126 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [xxxii, '21 



orientalis. One wonders why the spread of insects is not impeded 

 inversely as the difficulty of inspection, rather than in proportion to that 

 difficulty (page 103). PHILIP P. CALVERT. 







CATALOGUE OF THE COLEOPTERA OF AMERICA, NORTH OF MEXICO. By 

 CHARLES W. LENG. B.Sc. Published by John D. Sherman, Jr., Mount 

 Vernon, N. Y., 1920. [See Ent. News, xxxii, p. 62, Feb.. 1921.] The 

 long desired and most useful work on North American Coleoptera has 

 at last appeared. So extensive is the literature on our beetles, so tan- 

 gled the generic reference of many species, so many changes have 

 been made in the nomenclature of European Coleoptera, that Coleop- 

 terists well-nigh despaired of ever having a catalogue to our species. 



The volume is of 470 pages, and includes, as an introduction, an 

 essay on classification ; then follows the catalogue of the species, an 

 appendix on Strepsiptera, a catalogue of the fossil forms by Mr. 

 Wickham, a bibliography, and the index to genera "and higher groups. 

 The essay on. classification is a succinct account of the various pro- 

 posed arrangements, with critical remarks concerning them, and ends 

 with a conspectus of families. Here the Coleoptera are arranged in 

 two suborders, Adephaga and Polyphaga, and 22 super-families. Under 

 the super-families are 109 families. The series ends in the Rhyncho- 

 phora and Scolytoidea, the Scarabaeidae being placed before the 

 longicorns. 



In the catalogue proper the species are numbered, the whole totalling 

 18,547. Each species is cited by author, year and page of publication, 

 which refers to the complete reference in the bibliography, and the 

 known distribution by states. It is printed in double columns. Under 

 the family, sub-family, or tribe, are references to revisional papers. 

 Under each genus the species are arranged according to their relation- 

 ships, as given by the last reviser. In the case of all but small genera 

 it would have been far more useful to have the species arranged alpha- 

 betically. 



A number of generic and several family names are strange to Ameri- 

 can entomologists, but the author has been very conservative in adopt- 

 ing changes in nomenclature. Coleopterists so far have been spared 

 that confusion of nomenclature which has fallen on some of the other 

 orders of insects. In the preparation of this catalogue proper the 

 author has had the help of special students on certain families, Mr. 

 Schaeffer in the Ostomidae, Mr. Sherman in Dytiscidae, Mr. Woodruff 

 in Melandryidae, Mr. Wolcott in the Cleridae, etc. This gives added 

 authority to the work. Species from Lower California are included, 

 and introduced species are so marked. 



The appendix on Strepsiptera lists 97 species. The catalogue of the 

 fossil forms includes over 800 specie^. 



The bibliography is a most useful feature; here are listed over 4,000 

 titles, all that have a bearing on the taxonomic study of our beetles. 



