AUTICLE III. 



Materials towards a History of the Coleoptera Longicornin of the United Slates. 

 By S. S. Haldeman. Read January 17, IS 15. 



The distinguishing characters of the insects to be brought under consideration in this 

 paper are, the length of the antenna?, the emargination of the eyes, and the possession of 

 four articulations (the third of which is bilobed,) to all the tarsi. They feed upon vege- 

 table matter both in the larva and perfect state, and are consequently most usually found 

 in woods. 



This tribe contains, with the exception of the Lainellicornia, or beetles, the largest 

 individuals among the Coleoptera; and when we take their size and beauty into conside- 

 ration, it appears singular that they should have escaped the special notice of entomolo- 

 gists for so long a period; for although Fabricius, Olivier, and others, had made us 

 acquainted with a lame number of species, a detailed account of the genera was wanting, 

 until M. Serville published bis "Nouvelle Classification," in the year 1832. Since then, 

 various authors have added to the genera, so that by this time there must be about four 

 hundred, and v>ho can doubt thai, in judicious hands, farther subdivisions could be made 

 with advantage. The genera I have ventured to present as new, are such as I cannot 

 satisfactorily refer to the descriptions to which I have access: and as the general faci< 

 is frequently the most striking generic character, I have, in consequence of the meagre- 

 ness of iny own collection, laboured under the disadvantage of having to identify, in 

 nearly every instance, from the characters as laid down in the books, and these frequently 

 admit of a latitude of construction which the specimens themselves will not justify. 



Many of the species whose names stand under the different genera have not been seen, 

 or, at hast, not recognised by me; so that the genus has been inferred upon the evidence 

 of the specific description ; and when this has not been satisfactory, the species have 

 been allowed to remain where they Mere first placed by their describers. It maj have 

 happened, in a few instances, that the same species has been placed under more than one 

 generic and specific name; and it is not unlike!) thai some of Mr. Kirby's species ha\r 

 been redescribed, as I did not receive the entomological volume of the Fauna Boreali- 

 Vmericana in time to study it with the specimens. The names will, however, be found 

 in their proper place in the following paj 



