﻿132 
  JOURNAL 
  OF 
  THE 
  WASHINGTON 
  ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES 
  VOL. 
  12, 
  NO. 
  5 
  

  

  Science 
  applied 
  to 
  our 
  national 
  resources, 
  has 
  made 
  the 
  great 
  in- 
  

   dustrial 
  development 
  of 
  America, 
  but 
  with 
  this 
  development 
  the 
  needs 
  

   of 
  the 
  rapidly 
  growing 
  nation 
  have 
  correspondingly 
  increased, 
  so 
  that 
  

   today 
  we 
  are 
  forced 
  to 
  take 
  thought 
  of 
  the 
  remaining 
  natural 
  re- 
  

   sources 
  of 
  the 
  land. 
  A 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  sea 
  will 
  widen 
  the 
  field 
  of 
  our 
  

   natural 
  resources 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  extend 
  the 
  limits 
  of 
  human 
  knowledge 
  and 
  

   culture. 
  

   ENTOMOLOGY.— 
  A^^w 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  coleopterous 
  genus 
  Trox. 
  H. 
  F. 
  

  

  LooMis, 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Plant 
  Industry. 
  (Communicated 
  by 
  O. 
  F. 
  Cook.) 
  

  

  Preparatory 
  to 
  describing 
  a 
  very 
  extraordinary 
  species 
  of 
  Trox 
  

   recently 
  collected 
  in 
  Arizona, 
  an 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  closely 
  related 
  

   forms 
  was 
  made 
  which 
  led 
  to 
  interesting 
  findings 
  regarding 
  the 
  clas- 
  

   sification 
  of 
  these 
  species. 
  The 
  identification, 
  on 
  external 
  characters, 
  

   of 
  the 
  species 
  of 
  this 
  genus 
  has 
  been 
  considered 
  an 
  easy 
  matter 
  and 
  

   the 
  genus 
  has 
  received 
  little 
  attention 
  from 
  systematists 
  for 
  many 
  

   years. 
  As 
  in 
  many 
  other 
  insects, 
  very 
  reliable 
  specific 
  differences 
  are 
  

   exhibited 
  by 
  the 
  male 
  genitalia 
  in 
  this 
  genus. 
  This 
  structure 
  shows 
  

   that 
  in 
  the 
  material 
  hitherto 
  identified 
  as 
  scutellaris 
  Say, 
  in 
  the 
  National 
  

   Museum, 
  three 
  very 
  distinct 
  species 
  of 
  great 
  superficial 
  resemblance 
  

   are 
  included. 
  That 
  this 
  resemblance 
  has 
  caused 
  these 
  species 
  to 
  be 
  

   confused 
  in 
  most 
  collections 
  is 
  probable 
  and 
  other 
  cases 
  of 
  a 
  like 
  

   nature 
  may 
  occur, 
  an 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  male 
  copulatory 
  organs 
  being 
  

   necessary 
  to 
  separate 
  the 
  species 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  specimens 
  of 
  platycyphus 
  and 
  scutellaris 
  the 
  wings 
  were 
  found 
  

   to 
  be 
  greatly 
  atrophied 
  and 
  represented 
  by 
  only 
  a 
  short 
  and 
  very 
  nar- 
  

   row 
  vestige 
  while 
  in 
  oligonus 
  they 
  show 
  much 
  better 
  development 
  

   and 
  bear 
  far 
  more 
  resemblance 
  to 
  normal 
  wings. 
  

  

  Only 
  the 
  larger 
  species, 
  those 
  having 
  the 
  thorax 
  strongly 
  con- 
  

   stricted 
  behind, 
  are 
  dealt 
  with 
  in 
  this 
  paper. 
  The 
  male 
  genital 
  

   organs 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  species 
  belonging 
  to 
  this 
  group 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  

   have 
  been 
  figured 
  to 
  facilitate 
  recognition 
  of 
  the 
  species. 
  The 
  fig- 
  

   ures 
  were 
  made 
  with 
  the 
  aid 
  of 
  a 
  camera 
  lucida 
  and 
  all 
  are 
  drawn 
  to 
  

   the 
  same 
  scale. 
  The 
  copulatory 
  organs 
  of 
  the 
  female 
  probably 
  will 
  

   also 
  exhibit 
  good 
  specific 
  characters 
  but 
  they 
  are 
  not 
  considered 
  here. 
  

  

  Six 
  species 
  described 
  by 
  LeConte 
  in 
  1854 
  have 
  been 
  reduced 
  to 
  

   varietal 
  rank 
  under 
  scutellaris 
  and 
  punctatus 
  but 
  the 
  writer 
  has 
  been 
  

   unable 
  to 
  identify 
  any 
  of 
  these 
  from 
  the 
  external 
  characters 
  men- 
  

   tioned 
  in 
  the 
  original 
  descriptions. 
  Their 
  validity 
  can 
  be 
  decided 
  

   only 
  after 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  genitalia 
  of 
  the 
  LeConte 
  types. 
  In 
  this 
  

   paper 
  specimens 
  collected 
  at 
  Pueblo, 
  Colorado 
  are 
  assumed 
  to 
  be 
  scu- 
  

  

  