INHABITING NOUTH AMERICA. 3 



pulously retained all the specific names, which have been 

 given by the late Rev. F. V. Melslieitner, in his Catalogue of 

 the insects of Pennsylvania; excepting only such as have 

 been previously employed in the same genera by other en- 

 tomologists ; and so far as I could ascertain tliem by the aid 

 of the scientific intelligence of his son the Kev. J. F. Mel- 

 sheimer, who has liberally furnished me with specimens 

 from his collection. I am also indebted to Mr. Tlionias 

 Nuttall, who has confided to my care his entire collection, 

 with permissiorj to avail myself of the opportunity of de- 

 scribing such of them as are new. 



I have not thought it necessary to draw out the generic 

 descriptions at length, as this has already been done with 

 suftkicnt detail by Professor Bonelli of Turin ; whose excel- 

 lent papers 1 have not yet had the good fortune to peruse. 

 If, in the description of some of the species, I have been an- 

 ticipated by the labours of this, or any other author, I shall 

 immediately relinquish my claims, and do justice to the real 

 discoverers, when their labours shall meet my eye. 



To the inflexible Linntean entomologist, who may object 

 to the numerous genera which arc here adopted, 1 will merely 

 observe, that each of those divisions which are here called 

 famihes, he may regard as only genera, (as they coinciile 

 with those of Linnaeus.) and to each of the species dcscrilicd 

 he may add the characters of those divisions wiiicii arc, in 

 this essay, called genera ; tlms the system as it stands, com- 

 plicated as it is by the vast accession of discoveries of recent 

 date, will aftbrd hitn every facility, whicli he might suppose 

 to result from a scru|)ulous adherence to the Linmean 

 method. 



The modern entomologist will readily perceive that I have 

 not adopted all the genera of M. Bonelli, hut that many of 

 these are included under the genus Fcronia of Latrcillc. 

 In this respect I had no option; having no definitions of such 

 genera, with the exception of those contained in the Ih-gne 

 Animal, many of which are too brief to be exclusively rr 

 lied upon. 



