. A A. Capitulum solid, globrous, with a spongy tip; tarsi entire, not, or but slightly, spongy beneath. I. Eyes large; tip of a1)domen exposed ; size medium or large: Calanduides. I I. Eyes small or wanting; abdomen wholly covered by elytra; small, black or brown, usually glabrous CossoxiDES. 136 THE ORDER OP COLEOPTERA. We will add a few additional notes upon those sub-families whicli are most common or most numerous in species, and which will therefore be most likelv to occur to the student: [Fig. 61.] Section 1st. Brevirosfres. Subfamily ITHTCERTDES. Ithtcerus 8IS, Forster : — a, slit'made iu oak twig by female for de- positing her eggs ; 6, larvae ; c, beetle— after Eiley. This sub-family has been formed to 'receive a single N.American specieSjthelthyeerusnovehora- censis, or New York weevil, a comparatively large and rather common species which is sometimes con- siderably injurious to'apple trees by devouring the buds and bark of young twigs. It differs from all other short-snouted weevils in not having the antenniB elbowed. The rostrum is robust, and the scrobes very short and oblique. It is a bulky insect five or six-tenths of an inch long, of a gray color, with a few'small black spots on the wing-covers. The name is derived from the Greek cOuc; straight, NovEBOK.vcEN- aud xspa<; antenuie. Sub-family _ CLEONIDES. In these the antennae are but slightly elbowed, thus forming a trans- itional group from the Ithycerides to those which follow. The rostrum is rather robust aud angular or cariuated above, and longer than the head ; the scrobes are linear and deep, directed beneath, but not meet- ing behind. The thorax is almost always furnished with ocular lobes. The tibiic terminate in a dagger-like spine. These are large species averaging about half an inch in length ; oblong, cylindrical and pubes- cent. The larvie of some are found in the stems of thistles. Six N. A. si»ecies have been described, all belonging to the genus Cleonus of IVIegerle. Sub-family LEPTOPSIDES. The most striking character of this group is the form of the eyes, which are large and placed transversly or crosswise of the head, and more or less narrowed and pointed at their lower extremity, whence, in common with some others, they have been denominated by Lacordaire OxyopthalmeSj meaning pointed eyes. AVe have two N. A. genera, Pan- scopus, Sch., and Ophryasfes, Sch. ; the former contains but one species, the P. ennacetiSy Say, a sordid brown curculio, a little more than quar- SNOUT-BEETLES OE WEEVILS. 137 ter of au iuch in leugtli, with a rough surface aud clothed with short stiff hairs. We have taken tlieni abundantly in Michigan, under the chips placed as traps for the riuni-curculio. Thirteen species of Ophry- astes have been described, none of which have been found east of the jMississippi river. They are large species covered with (;inereous scales. The eyes are partly covered by the prominent ocular lobes. The fam- ily name is derived from Leptops, (meaning narrow eyed) a genus pecu- liar to Australia. Subfamily BRACHTDERIDES. This subfamily comprises an extensive and considerably heterogene- ous assemblage of insects, which, taken in connection with the Otiorhyn- chides which follow, constitute the greater i>art of the division called, by Lacordaire, Cyclopthahnes, meaning round eyes, and which are distin- guished by the union of the three characters of short snouts, round eyes and the maxilhe covered by the mentum. The Brachyderides are for the most part comparatively large species, often clothed with fine scales ; most of them are found upon the ground, but some upon herbaceous plants. The sub fanuly contains the following N. A. genera, with the numl)er of described species in each : Epicierus 7, Paudeleteius 1, Polydrosus 2, Sitoues 8, Tanymecus 5, Thalacites 1, Pachuaeus 2, Pary- uotus 1, Lachuopus 1, Platyomus 1, Strophosomus 1. Subfamily OTIORHYNCHIDES. This word literally means ear-snouted, and is intended to express the most peculiar character of the sub-family, which consists in an ear like expansion on each side of the end of the rostrum, but some species are included which have not this character. Another distinctive character is the length of the scape, or first joint of the antennae, which, except in the genus Brachystylus, always extends backwards beyond the eyes. Many species are found under moss and grass. Such larv;e as are known feed upon the roots of plants. N. A. genera : Otiorhynchus 3 species, Agraphus 1, Tyloderes 1. Subfamily CYLINDRORirEiflDES. Eostrum as long, at least, as the head, rather stout, and more or less enlarged at the end. Scape reaching the eyes. Eyes oblong and transversal. Thorax with ocular lobes, and imperfectly contiguous to the elytra. This sub-family contains the genus Listroderes, Sch., of which seventeen X. A. species have been described. This genus forms one of the transitional groups betwi en the short-snouted and the long- snouted Curculionida?, the rostrum being usually nearly twice as long —18 138 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. as the head. They can be distinguished from most allied groups by the eyes being partly covered by the ocular lobes, a character possessed by very few N. A. Curculionidte. The species vary from an eighth to a half of an inch in length. Section 2d. Longirostres. Subfamily LIXIDES. With this subfamily commences the section of Longirostres, the snout being cylindrical and decidedly narrower and longer than the head, but their transitional jjosition is shown by the antennae being inserted not very far from the end of the rostrum. The Lixides are distinguished by their elongate, almost cylindrical bodies, which are covered with a fine dust, like the bloom on a fresh plum or grape. This bloom is sometimes bluish, sometimes orange, and is very easily rubbed oft", so that perfect specimens are rarely obtained; and for this reason it is often difficult to identify the species. They are of rather large size for this family, the species usually ranging from a third to half an inch in length. Some of them inhabit water plants, and some foreign species breed in the stems of thistles. We have two genera : Lixvs, Fab., 13 species ; and Larinus, Germar, 2 sp. In the latter genus the scrobes, or grooves on the side of thQ ros- trum, usually meet behind on the under side. Sub-family OTIDOCEPHALIDES. This name is derived from the Greek otis, a kind of otvl, and Tcephale^ the head] the swollen anterior part of these insects having some fancied resemblance to the head of an owl. The thorax is swollen before and narrowed behind, a character not found, we believe, in any other Cur- culionidse, and which has caused them to be compared with ants. The antennfe are inserted rather near the end of the rostrum. The sternum is concave or hollowed in front. The sub-family is composed of the single genus OtidoccphaJus^ Chev- rolat. The species are from an eighth to a quarter of an inch in length, and usually of a shining black color. They are exclusively American. Five species have been described which inhabit the United States. SNOUT-BEETLES OR WEEVTLS. 139 [Fi-:. 621 Sub-family MAGDALINIDES. Rostrum rather long and cylindrical; scobes linear, comiiienciug near the middle, and reaching the base. Eyes transverse, approximate above. Pro- sternum not excavated. Small spe- cies of an oblong parallel form, glab- rous, usually black or blue, but sometimes reddish. Thorax deeply packani!"''''' '''■'''''-''• '""'"^^ '' P"!^'^-^'"^'"- puuctatc. Elytra punctate and stri- ate. The larvai depredate upon the pine, boring into the pith of the smaller branches. A foreign species is said to have been reared from a larva found in burrows under the bark of willow trees. The M. anni- coUis, Say, inhabits the elm. Xearly all the species belong to the typical genus Magdalis, Germar, of which seven X. A. species have beeu de- scribed. |Fip. fi3.| Subfamily HYLOBIIDES. Rostrum twice as long as the head, cylin- drical, sometimes moderately robust; aerobes deep, linear and oblique. Scape clavate, nearly or quite reaching the eyes. The anterior coxa' are somewhat separa- ted. The tibiae usually compressed, often curved, and terminated by a stcmt curved spine. Tarsal claws elongated. Size rather large. Body oblong and pubescent, after Packard. Tlie larvir gnaw galaries nmhu* tlie bark of trees, chietly the pines, ofteu doing much injury. This habit is expressed by the family name, which means, living in tcood. The sub-family contains the following N. A. genera : Hylobius, Ger- mar, 3 species. Uiidocimus, Sch., 1. Pissodes, Germ., 5. Heilipiis, Germ., 3. LepyruSf Germ., 3. IMssoDEs STROBI: — a, larva; b, pupa — Subfamily ERIRHINTDES. From the Greek ptv, pi><>^, the nose or snout^ with the intensifying prefix ept. Rostrum long and slender. Scrobes commencing at a distance from the mouth and reaching the eyes. AntenniT3 long and slender. Scape sub-clavate. Tibi* slender, not compressed, and usu- ally with a spine or claw at the end. Tliese are distinguished from the Hylobiides chiefly by the form of the tibi* ; but they embrace a number of groups, each of which has some remarkable peculiarity. 140 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. In the group Cryptoplides, containing the genera Endalus, Brachy- hamus, and Smicronyx, the fourth joint of the tarsi scarcely extends beyond the lobes of the tbird. In the group Ilydronomides, repre- sented in this country by the genus Bagous, Sch., the tarsi differ from the common type of the Curculionida) in being slender, and not spongy beneath, and the third joint not bilobed ; the fonrth joint is elongated. The species of this group are found on aquatic plants, and their bodies are covered with minute scales which shed the water. The species of this sub family are all small, ranging from a quarter to a tenth of an inch in length. The described N. A. species are as fol- lows : Erirhinns, Sch., 10 species. Undalus, DeCasteln, 4. Brachyba- mus, Sch., 2. Bagous, Sch., 2. Sub-family BALANINIDES. [Fig. 64. 1 From BaXavoq, a nut or acorn, in which the larvte reside. Head globular. Rostrum very long, slender and filiform. Scrobes linear, commencing a little beyond the middle of rostrum and reaching the base. Antennae slender. Eyes large. End of abdomen slightly exposed. Distinguished at once by their long, slender rostrum, almost as fine and glossy as a hair. Tlie larvte inhabit nuts and fruit, and sometimes the galls made by other insects. The female pierces a hole with her rostrum for the deposition of her eggs. They enter the ground to transform. The species Eye. are, for the most part, of medium size, and of a mottled brownish color. The sub family is composed of the genus Balaninus, Oermar, of which 8 N. A. species have been described. Balandjus— after [Fig. 65.] Sub-family ANTHONOMIDES. Head somewhat conical. Rostrum slen- der and jirojecting forwards, and varying in length in different species, and some- times in the two sexes of the same. Scrobes linear, commencing near the middle of the rostrum and reaching the base. Eyes ap- proximate above. End of abdomen little or not at all exposed. These are small, somewhat pear-shaped curculio, without any very strongly marked characters. _,, . . , , r. -1 . Anttionomus, 4-Giriniis, Tbey are a very important sub-family, incuicnijo; a, natmai size an economic point of view, many of them back view, enlarged— after Riley. Say: — Apple c. side and SNOUT-BEETLES OR WEEVILS. 141 I Fife. C6.] I beiiij,^ injuiioiis to fruits. Kollar lias de- scribed the habits of two European spe- cies, the Apple-weevil, A. pomorum, Fab., and the l*ear-weevil, ^'l. pyri., Kol- hir, which deposit their e^gs in the fruit buds of these trees. The Apple curculio, A. quadrifjihbii.s, of Say, (Fif^. (>5) and the Phnu-gouger, A. prunivida^ of Walsh, are well known American spe- cies. Both of these deposit their egfjs in the fruit. The larvae of these insects do not go into the ground to pupate, like the common Plum-curculio and many others, but go through all their stages in the buds or the fruit which they infest. All the N. A. insects of this sub-famil}- belong to the genus AuthonomuSy Germ., of which 15 species have been described. ( Anthonomi's, 4-i':n»ni-8, Say: larva, enlarged — alter Jiiley. pujja ; b, I Sub-faiuily ORCHESTIDES. From opxr^ffzTj-, a dancer or jumper. These resemble the Anthonomides in most of their characters, but difier in having the hind thighs much swollen, with a corresponding musculardeveloptnent which gives to them the power of jumping. The prostemum is very short, permitting the rostrum to be bent beneath in repose. Eyes large, oval, and nearly meeting above. This little group is very remarkable for the structure and habits of the laivje. They are somewhat flattened, and i)ointed behind, and furnislied with six feet, a remarkable departure from the ai)odal character of other curculioiiide larva'. l>ut the most anomalous circumstance is that these larvi\; are leaf-miners, a habit of which there are but few examples* in the order of Coleoptera, and exhibiting a curi- ous analogy to the larva' of many of the 31icro-Lepidoi)tera ; and this analogy is carried out by the larvae when fully grown and about to change to pupa», enclosing themselves in silken cocoons. Two X. A. si)ecies have been described by ]Mr. Say belonging to the genus Orchestc.s, Illiger. They are only about a tenth of an inch in length. Sub-family ATTELABIDES. Rostrum more or less robust and enlarged at the extremity ; scrobes [Fig. 67.] superior, large and pit-shaped. Antenna' straight, or not elbowed, the first Joint being but little longer than the following ones. This character readily distinguishes this and the following sub family from the great majority of Curculionida*. They are divided into two groups : the Attelabidos proper, with short, thick bodies, tibia' un- guiculate at the end, and claws soldered together ; and * Othor examples are found in Hispa and Haltica. 142 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. tlie Rliyuchitides, more elongate and depressed, with uuarmed tibire, and free, usually bifid claws. The females roll up leaves and deposit their eggs singly in the cavi- ties thus made. The larva inhabits this cavity, and, when fully grown, leaves it and goes into the ground to transform. IST. A. genera : Attcla- bus, Linn., 5 species ; Bhynchites, Herbst, 8 5 JEugnam_ptus, Sch., 2. Sub-family APIONIDES. From anew, a jyear. Eostrum long, curved, cylindric or subulate ; scrobes foreiform or pit-shaped. Antenute not elbowed. Size small or very small ; body pear-shaped, usually glabrous, and without wings. Habits of the larvte various. Some live in seeds, especially those of the legumiuosse. Some form galls on the stems and leaves of plants. Some bore into the pith of certain plants and form a kind of cocoon of the detritus or gnawed particles. Finally, some inhabit knots which they form upon the roots of plants. Twenty-one N. A. species of the genus Apion, Herbst, have been described. Subfamily CONOTRACHBLIDES. Meaning having a conical thorax. With this subfamily we pass to the sub-section of Apomerides (Apostasimerides, Lacordaire,) a term derived from the Greek apo — aparty and meros — the fJtigh, in allusion to the greater or less separation from each other of the anterior coxce ; whereas in all the preced- ing sub-families these parts stand nearly or quite in contact. The present is a transitional group in this respect, the an- terior coxai being but slightly sei)aratcd. The rostrum is various as to length ; the scrobes turn rapidly beneath, and are con- coNOTuAciiEus NENui'HAK, Herbst :- fluent behind, being imperfectly visible on Pliuu and peach curculio — a, larva; 6, . - _^ i i i -, -, pupa; c, beetle; d, a plum, showing the the sidcs. Ihc ocuuir loocs are advauccd crescent slit made bv the female after , , ., ,, depositing her ogg-a'fter liiiey. SO as to nearly Or quite covcr the eyes when the rostrum is bent down. Thighs usually with a tooth on the under side. Size small, or medium ; colors generally obscure. The sub-family is exclusively American. Fourteen N. A. species have been described. The notorious Plum-curcnlio, Conotraclielns nonuphar, Herbst (Fig. G8), may be taken as an example of the genus and its larviB. Subfamily CRTPTORHYNCHIDES. Rostrum varying in length, usually somewhat enlarged both at base and tip (attenuated in xVualcis.) Scrobes oblique. Antennie far from SNOUT-BEETLES OR AVEEVILS. 143 base of rostrum ; scope at most reaching the eyes, llostral canal ex- tending onto the mesosteruum. l^^yes large, pointed interiorly. Ocular [^'•^'- »'!'•] lobes more or less prominent. Thighs sometimes toothed beneath. Tibi.c spined at the end. lu Cryp- torhj'uchus proper the tibioe have a band of rigid hairs near the ex- tremity, usually bright yellow, but sometimes black. These are small species found on plants. The bodj' Anai.cis FRA0AUI.T5,' Riley:— Strawberry crown- jg of varioUS fomi, and is USUally liorer — «, larva: b, outline side view; c, back view 01 beetle— after Kiiey. clothed wlth scalcs. The family name sigiiilies having a concealed snout^ and has reference to the rostrum being bent under the breast, and lying in the groove called the rostral canal. N.A. si)ecies : Cri/ptorJiynchus, Illiger, 11; Acalles, Sch., 3; Pseu- flomus, Sch., 1 ; Analcis, Sch., 4. Subfamily CEUTORHTNCHIDES. Eostrum cylindric, not thickened at base ; scrobes lying along the inferior edge of the rostrum, rarely very oblique. The rostral canal varies in the different groups, as shown below. Scutellum wanting or 1 indistinct. The three intermediate segments of the abdomen strongly arched. Tibiiie unarmed. The name means the same as that of the preceding sub-family, and implies that the rostrum is more or less con- ' cealed, but the prosternal groove is here usually less distinct, and some- times wanting. They are chiefly distinguished from the Cryptorhyn- chides by the absence of scutellum, and of points at the end of the tibia, and by the abdominal segments strongly arched behind. They are small insects, found mostly on low herbage in wet places. The habits of the larva' are various, some inhabiting seeds, and others the stems or roots of plants. The Monouychi transform on the plant, whilst the Oeutoryuchi go into the ground and enclose themselves in cocoons. The species are numerous, and are divided by Lacordaire into three groups, as follows : A. Eyes covered, at least partly, by tlie tborax. B. Eo8tral canal extendinfr onto the nicsustcnnmi. and sonirtiines the mctastcrnum. . .Caa.lOMitES. B B. Kostral can:il not exti-nding bcy.mil tlio anterior coxa> Ckutorhynciiidks pniper. I A A. Eyes exposed. Eostral canal indistinct or wanting Pii vtobudks. In the first group we have one species of the genus Mononychus, Ger- mar, the 2f. riiliwcuhus, Fab., found on the flowers of the wild Iris, and five species of ddiodes, Sch. lu the second group, Ceut<>rhy)H-huii, Germar, 5 species. In the third group, Phytobim, Sch., 3 species; Gcelogmtevy Sch., 1 species ; and RhinoncuSy Sch., 1 species. I 144 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. Sub-family BAPaDITDES. Eostrum various, often compressed and thickened at base ; scrobes commencing near the middle, and turning rapidly beneath. Scutelhim distinct. Rostral canal wanting; but in Centrinus there is an excava- tion between the coxae, which, in the male, often has a spine on each side. Intermediate segments of the abdomen usually arched or angu- lated behind. The eyes are finely granulated, and partly covered by the thorax. The tibre are usually mucronate or pointed at the ex- tremity. Size medium or small ; of elliptical or rhomboidal form ; usually black or brown, sometimes with reddish spots. The larvti; live in the stems or roots of plants, and are sometimes very injurious to cul- tivated crops. They undergo their transformations in the detritus which they have made, and with which they construct a kind of cocoon. N. A. genera : Centrinus, Sch., (body short and rhomboidal), 11 spe- cies ; BaridiuSj Sch., (body oblong or oval), 30 species ; Madams, Sch., (body oblong rhomboidal), 2 species. Sub-family CALANDEIDES. Rostrum more or less elongated; scrobes short. Antennre basal; scape usually reaching far onto the thorax; knob without joints, horny [Fig. JO.] ^ and shining at base, with a spongy extremity. Eyes finely granulated, large, depressed and ap- proximate below. Tip of abdomen exposed. Tarsi not spongy beneath, 3d joint not bilobed. Size sometimes small, but usually medium or large; some tropical species very large. Color black or reddish. The larvse of the larger species inhabit the stems of plants, whilst the smaller are usually siiiENonioiuis rsruNCTA- destructive to grain and seeds. When about to jMh/»"s"c'iri^^ViTiIhVbe t 'vt ^ they construct a coarse kind of cocoon rJ^;^£ni:;rS'^.:itaa from the materials in which they live. &%Tde%ieriaftcr K»ey.*'^= We havc three genera: Rhyncophorus, Herbst, of large size, and distinguished for the excessive development of the side pieces of the metasternum, 2 species ; Sphenojyhonis, Sch., of me- dium or rather large size, usually between a quarter and a half of an inch iu length, 42 species ; and Calandra, Clairville, {Sito2)hilus, Sch.,) less than a quarter of an inch in length, 3 species. Subfamily COSSONIDES. Rostrum usually rather long ; scrobes short, commencing at or beyond the middle. Antenna^, short. Eyes small or wanting. Tip of abdomen not exposed. Tarsi short, filiform, not spongy beneath, 3d joint rarely bi- SHOET-HOENED WOOD-BOEEES. 145 lobed. Small insects, of au oblong linear form, with puncto-striate elytra, and usually of a shining black or brown color. They form a connecting link between the CurculionidaB and the Scolytidae, being mostly sub-cortical and lignivorous in their habits. The five following genera are represented in the N. A. fauna: Cossonus, Clair., 6 species; lihyncolus, Creutz, 7 species ; Dryojythorus, Schupp, 1 species ; Lymantis, Gyll., 1 species, and PhlceophaguSj Sch., 1 species. Teibe XVII. SHOET-HOENED WOOD-BOEEES. Lignivora brevicornia. Xylophaga, Latreille. This tribe is composed of small beetles of a short and nearly cylindri- cal form, and of a brown or blackish color. The antennae are very short, often not much longer than the head, slightly elbowed, and always ter- minating in a knob. In many species the abdomen is truncated, or cut off obliiio-h magnitied and iatnral size; 4, larva, the same; 5, pupa "^^^'*'^*^'-*^J UlSUlULUeu lU iii^u maguitied-after Kiiey. ^^^^ genera or sub-gcnera. But all the more common species may be included in the six following genera : A. Head free; Ist joint of the tarsi as long as the others united Platypus. A A. Head deeply inserted in thorax ; first joint of tarsi much shorter than the others united. B. Abdomen of the usual form. C. Head not globular, visible from above; 3d joint of the tarsi slightly bilobed. D. Knob of the antennas sub-globular. E. Six joints in the antennae before the knob Htlurgus. E E. Seven joints in the antennae before the knob Hylastes. D D. Knob of the antennae as long as the preceding joints united Hylesinus. C C. Head globular, invisible from above ; 3d joint of tarsi not bUobed Tomcus. B B. Venter turned up behind Scolytu8 . The Platypus compositus, Say, may be taken as a type of this genus in this country. It is one-fifth of an inch long, of a reddish-brown color, and each elytron has a three-toothed elongation at its extremity. Dr. Chapuis, in his monograph of this genus, describes nine N. American species, none of which are very common. Hylurgus, Latreille, contains a number of well known species, the largest and most common of which is the H. terebrans, Oliv., of a reddish- brown color, with the thorax deeply punctured, and quarter of an inch in length. This insect is often seriously injurious to pine trees. An SHORT-HOENED WOOD-BORERS. 147 account of its habits is given in Dr. Harris' Treatise. A nuicli smaller species, the H. dcntatus, Say, often bores iunumerables holes in the red cedar. We have ten described species of IlyJesinus, Fab. Whilst the species of llylnrgus and Tomicus are found in evergreens, and especially in the difterent kinds of pine, the species of Hylesinus and Scolytus inhabit mostly, if not exclusively, the hard-wooded deciduous trees. The most common species is the R. aculeatus, Say. The specific name means prickly, and has reference to minute elevated points on the elytra. It is a tenth of an inch in length, or a little more, of a blackish brown ground color, but largely varied with ash color, produced by microscopically minute scales. The top of the thorax is bare, leaving a large elliptical blackish spot. The antennae are reddish. This little insect is often seen in the first warm days of spring sunning itself upon stumps or fences which run through timbered land. I have found it abundantly in wood which appeared to be that of some species of poplar. In Tomicus, Latr., the tip of the abdomen is cut off obliquely and sur- rounded with a number of short spines. They are all of a reddish or chestnut color. Three of the species are frequently met with in pine forests, all of which were originally described and named by INIr. Say. They are the T. exesus, upwards of two-tenths of an inch in length, with six or eight points at the tip of each elytron ; the T. j^ini, three-twen- tieths of an inch long, the tip of each elytron about four-toothed; and the T. xylographus, but little more than a tenth of an inch long, the ely- tra but slightly truncated, puncto-striate, with minute points on the pos- terior declivity, between the punctures. Scolytus, Geoftroy, is distinguished by the singular formation of the abdomen, which is abruptly turned upwards on the under or ventral side, beyond the first segment. The head is usually flattened, and either striated or roughly punctured on top, and surrounded with a coronet of incurved hairs. They inhabit, as we have above stated, the hard-wooded trees. European species live in the oak, the elm, the ash, and the plum. The ditierent kinds of hickory, including the shell-bark, the bitter-nut, and the pecan, are extensively damaged by the JScoIytus ■i-spifwsus. Say, so-called on account of four short spines at the tip of the abdomen of the males. The turned up portion of the venter is moreover decph' con- cave in this sex, and divided down the middle by a carina, or ridge. It is nearly two-tenths of an inch in length, sometimes wholly black, but the elytra are often reddish-brown. The females are about a quarter part smaller, and the venter is but slightly concave, and without either spines or carina. In many groves of timber in Northern Illinois, the bitter-nut hickories have been completely destroyed by the larvae of these little beetles. They work between the bark and the wood, cutting divergent furrows, as shown in the accompanying figure, and finally 148 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. emerging, in the beetle-form, through round holes about large enough to admit a common knitting needle, and giving the tree the appearance, as Mr. Eiley aptly remarks, of having been peppered with fine shot.* TribbXVIIL LONG-HOEN^ED WOOD-BOEEES. Lignivora longicornia. Eucerata, Westwood. This large and conspicuous tribe of beetles is usually designated by the Latin word Longicornes, meaning long horns, in reference to their most striking character, namely, the great length of their antennae, which, with a very few exceptions, are considerably longer than the head and thorax combined, and frequently longer than the whole body. They are sometimes strictly filiform, but usually setaceous, or tapering. Notwithstanding their great length, they very rarely have more than the normal number of joints, which, in the Coleopterous order of insects, is eleven. The genus Prionus, however, furnishes a remarkable excep- tion in this respect, some of the species having as many as thirty joints in their antennaj. The tarsi are always four jointed, spongy beneath, and the third joint strongly bilobed, characters which readily distin- guish them from the predaceous ground -beetles which also have the an- tennae slender and considerably elongated. A few of them have the wing-cases either much shorter, or much nar- rower than the abdomen, but in these instances, the wings are not folded up under them, as in the short-winged Staphylinidse, but lie extended and exposed upon the abdomen. They are strong flyers, but do not readily take to flight, and are, therefore, easily captured, though they run with considerable rapidity, their legs being in harmony with the general elongation of their bodies and their antennne. The thighs are very commonly clavate or enlarged at the end, giving room for an un- usual development of the muscles of locomotion. Many of these beetles, when captured, make a squeaking sound, called stridulation, by rapidly moving the prothorax upon the mesothorax. This faculty seems to be possessed by all of the sub-family of Lamiides, and by many of the Cerambycides, but to be absent in the Prionides. Many of these insects are known to be nocturnal in their habits, and are sometimes seen flying about our lamps in the evening j but others, * This insect has heen described by Mr. Eiley under the specific name caryce; but I can find no suf- ficient grounds for regarding it as distinct from the i-spinosus, of Say. The only positive diffei-ence stated is the absence of denticulations at the tip of the elytra, and these, though very minute, are dis- tinct in the specimens 'which I have examined, of both sexes. The absence of certain details in Mr. Say's description can scarcely be adduced in proof of diircrcnce of .species, since it was eviden tly Mr. Say's rule to practice the greatest brevity in his descriptious, consistent with what he deemed a sufli- cieut identification of the species. LONG-HORNED WOOD-BORERS. 149 especially the Lepturides, are found upon flowers in the day time, and in the full light of the sun. The larvii* are oblong, straight, moderately firm, sordid or yellowish- white grubs, chiefly distinguished by the depth of the incisions between the segments of the body, giving to them a strongly crenulated or wrinkled appearance. They are usually a little tapering from before backward, the first or prothoracic segment being larger than the others, but never excessively developed as in some of the wood-boring larvie of the liuprestidiu. The head is small and more or less sunken in the prothorax, but the larvte of the Lepturides are exceptional in this respect, their heads being large and flattened and as broad as the pro-thorax. The majority have six very small feet, which, in some, are scarcely more than rudimental, and the larvne of the subfamily of Lamiides are distinguished from nearly all the others by being wholly footless — the place of feet being supplied by little callosities. These larv;p, together with those of the short-horned tribe last de- scribed, constitute pre-eminently the wood-borers of the Coleopterous order. Though vastly surpassing the former in size and in the number of species, they would seem to be much inferior to them in the number of individuals, and, therefore, though a few of them have been very in- jurious to cultivated or ornamental trees, they have never been known to produce such extensive destruction of timber as has been eifected by the hirv;e of the diminutive but x^rolific Scolytidte. A remarkable ex- ception, however, to this statement occurred a number of years ago, in the almost total destruction of the locust tree (Rohinia pseudacacia ) throughout all the l!^ortheru States, by the larvie of the Locust-borer, Chjtiis robinicCj of Forster. This destruction did not occur in all places at the same time, but was extended mostly over the ten years between 1855 and 18(55. Upwards of 8000 species of longicorn beetles are known to exist in European cabinets. The Smithsonian catalogue of the year 1853 con- tains the names of 431 N. American species. In Dr. LeConte's New Species of N. A. Coleoptera, published in 1873, eighty-nine additional species are described, and in the intervening twenty years a considerable number of N. A. species had been described by Dr. LeConte and others, both in this country and in Europe. Some of the characters in the following tables may recpiire explana- tion. It will be seen that some of the largest Lamiides are distinguished by a cicatrix or scar at the end of the first joint of the antennae. In these species the pedicel, or stout basal joint, appears as if cut oft" ob- liijuely at the end, and this sloping part is enclosed by a little ridge or carina, and its surface differs from that of the surrounding parts by be- 150 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTEEA. ing covered with little elevated points or granulations. This is the part to which the term cicatrix is applied. Another character, valuable for its permanency, is the openness, or the closure, of the middle cotyloid cavity. The cotyloid cavity is the hollow in which the coxa is situated. In some of the longicorues the posterior angle of the mesosternum is prolonged backwards till it nearly touches the anterior angle of the metasternum, and thus closes the cotyloid cavity on its outer side. In this case the epimeron of the mesothorax is usually narrow, and does not reach the cotyloid cavity. In others, the posterior angle of the mesosternum is but slightly prolonged backwards, leaving the cotyloid cavity open on the outer side. In this case the epimeron of the meso thorax is larger and extends inwards, so that its iuner extremity, which is often somewhat widened, fills the gap between tbe angles of the meso- aud metasterna. This description will be better understood by referring to the figure of Harpalus, on page 27. Family LX. CERAMBYCID^. The long-horned wood-borers constitute one large natural family of beetles, named after the genus Cerambyx, an ancient Greek name for some kind of long horned beetle, and applied by Linnaeus to the insects of this family. They are divisible into four sub-families, which may be distinguished as follows : A. Head horizontal or inclined; last joint of palpi not long and pointed; anterior tibse without furrow. Larvae six footed. B. Head inserted in the thorax ; eyes deeply notched or horse-shoe shaped ; ante- rior coxae not prominent. Larvaj with the head narrower than the bodj^, and retractile. C. Thorax somewhat square-shaped, with a sharp lateral margin, which is usual- ly from one to three-toothed; anterior coxte strongly transversal. Body generally large and depressed ; colors black or brown Prionides. C C. Thorax rounded at the sides and without salient margin, sometimes with one spine or tubercle on each side. Size various ; colors often bright and diversitied Cerambycides. B B. Head attached to the thorax by a neck; eyes nearly or quite round; anterior coxa; angular and prominent; elytra generally narrowed behind. Larvae with the liead as wide as the body Lepturides. A A. Head vertical ; last joint of palpi cylindrical and pointed ; anterior tibiie usually with a furrow on the inner side. Larvae footless Lamiibes. LONG-HORNED WOOD-BORERS. 161 Snb-family PRIONIDES. The Prionides are generally large, slow-mov- ing insects, flying only in the evening, and usually of nniforni black or brown colors. • They are distiugusliotl from the other Longicornes chiefly by their sub-quadrate thorax, the sides of which form a sharp margin, which is usually divided into two or three teeth. The thighs are never clavate or suddenly enlarged at the end, as they are in many of the species of the other sub-families. The eyes are usually coarse- ly granulated, and the middle cotyloid cavities are widely open on the outer side. Some of the tropical species are of gigantic size, being five or six inches in length. The larv.ne are broad and somewhat flattened, and have six very small but distinct feet. They inhabit the trunks and roots of trees. The subfamily is named after the genus Priouus, of f^ig. 74.j Geoffroy, a term derived from a Greek word meaning a saw, and applied to these insects on account of the long saw- toothed antennae of many of the species, especially of the males. Pinoxi3 i.ATicoi.us, Drury male— after Riley. ~ Pnpa of Prionub — Larva of Prionub— after Riley. after Kiley. The following are the principal N. American genera : A. AntenntB not longer than the thorax ; thoracic margin without teeth ; tarsi simple Paraxdra. A A. Antennte nuich longer than the thorax; t«rsi apongy beneath, with the third joint bilobed. JB. Eyes coarsely granulated ; colors uniform. C. Thoracic niar<:iu prominent ; side piece.i of the metastemom parallel. D. Eyes not closely approximate; antennal jointa imbricate ; teeth of the thoracic margin short and flattened. Body robust Pkioxus. D D. Eyes very large, approximate above and below ; thoracic t-eeth spine-shaped. Body elon- gate. E. Thorax much narrowed behind; margin three spined, the anterior spine shortest. .M joint of the antenna; as long as the 4th and .")th united Dekourachus. E E. Thorax nearly square ; margin 3-spined, the hindermost spine shortest ; 3d joint of an- tenna; but little longer than the 4th -.. .Orthosoma. D D D. Eyes very wide apart, but slightly notched ; size very large ; thoracic margin usually many toothed. F. First joint of antennte mach shorter than the third Ekoates. 152 THE OEDEE OF COLEOPTEHA. FF. First joint of antennae at least as long as the third Maixodon. C C. Thoracic margin almost wanting, with a short spine ; side pieces triangular ; head verti- cal Tragosoma. B B. Eyes finely granulated ; colors variegated ; thorax rough, without lateral spine Sphenostethus. Parandra, Latr., contains two species, one of which, the P. hrunnea, Fab., is common. It is about seven-tenths of an inch long, and of a glossy mahogany-brown color. The other species, P. polita, Say, is much more rare. It closely resembles the other, but can be distinguished by its head being as wide as the thorax. Priomis, Geoff., contains many species. The two most common are the P. imbricornis of Linnaeus, less than an inch long, of a mahogany- brown color, with long imbricated antennoe, the joints lapping one upon another ; and the P. hrevicorni^, or short-horned Prionus, of Fab- ricius ; the antennse of the female are scarcely a third as long as the body, but those of the male are much longer. This species is black, the male an inch and a quarter, and the female an inch and a half or more in length. Derobrachus, Serv., contains one large brownish-yellow species found in the Middle and Southern States. Orthosomaj Serv., contains one common species, the 0. cylindricum, Fab., along, narrow, brown insect, an inch and a quarter in length. JErgates, Serv., has but one species, from California, originally de- scribed by Dr. LeConte under the name of Trichocnemis sjncidatus. Mallodon, Serv., contains several species, none of which are common. Tragosoma, Serv., contains but one species, the T. Harrisii, Lee. Sphenostethus, Hald., contains but one species, the iS. serripennis, Hal- deman, but previously described by Buquet under the name of Solenop- era Taslei. It is of medium size, of a blackish-brown color, and inhab- its the Middle and Southern States, but is nowhere common. Sub-family CEEAMBTCIDES. The Cerambycides are much more numerous and diversified than the Prionides, and are often ornamented with bright and variegated colors. They differ from the Prionides chiefly in having the sides of the thorax rounded, without a salient margin, but sometimes furnished with a single spine or tubercle on each side, and from the Lamiides in having the head sometimes horizontal, but usually more or less in- clined, whereas- in the Lamiides it is ver- ticle. It must be remarked however that the EuniiDiON PAHALLF.LUM, Newm. : — a, n , • , .,..,, larva; 6, twig split open, showing the en- lacc may assuuie a Vertical positiou in the closed pupa : A:, the severed end of the twi ''i head, maxilla, labium, mandible, /• ,-, • j. ^ j.i j» • -i and antenna of larva— after Eiley. ITOm the OCCiput tO the laCB IS here USU- LONG-HORNED WOOD-BOREES. 153 ally more jTradual and rounded, and in the Laiuiides sharper or more abrupt. The face is also rather convex in the Cerainbycides, and flat in the Laniiides. This distinction, however, is sometimes unreliable, and the more definite characters stated in the table of sub families, must be resorted to in cases of doubt. But the minor grroups can often be distinguished by their style of coloration, as hereafter specified. The Cerambycides are often seen restinj; upon the trunks of trees in crevi(;es of which the females lay their eggs. Some of the smaller spe- cies are found upon flowers. Many of them possess the stridulating power described in the general remarks upon this family. The larvfe resemble those of the Prionides in having six very small legs, but they are more cylindrical in their form, and the incisions between the seg- ments are more deeply impressed. The sub-family of Cerambycides is di^ ided by Lacordaire into two groups, which are primarily distinguished by the difference in thefacets or granulations of the eyes. In the first group the granulations are comparatively coarse and the lines between the facets are deeply im- pressed. In the second group the granulations are much finer, and in many genera the surface of the eyes, unless strongly magnified, appears to be almost plane. But this distinction is only comparative, and can only be apj)reciated by an actual examination of some of the species in the two divisions. In the following table we have first separated the group of Asemini, upon the more definite character of the form of the eyes, and then di- A'ided the remaindei in accordance with the difierence in the granula- tions. The following is a table of the groups of Cerambycides : A. Eyes oval, almost entire, or but little hollowed on the inner side (except Tetropium); second Joint of auteuuii' at least half as long as the third ; form somewhat depressed ; colors obscure : ASEUIKI. A A. Eyes with a deep notch or sinus ; second joint of anteunte not half as long as the third. B. Eyes coarsely granulated. Form moderately convex ; antenna) usuallj as long at least as the body, often much longer in the males; thighs usually slender ; colors gray or blown. C'EKAilBYCIM. B B. Eyes finely granulated. C. Form more or less depressed ; thighs usually strongly clubbed ; colors varioas Callidum. C C. Form convex ; thighs usually slender or moderately and gradually thickened. D. Scutelluni rounded ; size various ; colors usually black or brown with transverse yellower whitish bands Clytikl D I). ScutelUim triangular and pointed; size large or medium ; colors usually black and red : ME.NASPIXI. The group of Asemini contains two principal genera, Asemum, Esch., (from the Greek asemos — obscure) containing six species of a size a little above medium, with small, hairy, and finely granulated eyes, and Crio- cejjhalu^, Muls., (from krios — a ram ; and Tcepliale — the head) containing nine species of large size, most of them being about an inch in length, with large and less finely granulated eyes, and having from two to four large shallow depressions on the disk of the thorax. —20 154 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. The Cerambycini comprise many genera and species, but the three principal genera east of the Eocky Mountains are Chion, Newman, and Ehuria and UlapMdion, Serville. Chion contains only the cinctus, Drury, and the garganieus, Fab., which are now regarded as one species. It is nearly an inch long, of a grayish-brown color, with an irregular oblique yellow band across each elytron, and a sharp spine at the side of the thorax. Its larva inhabits the hickory. The name Ehuria is derived from the Latin ebur — ivory ^ in allusion to the ivory-like callosities on the elytra. We have ten species, the most common of which is the E. quad- rige7ninata, of Say, an elegant fawn-colored beetle more than three-quar- ters of an inch in length, with two double ivory-like spots on each ely- tron. Its larva lives in the honey -locust ( OleditscMa triacanthos, Linn). ElapMdion, (from elaphus — a stag, on account of its long horns or anten- nae) contains thirty-five plain brownish-gray species, which have been distributed in a number of sub-genera. The larvae are the well known twig-pruners of the oak, the maple and other trees. The genus is dis- tinguished by having several of the basal joints of the antenme pro- longed into spines at the tip. The Callidiini are also considerably numerous in species, most of which may be included in the genus CaUidium, Fab., a name derived from a Greek word meaning beautiful, many of the species being prettily colored. The genus Hylotrupes, Serv., meaning a wood borer, is distinguished form Callidium by having the antenupe less than half as long as the body, and by having the thorax densely clothed with short whitish hairs. Its type is the H. hajulus, Linn., a dull blackish beetle about two-thirds of an inch in length, which has been imi^orted into this country from Europe. Its larvte are sometimes seriously in- jurious to fir, spruce and hemlock lumber, and they have been known to gnaw through sheets of lead when these come in their waj'. Two beautiful species, one red and the other purple, and both with ivory- like stripes on the elytra, have been set apart in the genus Physocne- mum, of Haldeman, {Bnlarias, Thomson). Callidium proper, (iuclud- ing Phfmatodes) contains twenty N. A. species. The Clytini constitute a very numerous group which has been divi- ded into many genera, but most of which might be included in the genus Clytus. This name, usually attributed to Fabricius, is said by M. Mulsant to have been originated by Laichtining, in a work upon Tyrolese insects. It is derived from the Greek Idutos — sonorous, or noisy — having reference to the squeaking noise made by these insects when captured. The sugar-maple borer (Clytus speciosus. Say), the locust borer, (C. robinicv, Forster), and the ash-tree borer ((7. caprecc, Say,) belong to this group, which contains many of our most beautiful species. LONG-HORNED WOOD-BORERS. 165 Tlie Stenaspini resemble the Clytini in their convex form, the. tho- rax in both groups being ahnost globuhir, but are readily distinguished by their pointed scutellura and their style of coloration, being some- times velvety -black, with a few large red spots, and sometimes almost wholly red or purple, but with the legs and antennie black. The group is named from the genus Stenaspis, Serv., a word expressive of the nar- row and pointed form of the scutellnm. The species are usually of rather large size ; but one ol" the most common, the BaUjle suturalis, Say, is less than half of an inch in length, almost wholly red, and clothed with short erect hairs. The grouj) contains about thirty spe- cies, many of which, however, are not found north of Texas. Sub-family LEPTURIDES. The Lepturides aro named after the genus Leptiira, of Linnteus, a term derived from the Greek Zc-ro- — slender or attenuated, in allusion to the slender and tapering form of most of the species. They are distinguished from the other Longicornes by their round eyes, sometimes entire, but usually with a small notch or indentation ; by the head narrowed behind the eyes, and the thorax narrowed in front, the union of these two parts giving the appearance of a neck of greater or less length ; and by the anterior coxte being of an angular ^'g ■''^v^ form and projecting below the level of the breast. The base of the elytra is usually more or less elevated above the level of the thorax. The middle cotyloid cavities are always open, and the eyes are almost always finely granulated. Their form is usually some- what tapering behind, and as a general rule they are smaller and more active than the other Longicorns, and many of them tiy by day, whereas most of the ' westwood. Longicom beetles are crepuscular. Whilst most Longicorns are found upou the trunks of trees, and often near the roots, many of the Lepturides frequent flowers, especially those of umbellife- rous plants. It is in this sub-family that the species occur, which have very short or very narrow elytra. But in these cases the wings are not folded under them, as they are in the short-wiuged Staphylinidic, but lie at their full length upon the abdomen. The larvie ditler from those of other Longicorns in having the head as wide as the body. This group is usually placed at the end of the Longicornes, but we retain them here on account of their close alliance with the preceding sub-family of Cerambycides, with which they are uuitortion by a transverse whitish band. Jjiopus, Serv., contains many small species not averaging more than a quarter of an inch in length. ])r. LeConte makes the discriminative remark that in this genus and its allies, the lateral tubercle of the thorax becomes more acute and si)ini- form the farther back it is situated. The genus ObereOj Mulsant, contains thirteen species in our fauna, some of n which are injurious to the raspberry, in their larva state, e The other genera given in the preceding table contain but 1-^ , few species. Oncideres, Serv., contains three North Amer- ican and many South American species. The only spe- cies found east of the Mississippi river is the 0. cimjula- ius, Say, commonly known as the Twig-girdler, from the habit of the femaleof girdling twigs below the point where she has deposited her eggs. It usually breeds in the hick- ory, but it has been known to girdle the twigs of the ap- ple, the pear, and the persimmon. AVe have referred OMiuEUKsrixiu'i A above to the twig-pruning habits of the species of Elaphi- Twipfiirdiei; b, (lion amoug the Cerambycides ; but in that case, the hole niaile in de- " ^ / i positiuK its ejrj:: pruuiug is douc h\ the larvjc, whereas the amT)utation of size— after Kiky. the Oucidercs is performed by the parent insect. Tetrao- peSy Dalman, contains the well known brick-red beetles with black spots, found on different species of Avsclepias, or milk-weed. They are i)ecu- liarly X. American, the species being widely distributed from the Atlan- tic States to California. 160 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. Tribe XIX. TETEAMEEOUS PLANT-BEETLES. Herbivora tetramera. Phttophaga, Kirby. This tribe embraces an extensive series of beetles, mostly of small size, not averaging much above a quarter of an inch in length, and rarely exceeding half an inch, and usually adorned with beautiful and often variegated colors. Like most other beetles of the tetramerous section, the tarsi are clothed with a brush of hairs beneath, and the third, or last joint but one, is usually more or less deeply bilobed. They are distinguished from the snout-beetles in the same section, by the ab- sence of a rostrum or beak ; from the short-horned borers, by their strongly dilated and bilobed tarsi, and from both by the antennae not being knobbed at tbe end. They differ from the other family of tetra- merous beetles — the long-horned wood-borers — in the comparative short- ness of their bodies and of all their members, especially the antennae, which are never tapering as they are in most of the Cerambycidse, but are either filiform or slightly and gradually enlarged towards the tip. Some of the Cerambycidse, however, have filiform antennae, and there seems to be no character by which these two tribes can be absolutely distinguished from each other; and the genus Donacia occupies so in- termediate a position between them that it has been placed sometimes in one, and sometimes in the other. But notwithstanding their close approach in a few of the connecting genera, scarcely any families of beetles are ordinarily more easily distinguished by their general form and aspect. The insects of the present tribe are pre eminently phyto- phagous or plant-eating in their habits, both in the larva and imago states. The only beetles which can be compared with them in this re- spect are the chafers or leaf-eating Lamellicorns in the pentamerous section. We have had occasion, in the introductory i^art of this work, to state some of the differences in the habits of these two plant-eating tribes. The Lamellicorns are, for the most part, much larger insects. They feed mostly upon the foliage of trees, in the beetle form, whilst their larvae live under ground upon the roots of grasses and other plants ; and they feed in the evening, clinging to the leaves by means of their long, sharp claws. The tetramerous plant-beetles, on the contrary, are comparatively small insects ; they feed mostly upon herbaceous plants, both in the larva and beetle state ; they are diurnal in their habits, and move slowly over the surface of plants, to which they adhere by means of the dense brush of hairs on the under side of their feet. TETRAMEROUS PLANT-BEETLES. 161 The larvrR are for the most part short, fleshy, convex or huinp-backe«l grubs, usually living upon the surface of the leaves upon which they feed, often in company with the mature insects. They have six thoracic legs, and usually a fleshy terminal proleg. Living exposed tx) the light they difler from the great majority of Coleopterous larva; in being more or less highly colored. Some of them have the singular habit of pro- tecting themselves by a covering of their own excrement, which will be described more fully in treating of the sub-family of Cassidides. But a considerable proportion of them are internal feeders. Some are leaf- n)iners ; others inhabit the roots of herbaceous jflants ; and the larvae of Donacia live concealed in the stems of water-plants, thus conlirming their affinity with the preceding wood-boring tribe. These last men- tioned larva' exhibit a habit extremely rare amongst the Coleoptera, but which we have seen to be possessed b3' a few of the Curculionida;, that of enclosing themselves in silken cocoons, when about to change to the pupa state. These cocoons are sometimes found fastened in a row to the stems of the aquatic i)lants in which the larva3 reside. Some phytopha- gous larvfe change to pupae, attached to the leaves, but many of them go into the ground. Being, as their name implies, pre-eminently plant-eaters, this tribe of beetles occupies a prominent place in practical entomology, on account of the many species which are injurious to the agriculturalist. A.mong these are the Striped cucumber-beetle, and its root-boring larva3 ; the cabbage and turnip flea-beetles; the flea-beetle of the vine; and the tortoise-beetles which feed upon the sweet potato. AVhen danger threatens, the Chrysomelidiie do not usually attempt to escape either by running or flying, but, like the Curculionidfe, seek safetj' by contracting their limbs and falling to the ground. With regard to the size of these insects, as compared with the Coleop- tera in general, the same statement is applicable which we made above in treating of the Curculionidoe, and the terms large and small must be understood as being similarly modified ; that is to say, half of an inch, which is about the medium length of beetles in general, is large when ap- plied to the insects of these two families, quarter of an inch is mediunif and an eighth of an inch or less is small or very stnaU. Family LXI. C'lIRYSOMELID^. This family, as here constituted, comprises the whole of the tribe of te- tramerous plant-beetles. It is made up of several groups, some of which are sufliciently distinct, whilst others are more closely allied, thus ren- dering a natural classification of them indefinite, from the doubt whether certain groups should, or should not, be raised to the rank of sub fami- —21 162 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. lies; and accordingly authors have diflered much as to the number of primary divisions. Linnteus, having included Douacia in the long- horned genus Leptura, described the remainder of the present tribe un- der the three genera, Hispa, Cassida and Chrysomela. And if we take these, as we do most of the Linniean genera, as types of families, it may well be questioned whether any more obvious or natural classification of these insects can be suggested to day. Latreille, in the Eegne Auimal, divided them into two families, which he designated by the names Uupoda, signifying largely developed legs ; and CycUca, in allusion to the circular or rounded form of most of the species. The former includes Donacia, Crioceris and the exotic geu us Sagra. The more extensive family of Cycllca he divided into three tribes, which are equivalent to our sub-families, viz : the Cassidari«, the Chrysomeliua3, and the Galerucitj*. These division^ he founds partly upon the habits of the larvte, which he divides into four kinds: 1st, those which cover their bodies with their excrement, (Cassidariie) ; 2d, those which live exposed on leaves, (Chrysomelina; proper); 3d, those which inhabit tubes which they drag about with them, (Cryptoce- phalus and certain other genera of Chrysomelin?e.) ; and Ith, those which live concealed in the interior of leaves, feeding on their parenchyma, (Haltica, and its sub-genera, among the Galerucitee). This arrangement of Latreille seems to us much less natural and sat- isfactory than are usually the classifications of this eminent entomolo- gist. By it the small division of Eupoda is made to hold a rauk equiva- lent to all the rest of the Chrysomelidse combined, and yet its most com- mon and numerous genera (Crioceris, Orsodacna, etc.), bear a close resem- blance to some of the Galerucides, and do not differ from many of the Oyclica, either in form or the habits of their larvae, so much as the sub- family of Hispides. Moreover, the family name of Eupoda applies with but little force to many of these common species, though it is very ap- propriate to some of the foreign genera. With respect to the habits of the larvfB, however interesting in themselves, they furnish a very imper- fect basis of classification, since most of the habits above referred to are common to several of the subfamilies. Mr. Westwood admits four primary divisions, which he raises to the rank of families, viz : Crioceridie, Cassididiie, GalerucidjTe, and Chryso- melidiB. Dr. LeConte has published a number of able papers upon the Chrysomelidte of North America, but being scattered through various scientific periodicals, they are not very accessible to the general student. In a recent volume of the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, of Thiladelphia, Mr. G. R. Crotch, with the assistance of Drs. LeConte and Horn, and with the aid of their extensive cabinets, has published a pretty full synopsis of the Phytophaga of the United States, TETRAMEROTTS PLANT-BEETLES. 163 which I have found of much use in preparing the following tables of genera. Mr. Crotch unites all the Phytophaga in the family of Chry- somelidir, which he divides into ten sub-families, as follows : Donaciides, Orsodacnides, Criocerides, Melolonthides, Cryptocephalides, Chrysome- lides, Eumolpides, (lalerucides, Ilispides and Cassidides. The Orsodacnides do not seem to us to be sufficiently distinct from the Criocerides, nor the Melolonthides (questionably so called) from the (vrytocephalides, nor the Eumolpides from the Chrysomelides, to be re- tained as of equal rank. We will therefore divide the Chrysomelidie into the seven following sub-families. The accompanying tables of the minor groups exhibit a pretty full synopsis of N. American genera, ex- cepting a few which are composed of but one or two rare species, usually from the remote West : A. Body elongated; thorax not margined at the sides; liead slightly' constricted be- hind the ej-es; eyes prominent; thighs usually more or less tliickencd. IJ. Body much elongated; first ventral segment very long; larvte live in the stems of plants Donaciides. B B. Body moderately elongated ; first ventral segment not much longer than the others ; larvaj live on the leaves of plants, sometimes cover themselves with excrement 1 CniocERiDKS. A A. Body more or less rounded (except Hispides) ; thorax almost always margined ; head not constricted ; e3-es not prominent; thighs not swollen (except iu Haltica and its sub-genera.) C. AntenuiB distant, being wider apart at base than the length of the tirst joint. D. Body oval; abdomen wholly covered by elytra; larvae live exposed on leaves Curysomelldes. D D. Body usuallj^ short and sub-cylindrical; tip of abdomen vertical and uncovered; larviB live on leaves, iu portable cases. Cr^ttocepii.m.ides. C C. Antennji; approximate, being rarely wider apart than the length of the tirst joint. E. Antennte filiform and at least half as long as the body ; hind thighs, iu one division, enlarged for jumping; larvit live on leaves or between their laminse Galerucides. E E. Autennie less than half as long as the body, and more or less thickened towards the tip. F. Head exposed; form oblong and usually sub-quadrate; surface usually strongly pitted or reticulated; larvie live between the laminae of leaves Hispides. F F. Head concealed under the thorax ; form hemispherical ; surface usually smootii ; larvie live on leaves, covered by excrement : Cassidide-s. Subfamily DONACIIDES. This sub-family, composed mostly of the geuus Dotuuin, Fab., forma a couueetiug link between the Leptnrides of the preceding family and the Criocerides of the pr<^.sent. Their form is considerably elongated, and they can be distinguished with certainty by the unusual prolonga- 164 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. tion of the first ventral segment, which is as long as all the others com- bined. They are between a quarter and half of an inch in length, and with a dark metallic lustre, of a greenish, bronze or purplish hue. The under side is paler, and clothed all over with an extremely fiue silken prostrate pubescence, which enables them to shed the water, when the aquatic plants upon which they reside happen to be submerged. The species often closely resemble each other, rendering it difficult to draw the line between species and varieties. The larva? inhabit the stems of aquatic plants. When about to transform, they enclose themselves in silken cocoons, which are sometimes attached in rows upon the outside of the plants. Mr. Crotch enumerates twenty-five species as inhabiting the United States, two of which he describes as new, and refers the reader for a full description of the others to Dr. LeConte's Synopsis in the Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc, of Philadelphia, for the year 1852. Sub-family CRIOCEEIDES. This sub-family takes its name from the genus Crioceris, of Geoflroy, a word which literally means a rani's horn, but which is not especially appropriate to these insects, unless it be by way of expressing their relationship to the preceding • family of Cerambycidte, in which the resemblance of the an- tenuse to the horns of the ram and the goat is much more ma)TKiLiNElTt striking. Like them, also, some of the beetles of the present ^^^' sub-family have the faculty of making a squeaking noise, by the friction of one part of their bodies upon another. The Criocerides differ from the great majority of Chrysomelidse, in having the thorax almost cylindrical and without a lateral t^'s- so.] margin, and more decidedly narrower than the abdomen. The antennae are somewhat moniliform, of the same width throughout, and about half as long as the body. The larvae live ex- posed on the leaves upon which they feed ; but some of them, of which the common Three-lined potato-beetle is an example, have the reiharkable habit of lema trilineata, ouv.:-a «. larva.- protecting themselves by a covering of Showing «,e*anal ajemfre on Ve ujper side their own excrement. To enable them *•'' '''' '^* segment-after Kiiey. to accomplish this purpose, the anal opening is upon the upper side of the last segment, and the excrement is pushed forwards upon the back by the pressure of that which is subsequently evacuated. The Crioce- rides of this country are contained in two leading genera : c, pupa; larva, TETRA3IER0US PLANT-BEETLES. 165 A. La«t joint of palpi widened and truncated ; claws toothed Oksodacna. A A. Last joint of palpi not wider than the others and pointed ; claws simple CitiocKius. Orsodacna, a name taken from the Greek and meaning a hud-giimrer, was originally api)lie(l to some insect now unknown, which was injnri- ons to fruit trees. It includes three sub-genera: Or-sixhtcna, Latr., having the thorax uniform and the eyes entire ; Zeugnphora, Kun/e, having the eyes notched and the thorax with a lateral tubercle ; and >St/7ieta, Esch., with several short teeth at the sides of the thorax. The si)ecies are of moderate size, and either blackish or dull yellow, but more commonly with both of these colors combine*!. We have twelve species, some of which are very variable, and have been described under dillVrent names. The only species of Crioceris proper found in the United States, is the imjjorted asparagus beetle, Crioceris asparagi, Linn., which has become naturalized in some of the I']astern States. Most of our s])ecies are now placed in the sub-genus Lema, Fabr., as restricted by Lacordaire, and distinguished by having the thorax constricted or narrowed a little be- hind the middle. The most common species is the Lema trilineaia, Oli- \'ier, or the Three-lined potato-beetle, a quarter of an inch long, yellow, with three black stripes on the elytra. Mr. Crotch enumerates twelve other species, most of which inhabit the Southern States. Sub-family CHRYSOMELIDES. This sub-family is founded upon the typical genus Chrysomela, of Lin- naeus, a word which literally means a golden appJe^ and which was ob- viously given to these insects in allusion to their rounded form and [Fig. 81. J beautiful colors, which not un- frequently exhibit a golden hue. Their most distinctive scientific; ,\ character, as compared with th6 other sub-families of this tribe, is the distance from each other of the autennie at their i)()ints of attachment, being always farther apart than the length of the first Crrysomei.a(myocoryna) JUXCTA. Germar:— a. eggs; • ■ ^ i ^f^p,, f^^ „« flirpft bfc, larva;; c, beetle; d, wing-cover ; e, anterior leg- JOl"') »^"^ OltCU tWO Or lureo after Riley. timcs as far, taken in connection with the gradual but slight enlargement of these organs towards the tip. The sub- family comi)rises two well-marked groups, which are re- garded by some entomologists as distinct sub-families, and which may be designated by the terms of Chrysomelini and Eumolpini. In the former the thorax is transversal, that is, wider than it is long, strongly margined, and as wide at base as the elytra; the autenme are moder- ately robust, sub-moniliform, and almost always less than half as long as the body ; the anterior coxie are transverse; the 3d joint of the tarsi 166 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. is scarcely bilobed, and tlie claws are usually simi)le. In the latter, the thorax is very convex, narrower than the abdomen, and with the mar- gin indistinct or wanting; the antennre are slender, almost filiform, and about half as long as the body ; anterior coxse globose; the third joint of the tarsi is deeply bilobed, and the claws are bifid. The larvfe live exposed on the leaves of herbac;jous plants, upon which they feed. We do not know of any larva in this sub-family which covers itself with excrement, unless we admit into it the intermediate genus Blepharida, which we have preferred to unite with the other saltatory species. The following are the genera of Clirysomelini : A. Third joint of tarsi entire or slightly notched at the end ; posterior episterna usaally narrowed behind. B. Form regularly oval and strongly convex ; tarsi entire ; color usually yellow, with di^rker stripea or spots ; length between a quarter and a half of an inch Chrysomela. B B. Form oval or oblong oval, convex ; third joint of tarsi notched ; color metallic-green or blue ; length less than quarter of an inch GAfeTROPii ysa. BBB. Form short and round or subglobuse; dark metallic without spots; length much less than quarter of an inch Ph^DON. B B B B. Form oblong, narrow, parallel, depressed ; antennsB strongly clavate ; dark metallic, with a few yellow stripes ; length much less than quarter of an inch Pkasocuris. A A. Third joint of tarsi deeply bilobed ; posterior episterna parallel ; form oblong oval and depressed ; coiors various; size same as Chrysomela Plagiodeka. The following are the genera of Eumolpini : A. Body smooth and shining. B. Thorax lobed behind the eyes. C. Elytra irregularly punctured ; claws with a tooth beneath. D. Antennie robust, somewhat clavate ; color golden-green or blue ; length a third of an inch or more Chrysochus. D D. Antennfe long and filiform ; color golden-green or bronze ; length a quarter of an inch or less Tyi'OI'HOKUS. C C. Elytra punctured in rows ; claws bifid ; size small ; color brown with black spots, rarely wholly black Paria. B B. Thorax not lobed behind the eyes. E. Second joint of the antennse shorter than the third ; elytra densely but irregularly piinc- tate CoLAsris. E E. Second and third joints of antenn.e equal ; elytra punctured in rows Metachroma. A A. Body more or less clothed with hair or scales. F. Thorax without a margin at the sides. G. Body shining, bronze, rarely green ; punctures indistinct; sparsely haired. .Heteraspis. G G. Body obscure, brown, coarsely punctured. H. Thorax longer than wide ; body densely haired ; size about medium Fidia. H H. Thorax wider than long ; body moderately haired ; size small Xanthonia. The genus Chrysomela has been divided into a number of sub-genera which can generally be distinguished by their style of coloration, as follows : Labido7nera, Chevr., dark-yellow, with a few large blue-black spots ; Mi/ocoryna, Stal., usually with the elytra pale-yellow, with four or five darker stripes on each ; Zi/f/ofjramma, Chevr., elytra with two or three stripes more or less united ; Callignipha, Chevr., elytra with numerous irregular lines and dots; and (7/tr^.some/a, Linn., blackish or golden, without stripes; but there are some exceptions to tbese general TERAMEROUS PLANT-BEETLES. 167 rules which we shall uotice below. Lahidomcra contains one coiiunon species, the L. trhnacidata, Fab., found on milk-weed. Myocoryna con- tains the destructive potato- beetle commonly known as the Doryphora lOlineata, and the allied but much less common species i). juneta, and two other similar species found in Texas and Mexico. The generic name Doryphora, means a spear-hearer, in allusion to the pointed ante- rior prominence of the mesosteruum, and was originally applied by Illiger to a similar group of insects from South America. But in our species the mesosternum is not produced to a point, and therefore M. Stiil, a Sweedish entomologist, has formed a new genus for them under the name of Myocoryna, from the Greek mus — to compress, and horuna, a club — the club of the antennae being slightly flattened. This is one of the exceptional genera with respect to color, being usually striped, but one species is wholly blue, and another is wholly red. Zyyofiramma, implying literally that the stripes are united or yol-ed fo(/('flier, contains a number of common species which are subject to considerable variation. (JalligrapliK, meaning beautiful writing, con- tains some of our most elegant beetles, distinguished by the numerous metallic marks and dots on their almost white elytra. The species are numerous and often variable. Mr. Crotch admits thirteen species as inhabiting the United States; a few of them depart from the normal style of coloring, and resemble Zygofiramma. The organic distinction between the two genera is, that in Zygoyramma the claws are approxi- mate and the claw joint toothed beneath; and in Calligrapha, the claws are distant and the claw joint simple.* Chrysomda proper is now re- stricted to a small number of dark colored species, some of which have a golden lustre. One species from Colorado and the neighboring States is black, with a yellow border to the elytra. Oastrophyza, Chev., — meaning abdomen inflated — alludes to the re- markably swollen condition of the abdomen of the females When filled with eggs. It contains one of our prettiest and most common beetles: I lie G. polygoniy Linn., common to both Europe and this country. It is three-twentieths of an inch long, of a brilliant blue-green color, with a yellow thorax. It feeds upon the common knot-weed {Polygonum avicu- tare.) Mr, Say described it as a rare insect under the name of Chryso- *It is a question whotbor in jrroupin^ certain insects — such, for example, a« the Chrysoinelidos — the l>lan of coloration should not have more weij;ht. in comparison with slight organic characters. It ia evidently nnuatiiral to separate such sitecies, with striped elytra, as eleijnns. Olivier, and gimilis, Rogers, from the similarly marked Ziifjrojratnma jndchra and erclamalionix. Fab., and coiijuncta, Rogers, and unite them with the dissimilar aud dotted gixjup of Calligrapha, upon a character so v;irial>le, and therefore unimportant, as is the structure of the tarsal claws, in the whole family of ( liry.somolida'. Hut we have been graf ifieil to see, since the above was written, that Mr. Cnjtch, in his recent Check- list of CoU'optera. has suppressed all these 8uV)-genera, and recognized them only as sections of the original genus Chrysomela, of Linna-us ; a course which, it seems to us, might be profitably adopted with respect to miUiy modern genera. 168 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. mela caruleipennis. Say also described two other and similar species, but without the yellow thorax, which he accredits to the Missouri terri- tory. Flicedon, Chev., contains a few small species, the-type of which is the P. viride, of Melsheimer. Prasociiri'S, Latr., contains three spe- cies, none of which are common. Plagiodera, Chev., is composed of a number of species of very variable color, and even the same species, as in the cases of the not uncommon P. scripfa and P. interriipta, which are ordinarily yellow with blackish spots, are sometimes found wholly blue-black or green. This genus was formerly known as Melasoma, Dillwyn ; but the name is not properly applicable to the species, and besides was pre-occupied by Latreille — as we have seen in a former pai't of this work — as the general name of the black-bodied heteromera. It has been therefore replaced by Plagiodem, Chevrolat, meaning trans- verse thorax, and applied to them because the thorax is much wider than it is long. Chrysochus, Chev., in the group of Eumolpini, meaning literally a f/oldsmith, is the generic name of the beautiful golden-green beetle, about four-tenths of an inch long, found on the dogs-bane and other species of Apocymim. It has usually been referred to the genus Eumolpus, but is now known as the Chrysochus auratus, Fabr. It is common throughout both the Eastern and Western States, and has been found as far west as Arizona. Another similar species, but usually a little larger and of a deep blue-green color, has been found in Oregon and Califor- nia. It is the Ch. cobaltimis, of LeConte. Typophorus, Chev., contains three closely allied species, the type of which is the T. tricolor, Fab., found in the Middle and Southern vStates. The next five genera — Paria, Colaspis, Iletachroma, Heteraspis and Xanthoma — contain a large num- ber of small, brown insects, though some species of Colaspis have a metallic lustre. Paria is distinguished from the others by the ear-like lobes on the anterior margin of the thorax, which partly cover the eyes. The same lobes exist in Chrysochus, but are situated lower down. The genus Fidia, of Dejean, is composed of a somewhat larger species, of a dark chestnut or blackish color, but with a mealy surface produced by dense, short, prostrate hairs. The insects of this genus have an econo- mic interest in consequence of damage done by them to the leaves of the grape-vine. The leading type is the F. viticida, Walsh. Dr. Le- Conte regards the longipes, Mels., and the viticola, Uhler, as only varie- ties of this species. Sub-family CRTPTOOEPHALIDES. This group is founded upon the genus Gryptocephalus, of Geoffroy, a term meaning concealed head, and given to these insects because the head is so deeply immersed in the strongly convex thorax that it can be scarcely or not at all seen when viewed from above. The pygidium TETRAMEROUS PLANT-BEETLES. 169 [Fig. 82.] or last segment of the alxlomen is /^'>^ ^^vAx a^"^^^^^ __ ^^^^^ an easily distinguishable character MC J "/J^J^ ^^^j^'^iXv J "^liich is common to nearly all the Af f \ '^J^^^ V^- ^^K/ species, except those specified in the ^A}=t^^^ J^^ dKK /TTi^' followingsynopsis, and which is found /[f/^\'^ ^^^ '''^/A \ jt\ in none of the other sub-families. The ^"y^^*^ ^Sre / S^4ik. ^-utennsB are rather distant at their in- C08ciN0PTERAD0MrMCANA:-o, larva eTtracteasertion, sometiuics short and serrate, from caHe ; ft, tlo. with case; c, beetle .slmwiiit; , , . ,, • 'f nf lin f V.r>lf' oa puucturas : d, same natural size : e, esf; culart;ounctured ; eize medium or small. G. Body oval ; thorax wider than long. H. Thorax with an impressed transverse line before the base ; color blue-black : GHAn^ODERA. H H. Thorax without impression. I. Tarsi of ordinary form. K. Second joint of antennie shorter than the third ; size medium ; colors various : DiSONYCHA. K K. Second and third joints of antonnie equal ; size small ; color dark metallic ; elytra usually with one yellow stripe ORniEsTRW. I I. First joint of hind tarsi as long as the others united , size very small ; color brownish Lonc;ita r.sl's. G G. Body elongate ; thorax about as long as wide; size small; color black, sometimes striped with yellow StbteXA. 172 THE ORDER OF COLEOPTERA. F F. Elytra punctured in rows; size very small, without spots or stripes. L. Antennae with eleven joints ; hind tarsi normal. M. Hind tibife robust, and terminated by a bifid spur ; body perfectly oval; head deeply immersed in the thorax ; size small ; color brassy-black. . .Dibolia M M. Hind tibia toothed and furrowed on the outer side ; very small ; blue or brassy ChjEtocnema. M M M. Hind tibia normal ; thorax with a deep impression near the base ; color dark metallic or reddish CRp;prooDERA. L L. Antennse ten-jointed ; hind tarsi attached to the side of the tibia : PSYLLIODES. Galeruca, Geoff., contains a considerable number of species, some of which are common but inconspicuous. Diabrotica, Chevr., has been divided into a number of subgenera, agreeing in size and form, but the more common species are readily distinguished by their color, Diabro- tica proper being usually pale yellow with black spots or stripes, Phyl- lobrotica, Dej., being tawny or orange with black spots or stripes, aud Phyllecthrus being blue black with a yellow thorax. Diabrotica means one that gnaws through; Phyllobrotica, a leaf -gnawer; and Phyllec- thrus, a leaf -enemy ; all of which terms have reference to their leaf eating and often destructive habits. The Striped cucumber-beetle is the D. mttata, Fab. Liiperus, Geoffr., also meaning injurious, contains a few small species, some of which are of rich metallic colors ; but none of our species are sufficiently numerous to be injurious. Blcpharida, Chev., forms a connecting liuk between Haltica and Chrysomela, having the oval form and distant antennse of the latter, and the enlarged thighs of the former. It contains but two species, one of which is the B. rhois, of Forster, a mottled reddish beetle, quarter of an inch long, found abundantly on the sumach. (Fdionychis, Latr., contains many species, most of which do not vary much from a quarter of an inch in length. The most common style of coloration is that of a yellow thorax and dark metallic elytra, but some are brown or yellow with black stripes. In these, as in all the larger Halticini, the , elytra are irregularly punctured, whilst in most of the small species they are punctured in rows. The generic name is expressive of the swollen claw joint. Hypolam^sus, Clark, contains three N. A. species, the most common of which is the S. pilosa, of Illiger. Graptodera, Chevr., is composed of a number of dark blue species, one of which is the Haltica fGrapto- deraj chalybea, Illig., the destructive steel-blue flea-beetle of the grape vine. Disonycha, Chev., is scarcely distinguishable from (Edionychis except in the hind claw joint not being swollen. The species of the two genera, or more properly sub-genera, often closely resemble each other in size and color, but in Disonycha the style of coloration is most common which is exceptional in CEdionychis, namely, yellow with black stripes ; but the most common species is black with a yellow thorax, on which are TETRAMEROUS PLANT-BEETLES. 173 f Hai.tica (Gn^vPTOUKKA) cuAi.YHEA, Illiger:— The Grape- Tine flea-beetle : a, grape leaf eaten by yonu>r larva* ; h, larva, majnitied ; r. earthen cell, in which the insect transforms ; d, beetle — after Kilov. [Fig. 86.J three black dots arranged in a triangle ; length a quarter of an inch; this is the B. triangularlsy Say. Another species liable to be confounded w ith this is the 7). collari.s, Fab., but in this the thorax is yellow without spots, and the under side of tlie ab- domen is dull yellow. Orchen- tris, Kirby, is the genus which contains the common cabbage and turnip Hea-beetle, and its allies. They are about one-tenth of an inch long, black, with a broad waving yellow stripe along the middle of each wiiig- cover. Species closely resem- bling each other are equally abundant and destructive in Europe and in this country. The generic name means a dancer or jumper. Lomflfarsus, Latr., contains many small and closely allied spe- cies of a brownish color, and distinguished as the name implies by the greatly elongated first joint of the hind tarsi. Systena, Chev.,, is most readily distinguished by the elongate, narrow form of the species. The iSi/stena hJanda, IVTelsh., an eighth of an inch long, pale yellow with three darker stripes, has been found to be destructive to j'oung corn, in the Middle States. The other genera in the table are composed of very small species, distin- nAr.TirAfHA guished from the foregoing by having the elytra punctured ehowins "thp in rows. Diholia, Chev., contains but one known species, thcr^r thigh*.^ 7). arrea, INFelsh., or brassy Dibolia, a tenth of an inch or a little more in length and of a brassy black color; found in the ]\Iiddle and Southern States. The species of Ch(vtocnema, Stephens, are found mostly in the Southern States and Texas. Crepidodera, Chev., contains many very small, usually black or reddish species; but one of the most common, the G. hclvlneSj Linn., is sometimes purple and at others brassy green. This little species is said to be common to Europe and this country. The little Cucumber flea-beetle, Haltka cucumeris, of Harris, has been placed, in company with a few others, in a separate sub-genus Epitrij;^ Foudr., on account of their pubescent surface. But few species of the little genus Fsylliodes, Latr., have been observed. Dr. Fitch refers to'one of them, the P. punctulata, Melsh., as being somewhat injurious to the leaves of several kinds of garden vegetables. The generic name is de- [Fig. 87.] 174 THE OKDER OF COLEOPTERA. rived from a Greek word meaning a flea^ in allusion to their power of leaping. Subfamily HISPIDES. [Fig. 88.] This sub-family is founded upon the genus Hispa^ of Linnteus, a contraction of the Latin word hispida, meaning rough, ju allusion to the deep sculpturing of the elytra, which usually consists in a number of elevated ribs with a double series of deep punctures between them. The an- 'T '^ tenute are short, straight, compact, closely approximate b, b e'^^tie— afTer at basc and regularly divergent at tip. These characters, weatwood. together with their oblong and usually somewhat quadrate form, renders them one of the more easily recognizable groups in the whole order of Coleoptera. They are usually about a quarter of an inch in length or a little less, and their colors are black and red, either singly or combined. They seem to be a good deal confined to particular locali- ties, and therefore are not very commonly met with. The larvse are leaf- miners, feeding between the upper and lower laminae. They differ in form from other Chrysomelide larvae, and resemble more the larvae of the Cerambycidse, the head being much narrower than the body, and the three first segments being wider than the following ones. Their form and habits were first described by Dr. T. W. Harris, from species found upon the Oak, the Apple and the Locust. TheHispides present two strongly marked genera: Sispa, moderately elongated and with strongly sculptured elytra, and Stenispa, much elon- gated and narrow, and with the elytra smooth and shining, and very faintly puncto-striate. The latter contains but two known species : the metallica, Fab., of a shining brassy black color, not quite a quarter of an inch long ; and the eollaris, of Baly, similar but having the thorax red. The former is widely distributed, and the latter inhabits the Indian Territory. Hispa proper is limited to the small black European species, originally described by Linnaeus, to which the term hispid is peculiarly appropriate, being beset with minute spines. The American sj)eeies have been divi. ded into two genera : A. AntenniB 11-jointed; sculpture regular and distinct Odontota. A A. Anteunaj 8-joiuted ; sculpture usually irregular or imperfect Mickokhopala. The regular sculpturing consists of deep punctures upon the thorax, and elevated ribs fcostcej uj)on the elytra, with a double row of numer- ous punctures between them. The species of Odontota, Chev., (same as Anoplitis, Kirby,) may be arranged according to their color, as follows. The length of each species is added in decimals of an inch ; thus 0.24 exx)resses twenty-four hundredths of an inch. TETRAilEEOUS PLANT-BEETLES. 175 Wholly black: niA BmTTAT.\, Sav:— 2. larva ; 3, - •, ^i pupa: 4, beetit^after Riley. to souic of the genera of scaveugcr beetles, such as Peltis, Thyraalus and ^'iti