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VOL. XXVI. LONDON, JUNE, 1894. No. 6. 



THE COLEOPTERA OF CANADA. 



BY H. F. WICKHAM, IOWA CITY, IOWA. 



I. The Cicindelid^ of Ontario and Quebec. 



[The following is the first of a series of papers which Mr. Wickham 

 is specially preparing for this magazine. It is intended that they should 

 treat of all the more conspicuous families of Coleoptera and present in 

 tabular form the genera and species that are found in the Provinces of 

 Ontario and Quebec; a descriptive list will also be given of the species, 

 so far as known, that are to be found in the other provinces of the 

 Dominion of Canada. The object in view is to assist collectors who 

 have hitherto been unable, from the want of books or other causes, to 

 identify the beetles they have caught, and to encourage them in the study 

 of this most interesting order of insects. As many illustrations as pos- 

 sible will be given, and every effort will be made to render the papers 

 thoroughly helpful to those who make use of them. It is hoped, also, 

 that the aid thus given will lead on many of our younger readers to 

 become students of Entomology, rather than mere collectors. The 

 bibliography at the end of each paper will be of service to those who 

 are not content to remain "beginners." — Ed. C. E.] 



The beetles of this family are among the first to attract the attention 

 of the collector. Their graceful forms, bright colours, and activity dis- 

 played in the pursuit of their prey, on sunny banks or roadsides, render 

 them at once objects of interest and beauty; as much on this account as 

 because of their generally conceded position as the highest of Coleop- 

 tera, they are given the first place in this series of articles. 



For our purpose the Cicindelidse may be defined as predaceoMS 

 ground-beetles, with eleven-jointed filiform antennae, which are borne on 

 the front above the base of the mandibles. Two genera are represented - 

 in the Dominion of Canada, one of which, Omus, is confined to the 

 Pacific provinces. It is distinguishable from Cicindela by having small 

 eyes and separate posterior coxae, while in the latter genus the eyes are 

 large and prominent and the posterior coxae contiguous. 



