LARVAL FORMS OF COLEOPTERA 



Oxyteline association: 

 in. Larva elon<>ato; anal .so<»iii(Mit conical, ventrally directed; ^vith 

 four ocelli on each side 



StajjJi ijlinidae-Piestinae^^ (Piestus and 

 Llspinus) (pi. 14 B, C, E, F, H) 

 Larva ovate, short, body capable of contraction into a globe ; 

 anal segment small, short, laminate, posteriorly directed ; 

 three ocelli on each side. 



Staphylinidae - Syntomiinae (Synto- 

 mium)^'^ 



17. [Mandibles apically more or less widened, bifid or trifid, some- 



times asymmetrical; number of ocelli on each side, three, one, 



or none Sfaphylinidae - Oxjitelinae^'' {Bledius 



with termitiform body and three 

 ocelli, Platystethus and Aploderus 

 wdth dark spots laterally on most 

 segments, Oxytelus, Coprophilus, 

 and Trocjophloeus) (pi. 15 D, G, H, 



Mandibles apically not widened, either slightly forked or en- 

 tire; with one ocellus 



Staph ylinidae-AJeocharinac, part one^~ 

 {Gyrophaena with eighth abdominal 

 segment terminally produced into a 

 glandular process, Microglotta, Mas- 

 eochara, and many other genera) 

 (pis. 14 A, D, G, Iandl6F-I) 



18. Ligula simple, conically pointed ; one ocellus . 



Staph ylhi idae-Aleocharinae, part two^'^ 



(Leptusa and Silusa with mandibles 



suddenly enlarged at base, Atheta, 



and many other genera). 



Ligula transversely bipartite at base ; three to six ocelli on each 



side 19 



^•^ The classification of the Piestinae as a subfamily conforms 

 with the views of many European entomologists, and the larvae are 

 easily recognized, but their subfamily characters are of disputable 

 value. Bernhauer's and Schubert's conception of the group as a 

 mere tribe of the Oxytelinae may prove to be the more satisfactory. 

 It is with great hesitation that the Piestinae are placed here as a 

 subfamily separate from the Oxytelinae. 



^^ The larva of Coprophilus possesses falciform urogomphi 

 shaped like the mandibles of a Dytiscus larva. It differs greatly in 

 type from Syntomium, and has here been placed in the Oxytelinae. 

 ^" It is a very difficult taxonomic problem to find distinctive char- 

 acters for the separation of the subfamilies Oxj^telinae and Aleo- 



28 



