44 PROC. ENT. SOC. WASH., VOL. 23, NO. 2, FEB., 1921 



LARVA OF THE NORTH AMERICAN BEETLE SANDALUS NIGER 



ENOCH. 



BY F. C. CRAIGHEAD, Bureau of Entomology. 



During the past July the writer spent several days at Doctor 

 Hopkins' farm, Kanawha Station, West Virginia, investigating 

 root borers of the genus Prionus on oak trees. On July 21, 1920, 

 while digging at the base of an oak, a cicada pupa was unearthed 

 that was intact in its burrow which had the exit hole completed 

 to near the surface of the ground. The fact that it was dead 

 and resembled a cast skin attracted attention and on attempting 

 to pick it up, it fell to pieces, disclosing a large whitish pupa. 

 This pupa was recognized as of some coleopterous insect and fur- 

 ther search revealed the last larval skin intact in the abdomen of 

 the cicada. 1 August 5, 1920, an imperfect adult of Sandalus 

 niger Knoch emerged. 2 



The rearing of this beetle was very much of a surprise for 

 several reasons. Before the adult emerged the unusual circum- 

 stances were related to several Coleopterists at the National 

 Museum and all speculated as to what the beetle would be but 

 no one thought of Sandalus. The writer was of the opinion that 

 it might be a Meloid though the only basis for such an opinion 

 was the parasitic habit and the form of the larva. The Meloid 

 larvae also present considerable variation in structural details, 

 so much so that they are exceedingly difficult to characterize as 

 a family. None of the Meloids, however, have bifore spiracles 

 and the maxillary mala is never bilobed, while this larvae has 

 such structures well developed. The spiracles and other charac- 

 ters suggested to Doctor Boving and the writer that it belonged 

 to the Cleroid 3 series of larvae including most of the families of 

 Serricornia, and that it showed much in common with the 

 Elaterids. The subsequent rearing of this beetle corroborates 

 strikingly that much reliance can be placed in larval characters 

 and further substantiates the contentions that no matter how 

 much variation is exhibited in habits, even greatly modifying 

 the form and many structures, the fundamental characters are 

 little altered. 



'The fragmentary remains of this cicada pupa were sent to Mr. \Ym. T. Davis, 

 Brooklyn, New York, who replied that he regretted he was not able to determine 

 it from the fragmentary condition of the specimen. 



2 Determined by Messrs. Schwarz and Barber. 



3 As defined by Boving and Craighead Boving, A. G. and Champhiin, A. B.: 

 Larvae of North American Beetles of the Family Cleridae. Proc. LI. S. Nat. 

 Mus. vol. 57, 1920. 



