Vol. XXI] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 213 



less than in the remarkable degenerations and specializations of 

 certain of the adults. We have widely differing opinions as to 

 the value of some of the characters used in classification. 

 Were it not for intermediate forms any systematist would put 

 in different families an apterous Meloe with reduced, dehis- 

 cent, imbricate elytra and a Nemognatha with normal elytra, 

 wings and maxillary lobes as long as its body. It cannot be 

 too strongly emphasized that the forms from the western hemi- 

 sphere must be largely taken into account in deciding upon a 

 general classification of the entire family. 



In presenting my own ideas on the grouping of the Lyttidae 

 it will be well to recall briefly some of the attempts* which 

 have already been made to provide a classification. 



Linne (Systema Naturae, 1758) included the insects de- 

 scribed by him and belonging to this family under his genus 

 Meloe, and even in the last edition of the work mentioned he 

 introduced no further sub-divisions of the group. 



Geoffrey (Histoire abregee des Insectes, 1761) adopted 

 Linne's genus Meloe, restricting it to include only the wingless 

 blister beetles with dehiscent elytra, and creating two new 

 genera for the remaining species then known. 



Latreille (Characteres generiques des Insectes, 1796; His- 

 toire naturelle des Crustacees et des Insectes, 1804 ; Consid- 

 erations generates sur 1'Ordre naturelle des Animaux, 1809 ; 

 Regne animal de Cuvier, 1817, also last edition, 1829, etc.) 

 proposed several arrangements of the existing genera and 

 added other genera. Latreille showed wonderful acumen in 

 his work on the group and his writings are still of value. To 

 the last he persisted in regarding Horia and Cissitcs as dis- 

 tinct from the other members of the family. 



Leach (Edinburgh Encyclopedia, 1815) divided the blister 

 beetles into three families, viz., i. Cerocomatidae (Ccrocoma, 

 Mylabris}, 2. Meloidae (Ocnas, Meloe), 3. Cantharidae (Can- 

 tharis, Zonitis, Nemognatha, Apalus}. This is the first at- 



*An excellent resume of these and other classifications, covering the 

 period from 1758 to 1859, is to be found in Mulsant, Histoire naturelle 

 des Coleopteres de France, Vesicants, pp. 14-27. 



