292 MEMOIRS ON THE COLEOPTERA 



either here or in the terrestris group, because of its inconstancy; 

 in less developed stages it is extremely difficult to recognize at all 

 in some individuals, so that but little reliance should be placed upon 

 that feature alone. I am by no means sure that the very small 

 and narrower specimen, represented by the smaller measurements 

 under musculus, really belongs to that species, and for a long time 

 I had it separated under a different name; more specimens are 

 desirable, however, before coming to a conclusion ; this small speci- 

 men is from Marquette, where normal examples are abundant. 



Throughout this group the apex of the last ventral segment has 

 .two setigerous pores at each side in the female and constantly but 

 one in the male. The anterior tarsi of the male are only feebly 

 dilated as a rule, and usually much less so than in Amara. 



Amara Bon. 



In the European fauna this genus and Celia are about equally 

 well represented, but in that of North America it is far less numerous 

 in species than Celia; at the same time, however, it apparently in- 

 cludes rather more species than are admitted in the European 

 fauna, but whether or not this is an actual fact depends so much 

 upon standards of taxonomic discrimination, that no useful com- 

 parisons can be made except through the study of both faunas by 

 the same systematist. It should be remembered also that the 

 European faunal region is only equivalent to that of North America 

 east of the Rocky Mountains. 



In the genus Amara care should be taken not to overestimate the 

 importance of strial modifications, for there may be feeble though 

 sensible punctulation in some individuals in which the striae are 

 normally wholly impunctate; in basillaris, however, the punctures 

 are so conspicuous that I am disposed to make a separate group of 

 that species. In the short table drawn up by Horn (Tr. Am. Ent. 

 Soc., 1875, p. 127), the carination of the antennae is made the pri- 

 mary taxonomic character, while in the treatment of Mr. Hayward 

 (1. c., 1908, p. 49), it is the presence or absence of an ocellate sub- 

 scutellar puncture which is given first importance; I am convinced 

 that Mr. Hayward's conception is preferable. The carination of 

 the third antennal joint is very obvious in some species, but in many 

 others becomes so indefinite that group assignment becomes vir- 



